protein roundup

getting 135 grams a day

Photo by Shayda Torabi on Unsplash

I’ve been pretty open about my weight loss struggles over on the gram. Being in my mid-forties and perimenopausal I’m learning that weight loss just isn’t as simple as the traditional health world makes it. Diet culture preaches calories in and calories out - but as someone who has been trying to lose weight for more than five years (with the scale only increasing), I’ve learned that that just isn’t always true.

For me, thyroid, insulin resistance, pre-diabetes, hormones, chronic underrating, and sleep apnea (not to mention genetics) have all played a role in my body holding weight. The good news, I feel SO much better than I did two years ago - there were days where I could barely get out of bed because my fatigue was so bad. It’s taken me two years to get many of my labs in a better place. It took a year for sleep. So while I’m frustrated with the lack of weight loss, I’m realizing when things are really out of whack it takes a lot of time and effort to right the ship.

Our most recent strategy is increasing calories (I was eating anywhere from 1500-1700 a day) to 1800 and increasing protein from 90 grams daily to 135. The hope is that with my strength training (and all the other things I’ve put into place) I’ll start seeing those body comp changes.

I have struggled with disordered eating my entire life - so tracking calories has always been triggering for me. But this time around, I’m actually finding it freeing - which again is a mark of progress (which is a story for another time - progress is not always a number on the scale).

At first the protein amount was overwhelming. We - especially women - historically don’t eat enough calories or protein - so I understand why this was hard for me. But I have found several things that have helped me reach my protein and calorie goals daily - even while traveling on the road.

Protein Round-up

• Protein Powder - my favorites are Be Well in vanilla and Active Stacks in chocolate. Part of my daily shake and if I’m short at the end of the day I do a version of this (which really feels like a treat) if I need to add protein.

• Vital Proteins - this goes in my shake or coffee in the morning - just one scoop and gives me an extra 10 grams. Since it doesn’t have a taste or texture it’s an easy way to add a little bit here and there.