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[gimlet]

Hmm, good luck with the protein powder, but my experience was it's more to supplement your protein than to be filling.  It wasn't TOO bad mixed with milk, but definitely not a meal replacment.

My tip - beans.  High protein, low calories.  Be careful starting out, don't start adding a can a day, work up to it.   But a whole can has like 70 calories and 22g of protein. Find some you like the taste of - black beans, garbanzo beans, lentils, whatever.   If you buy canned, watch the sodium - it's better to rehydrate your own but I'm too lazy to do it ahead.   I sneak half a can each into 2 meals a day and it's pretty painless - adds some bulk and flavor without spiking calories.

Big glass of water 20 minutes before sitting down to eat helped me a bit with hunger too.   Also note your body will take a while to adjust to diet changes, especially smaller meals.

[kilakan]

I drink like... a smoothie made of a cup of fruit, some spinich, protien powder and skim milk for breakfast and I'm usually not hungry till it's time for dinner at night.  I think it's only not filling if you just do straight liquid.

[Sappho]

Progress report!

Yesterday for the first time I ate enough protein to satisfy MyFitnessPal.com. But I'm starting to doubt the amounts it's giving me. According to their calculations, I should be eating 75g of protein a day. Yesterday I only met that by eating two cans of tuna, a can of kidney beans, an egg and some peanut butter with breakfast, peas and pasta (which apparently contains a surprising amount of protein), and a whole grain wrap, as well as a gram or two here and there from other sources. That's quite a lot for one day, and it's way more than I'll normally manage. A whole can of kidney beans only has 18g of protein in it. Even a can of tuna only has 16g. I suppose if I ate nothing but meat, I could manage 75g every day, but that doesn't seem right to me. I feel like a can of beans and two cans of tuna should be more than enough, but it wasn't - I had to supplement it with lots of other things. I mean, I love beans. I eat them all the time. I could easily eat a can a day. But if that's not enough, what else should I do?

If I really should be getting 75g a day, then I definitely need to supplement it. My boyfriend was trying to help me find some protein powder which is almost entirely protein (not filled with other stuff designed to make you gain muscle mass quickly - not at all what I'm trying to do). But he said he really doesn't know enough about it to know which type is right. And there are SO MANY different types! The web site I have available to order from is only available in Czech, but Google translate does a pretty good job of auto-translating it to English, I think. Anyone happen to know which of these would be the best type for simply supplementing protein?

I also started taking a B12 supplement once a day. The pills are 250 mcg and they were surprisingly expensive. I got 100 tablets - I'll see if I feel any different after a couple of weeks or so.

Over the weekend, for breakfast, each day I had an egg along with two small pieces of toasted Czech bread, one with a little bit of butter and the other with a big scoop of peanut butter. I was impressed by how filling it was and how long it took before I was hungry again. So I did a quick Google search about cholesterol, and apparently if I'm only eating one egg a day, my cholesterol should be just fine. Thanks a lot, friends who freaked out when they heard I ate an egg every day! Apparently it's okay. And it won't be every day anyway, since 3 days a week I have to get up very early for work and I won't have time to eat at all. So I'll switch back to that for breakfast at least half the week, and hopefully it will help. Both Saturday and Sunday I managed to be under all my limits for each day (again according to MyFitnessPal) and I wasn't hungry all day.

I don't have to work today, so this morning before breakfast I went out for a nice 35-minute walk. I will definitely be able to do that at least a few days a week. It felt pretty good. It was nice out, not hot yet, and when I got home I was pretty awake.

I am once again considering buying a food processor and doing smoothies. The real question is, will I actually use it on a regular basis. I do have a little stick blender thing, but it's Tesco brand and it works like crap. If I'm going to make smoothies regularly, I'll need something better, a proper blender. Maybe I'll just shop around a bit and see how much one would cost.

I'm really lamenting my lactose intolerance. There's a food here called tvaroh (quark in German, tvarog in Russian, no English word for it and sadly not readily available in the US) which is a type of cheese, usually sweet, and delicious, and there's one type which is 26.3% protein. If only I could find a lactose-free version, I'd be all over that shit. It's quite firm but apparently blends very well into smoothies and matches both sweet and savory flavors well. A block of that with a banana, some chia seeds, maybe a little (lactose-free) milk would be very filling and take a lot less time and effort than cooking eggs. I could have it ready in the fridge, grab it and go to work.

Although actually, there is at least one brand of lactose-free tvaroh available. It's only 12.5% protein, but still, that's a decent amount - 25g per 200g container. I would probably use half a container at a time. That's really not bad at all. I just need to figure out where I can buy that brand. It's not easy to find. :/

[gimlet]

Damn, 'cause milk and milk products (esp cottage cheese) is one of the cheapest and easiest protein sources.   Hmm, then you might want to read this: http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/can-lactose-intolerant-people-drink-whey-protein-shakes-11706.html

So be careful ordering a huge quantity of protein powder until you're sure you can digest it without discomfort.   Unfortunately the non-whey types are usually a lot more expensive.

And boy, I really strongly urge you to somehow work 10 more minutes into your "early" morning and at least wolf down some toast and nut butter or some other no-prep food with some protein and fat, unless you're going to be able to eat at work fairly soon on those days.

For quick prep of eggs, I whip them in a bowl with some herbs and put in the microwave covered, for me 4 egg "scramble" is 2:30 at 30% power - yeah it's not the greatest and nowhere near as tasty as a properly prepared omelet but it's decent for 2 1/2 minutes with minimal cleanup.   You'll have to calibrate it to your microwave - for one egg start with maybe 30 seconds and then keep adding 10-15 seconds until it's at the hardness you like - even leave a little liquid if you like them that way.  Ideally stir about 2/3 of the way through.
   
One way to cook fast "healthyish" is called mush.   Heat a pan, throw in some frozen mixed vegetables  + (optionally egg whites) + protein/flavor source - eggs, salmon, tuna, meat cut into small pieces, whatever, sprinkle in a goodly helping of no-salt seasoning and other herbs to taste.  A little olive oil if it's not a protein that includes fat.  Stir it every once in a while til it's done.    Proportions are 1-2 cups of frozen veg, 4-6 egg whites, 2-3 oz meat, a bit more meat if you leave out the egg whites.  I usually use 1-2 whole eggs and 3-4 egg whites, but I'm a lot more cavalier about the supposed "cholesterol" from eggs (you might have guessed that at "4 egg scramble" - I don't do that every day but I do a couple a week).   Yes, separating egg whites is a pain   But the premade ones are expensive and kind of nasty, I can't justify buying them.  About 3g of protein per egg white, varying a bit by size, so get used to buying a dozen eggs every day or 2 if you try to get much protein this way - still far cheaper than buying containers of pre-separated egg whites.

Other relatively cheap/easy source of protein - boneless skinless chicken breast, they sell big bags of the frozen ones for relatively low price. Search out a bunch of tolerable recipes for these, there's a million ways to prepare.

So yeah, that's about it if you really try to keep up with protein - good helping of beans/peas/lentils with every meal, slip egg whites in wherever you can, a lot of chicken breasts, tuna and salmon up to how much mercury you want to risk,  include lots of nuts in snacks.  A little red meat.  Sneak soy protein into meals if you can stand it.   Try to find different ways to prepare this stuff, it really can get monotonous if you don't find some way to add enough variety to stick to it.   

ED:  Oh and with the lactose intol you probably already know this, but be careful to get enough calcium per day too, that's obviously a lot harder without dairy...

[Sappho]

Hooray, a local friend just told me where I can buy lactose-free tvaroh nearby! Going to do that this evening...

I always eat something for breakfast. I can't function whatsoever on an empty stomach. Usually I either grab a slice of bread with peanut butter to eat on the way, or I buy something on the way to work (usually yogurt and, unfortunately, some kind of pastry - healthy options are hard to find). I get plenty of calcium from yogurt - it contains lactose, but it also contains bacteria that break down the lactose for you, so it's safe. I don't have a microwave, so really, no eggs on work mornings. The time I do have before work, I usually use to cut up some fruits and veg to take with me, and sometimes a container of plain yogurt mixed with chia seeds, raw oats, and a little strawberry jam, which I can eat once I get to work.

You may have missed the part where I point out I don't really eat much meat (hence the difficulty getting protein). Maybe a couple times a week, but I don't cook it at home, only get it at restaurants and such. I'm currently asking around local friends for safe, reasonably-priced sources of fish I won't want to vomit up because it tastes awful. Living in a land-locked country means fish is generally quite expensive and not the best quality.

And as quality control is very much an issue in this country, and I've gotten food poisoning *more than once* from frozen fish/meat, I do not buy frozen fish/meat.

I've started snacking on pistachios some of the time. They're pricey but yummy and fairly healthy.

I tried half a packet of protein powder mix stuff with my lunch (of salad, beans, and a whole wheat wrap) today. It turned out to be really yummy! But not filling. I've been hungry and nibbling on snacks all afternoon. So much for that, I guess. The only reason I'm trying to get more protein is so I don't feel so hungry all the time. If that's not going to help me feel full, there's no point in buying it.

[DJ]

Cans of tuna seem like a terrible choice if you're concerned with your food budget. Try mackerel instead, it's almost as good but it's like 50% cheaper. Hell, you could probably get more protein per $ buying fancy stuff like prosciutto, because tuna is just so ridiculously expensive.

Also, how do you feel about fats? For me at least they're a lot more filling than carbs and I stay full longer. Increasing protein intake increases your ability to stomach fat IIRC, so you may be able to eat fatty food now even if you couldn't stand it before. And AFAIK fat in moderation isn't actually bad for you, provided it's not fried.

[Sappho]

Cans of tuna seem like a terrible choice if you're concerned with your food budget. Try mackerel instead, it's almost as good but it's like 50% cheaper. Hell, you could probably get more protein per $ buying fancy stuff like prosciutto, because tuna is just so ridiculously expensive.

Also, how do you feel about fats? For me at least they're a lot more filling than carbs and I stay full longer. Increasing protein intake increases your ability to stomach fat IIRC, so you may be able to eat fatty food now even if you couldn't stand it before. And AFAIK fat in moderation isn't actually bad for you, provided it's not fried.

You think? On my way to work this morning I stopped at the supermarket to buy some things to make a quick lunch, and I took a peek at the canned fish. Mackerel was more expensive than tuna, as were other types of canned fish. The only one that was cheaper was sardines, and, um, ew. Tuna really isn't that expensive - around 30 kc for a can, which is more than enough for a meal for me. A can of beans is about 20 kc. A single chicken breast would be around 75 kc, I think. A small steak (of decent quality) would be more like 120-150 kc. Just to give you guys an idea.

I did go to the supermarket last night to grab some of that delicious lactose-free tvaroh. Took a look at their fish and was very discouraged. The only type of fish besides tuna I know I can stand the taste of is salmon, and that was crazy expensive, even frozen. Even other types of fish which are more local were way too expensive. They did have chicken breast for "not too too expensive", but if I'm going to buy meat, I'll go to a butcher and get quality. There's a good one right down the street from my place. Sadly, I don't really know of any equivalent shops for fish. This just isn't a seafood-eating country. Maybe I'll learn how to cook chicken and buy a chicken breast now and then from the butcher. Once a week or so wouldn't be too bad price-wise, surely.

I had some of the tvaroh for breakfast. It was delicious and definitely upped my protein intake, but sadly was not as filling as I'd hoped it would be. Yogurt is more filling, though I don't know exactly why. I mixed it with some oats, chia seeds, and jam, just like I do with yogurt. Looking at the nutritional facts, yogurt has more fat, tvaroh has more protein. So maybe it's the fat that makes me feel full after all. But fat is the one thing I tend to go over on each day. :/ I crave fatty stuff all the time.

[gimlet]

Again, just watch out for mercury levels in seafood if you're trying to find things you can eat steadily long term.  There's controversy over whether the benefits of eating tuna outweigh the mercury risk, but if you can find alternatives and stay under the mercury guidelines that's even better.

Like here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/08/22/chart-how-much-canned-tuna-is-safe-to-eat-per-week-based-on-your-weight/

So basically ONE 4 oz can of albacore tuna (the decent stuff), or 2-3 4oz cans of light tuna, per week for most people.   Salmon and shrimp have a *little* less mercury, but still nowhere near being able to eat 4oz every day.   And note 4oz is a pretty small quantity - a lot of the albacore tuna I buy comes in 7oz cans.   Which sucks, because I really like tuna and salmon

Canned salmon is relatively cheaper than "fresh" (frozen then thawed, like 99% of "fresh" supermarket fish unless you're in a super-posh specialty store on a seacoast then it's probably only 90%) and isn't TOO bad, I actually like some of the brands a little better than canned tuna.   Yeah it's not nearly as tasty as well prepared "fresh" salmon, but it should be 1/2 to 1/4 of the price.  But watch out for higher sodium too - depends on the brand but some overdo it.

[ancistrus]

Havent we already reached the stage when everything is poisoning you?

[kilakan]

Hey at least you aren't being told my myfitnesspal to eat 150 grams of protein a day like me.... I don't even know how I'd do that without splitting my stomach open.

[gimlet]

Heh, an average human can only metabolize like what, 100 or so grams of protein a day?  You'd have to actually take digestive supplements to absorb that much more, plus space it out near-perfectly over 24 hours.   Challenge Mode!

[DJ]

You can metabolize more in ketosis. All you need to do is not eat anything but meat, fat and offal.

[Sappho]

You can metabolize more in ketosis. All you need to do is not eat anything but meat, fat and offal.

Sounds perfect! I'll get right on that.

In seriousness, today I did a little shopping and I decided to try out a few new options. I grabbed a can of salmon to try. It was about the same price as the tuna. I've never had canned salmon before because whenever I see it, all I can think of is Monty Python - "Darling, you didn't use canned salmon, did you?" But it's worth a try and at least it's no more expensive than tuna. I'm assuming it works the same, it's all cooked and ready to eat, no need to do anything to prepare it?

Fresh fish was just as absurdly priced as at the other supermarket I went to, so I passed on that. I looked at frozen - also very expensive, but they did have some surimi sticks for pretty cheap, so I grabbed a package. I know it's hardly quality, but it's worth a try at least, for some variety. I remember my mom used to always eat that stuff and she'd give me some and it was delicious. I'm pretty sure she drowned it in butter - I can surely find a healthier way to prepare it.

On the plus side, I've been doing quite well with reducing how much I eat, and I think that's mainly due to eating eggs on a regular basis. According to MyFitnessPal, I should be steadily starting to lose weight - not quickly, but that's fine, because quickly would probably not be healthy. Each day it evaluates my intake and exercise and tells me how much I'd weigh in 5 weeks if every day were like that one. Most days it says I'd lose at least a kilo or two, sometimes as much as 4, which is very encouraging. I know none of this is really precise anyway, but it's good to know I'm on the right track. Now if only I had access to a scale somewhere so I can see if my weight is changing at all...

[TheBiggerFish]

If you need to exercise, which I'm pretty sure you're good for, really, as is...Maybe a stationary bike?  If you have the funds for it.

[Reelya]

A little knowledge about insulin is valuable.

If you eat carbs, insulin rises. This triggers your body into a state "use only sugars for energy, store excess fat+sugar as fat". Basically your body never uses fats for energy while there's sugar in the system, because this avoids converting between sugars and fats. When insulin is low, then your muscles become receptive to using fats for energy, and your fatty deposits are triggered to provide fats to the bloodstream. Thus, to lose fatty deposits, it's critical that you have some of your time in a low-insulin state - which is called Ketosis. Additionally, if the energy deficit is too low, then your body will burn muscle tissue to extract energy and reduce the energy needs. This is where keeping up proteins is important during ketosis - by providing proteins in the blood, then you convince your body not to lay waste to your lean muscle mass.

The insulin thing also suggests another trick - avoid carbs and fats in the same meal, because those fats would all be turned into bodyfat due to insulin. Alternate between carb/protein means and fat/protein meals. You can also try a fast-day one day per week on a weekend. Eat some light protein/fat based snacks throughout the day, and avoid any carbs.