Girls asking me questions about weight loss on tumblr often fail to eat adequate amounts of protein. Protein is vital when your calories are restricted. Protein protects you from losing muscle and makes you feel fuller. Protein is not only important for muscle growth and maintenance, but it is the primary building block for the health and strength of your hair, skin and nails.
How much protein do you need?
The official daily intake recommendation for an adult woman is 1 gram per kilogram -about 0.4 grams per pound of body weight. If you’re exercising and very active, though, you need more: 1.7-2.2 grams of protein per kg (0.8-1.0 grams per pound) is usually the range fitness gurus recommend.
Example: if you weigh 59 kg (130 pounds) you need 104 grams to 130 grams of protein a day. Round up to 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight to keep it simple: 130 pounds = 130 g of protein per day.
Where can you get your protein?
People who aren’t used to read food labels usually have no idea how many grams of protein they’re getting. The following list of foods can help eyeball protein portions. Building every meal around a portion of at least 20 g of protein is good place to start for women trying to “shape up”.
20 grams of protein =
 |
21 grams protein powder (whey isolate) 83 kcal, 20 g protein, 0.2 g carbs, 0.2 g sugar, 0.2 fat |
 |
182 grams egg whites (5 egg whites) 94 kcal, 20 g protein, 1.3 g carbs, 1.3 g sugar, 0.3 g fat |
|
 |
80 grams canned tuna (packed in water) 84 kcal, 20 g protein, 0.0 g carbs, 0.0 g sugar, 0.4 fat |
 |
80 grams turkey 88 kcal, 20 g protein, 0.0 g carbs, 0.0 g sugar, 0.8 g fat |
|
 |
118 grams scallops 91 kcal, 20 g protein, 0.7 g carbs, 0.4 g sugar, 0.8 g fat |
 |
87 grams chicken breast 91 kcal, 20 g protein, 0.0 carbs, 0.0 g sugar, 1.3 g fat |
|
 |
75 grams shrimps 99 kcal, 20 g protein, 0.9 g carbs, 0.0 g sugar, 1.7 g fat |
 |
143 grams codfish 101 kcal, 20 g protein, 0.4 g carbs, 0.0 g sugar, 2.1 g fat |
|
 |
76 grams seitan 110 kcal, 20 g protein, 6.1 g carbs, 0.0 g sugar, 0.6 g fat (Seitan is a vegetarian meat-subtitute made from gluten, the main protein of wheat.) |
 |
194 grams fat-free Greek yogurt 111 kcal, 20 g protein, 7.8 g carbs, 7.8 sugar, 0.0 fat |
|
 |
33 grams spirulina 123 kcal, 20 g protein, 6.3 g carbs, 0.0 sugar, 2.0 fat Spirulina is a kind of sea weed rich in protein. However, eating 33 grams of spirulina powder in one go is too much and above the recommended serving size. |
 |
125 grams ham 125 kcal, 20 g protein, 2.5 g carbs, 2.5 g sugar, 3.8 g fat (but careful: high in sodium) |
|
 |
138 grams Quorn - meat substitute made of mycoprotein (mushroom protein) 130 kcal, 20 g protein, 6.2 g carbs, 0.8 g sugar, 2.8 g fat |
 |
105 grams lean beef 131 kcal, 20 g protein, 0.8 g carbs, 0.0 g sugar, 5.3 g fat |
|
 |
182 grams mussels 131 kcal, 20 g protein, 4.5 g carbs, 0.9 g sugar, 3.6 g fat |
 |
400 grams fat-free yogurt 144 kcal, 20 g protein, 16 g carbs, 16 g sugar, 0 g fat NB: although fat-free yogurt contain protein, it is not a good food to rely on for your protein intake if you’re looking to lose weight as you’re also getting 16 g of milk sugar (lactose) along with the 20 g of protein. |
|
 |
179 grams cottage cheese 159 kcal, 20 g protein, 4.1 carbs, 4.1 sugar, 7 g fat |
 |
88 grams sardines 174 kcal, 20 g protein, 0.1 carbs, 0.0 sugar, 10.4 g fat |
|
 |
667 grams mushrooms (uncooked) (I put the cooked mushrooms in the picture because the 667 g of raw mushrooms were taking too much volume for the plate) 180 kcal, 20 g protein, 20 g carbs, 10 g sugar, 2 g fat |
 |
167 grams tofu 192 kcal, 20 g protein, 1.7 g carbs, 0.7 g sugar, 11.7 g fat |
|
 |
121 grams feta cheese (10% fat) 194 kcal, 20 g protein, 0.1 g carbs, 0.1 g sugar, 12.5 g fat (but careful: high in sodium) |
 |
105 grams ground beef 196 kcal, 20 g protein, 0.5 g carbs, 0.4 g sugar, 12.6 g fat |
|
 |
185 grams edamame (soy beans) 204 kcal, 20 g protein, 4.4 g carbs, 1.9 g sugar, 11.9 g fat |
 |
103 grams tempeh (fermented soy product) 207 kcal, 20 g protein, 13.3 g carbs, 0.0 g sugar, 8.2 g fat |
|
 |
159 grams eggs (3 whole eggs) 225 kcal, 20 g protein, 1.1 g carbs, 1.1 g sugar, 15.7 g fat |
 |
235 grams lentils 228 kcal, 20 g protein, 33.2 g carbs, 0.0 g sugar, 1.6 g fat |
|
 |
250 grams red kidney beans 240 kcal, 20 g protein, 37.5 g carbs, 1.3 g sugar, 1.3 g fat |
 |
105 grams salmon 245 kcal, 20 g protein, 1.1 g carbs, 1.1 g sugar, 17.9 g fat |
|
 |
313 grams chick peas 325 kcal, 20 g protein, 45.9 g carbs, 0.0 g sugar, 6.9 g fat |
 |
222 grams surimi 278 kcal, 20 g protein, 26.7 g carbs, 10 g sugar, 10 g fat Surimi is fish-based food product. It is a processed food and not the healthiest choice but it is a cheap source of protein. |
NB: The fork on the pictures is just meant to give you an idea of the size of the foods. Many foods are raw / uncooked on the pictures because the nutrition facts I found on the foods’ packages were mostly based on the uncooked weigh of these foods.
The 8 first foods on the list (protein powder, egg whites, canned tuna, turkey, chicken breast, white fish and seafood like scallops or shrimps) are the best sources of protein for weight loss as they provide the “leanest” sources of protein with the fewest carbs and calories. However, other foods at the end of the list (like salmon or chickpeas for example) can be very beneficial too as they provide combinations of protein with other macronutrients (fats or carbs) making you feel even fuller. I didn’t put any foods like nuts, nut butters, quinoa or falafels in the list. Although these foods contain protein, the amount of calories you’d have to eat to get to 20 grams of protein from these foods alone is very high. For example, you’d have to eat 5 tablespoons of peanut butter (470 kcal) to get 20 grams of protein.
English
{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }
Great post Elise! I try to eat protein in every meal. But tell me something.. some of those proteins above are not complete proteins right? We should always try to eat proteins that contain an adequate proportion of all nine of the essential amino acids. That’s the tricky part to me… most of the protein that comes from vegetables like beans are incomplete. Can we mix diferent vegetables proteins in order to intake all the nine essential amino acids?
Love your blog. Keep posting girl! :)
Beijo
Hi Joana, yes, you’re right, all the protein above are not complete proteins. The complete proteins are all the animal proteins as well as soy and spirulina. Beans need to be combined with rice, corn, seeds, nuts, or grains to form complete proteins. Studies show that the beans and the grains don’t even need to be eaten at the same meal. But in my experience when it comes to building muscle and getting stronger animal proteins are the best way to go to see noticeable results for women who weight-train. The big advantage of the incomplete proteins is that they’re way cheaper, “better for the planet” and allow for more diversity in your diet.
Loved this!
Looks like you put a lot of work into it. Thanks so much for sharing! :)
Thanks Shannon! Well I just took pictures of the food I cooked for the past two weeks or so :)
Great work you are doing! Thanks so much for sharing
Please tell me, If I take for example turkey in your above text, Is it Turkey raw before cooking.
Is 100 gr of turkey raw & cooked are the same value
Thanks a lot for your great work!
Hi Chanel, thank you! Yes, this is a raw piece of turkey on the picture. I use the raw value that was listed on the package. The same piece of turkey will shrink and weigh less after it’s cooked because it will lose a bit of water. But the number of calories in that piece of turkey won’t change that much after it’s cooked (unless you use a method of cooking that increases fat content due to use of oil).
Thanks for including some vegan sources of protein! Did you weigh the chickpeas, lentils and beans before or after they have been hydrated? Cheers!
Hi Sharon! I weighed the chickpeas, lentils and beans after I drained and rinsed them directly from a can :)
What a great post!!
Wonderful… I am really thankful to you for this… Great Post…!!!!
Thank you!
Very good, though I was curious to see parmesan cheese
Hi Nanda, I didn’t put any kind of cheeses besides cottage cheese because the amount of fat and sodium you’d have to eat to get 20 g of protein would be too high if you’re watching your calories. Don’t get me wrong, as a French women I love cheeses of all kinds but you can not really rely on cheese for your main protein intake if you want to control the amount of saturated fat and sodium. For example, to get 20 g of protein with parmesan cheese, you would have to eat around 1/2 cup of cheese (around 60 g), but you would also be getting 15 g of saturated fat and eating more than 30% of the daily recommended salt intake.
Ok, just so I know that I understand the pictures, each picture is of 20grams of protein? Then what is the bold print mean that is next to the picture, for example the egg whites says “185 grams egg whites (5 egg whites)”, or the “87 grams turkey”?
Hi Lenore, yes, each pictures represents 20 grams of protein. The bold print next to the picture represents the total weight of the food, i.e. the amount of that food you’d have to eat to get 20 g protein. For example, the total weight of egg white includes 20 g of protein + a certain amount of water, the total weight of chick peas includes 20 g of protein + a certain amount of carbs and fat + a certain amount of water, etc.
THAAANK YOU <3 been looking for this everywhere!!!
Thank you for your post. The doctor said I’m not getting enough protein (based on blood test)–I thought it was 20 grams per day, but it looks like 20 grams each meal for three meals a day. That’s definitely way more than I’m currently eating. The photos are super helpful.
Glad this could help!
Thanks! This is so helpful as I was struggling to find a variety in the protein I was eating. Now I can mix it up!
The so-called “experts” always say that you should be getting 30-35 grams of protein in your daily diet. I weigh 120 lbs so according to what you are saying, I need to take in 120 grams of protein every day? Something is very amiss here! Now I am very confused. I couldn’t possibly get 120 grams of protein in my diet every day. I’d have to be eating from sun up to sun down.
Hi Danielle, you should get at least 0.4 x 120 = 48 grams of protein every day. If you’re weight-training and very active, going to the gym 5 to 6 days per week, you should get more, yes, even up to 120 grams of protein per day if you have muscle-building goals. But if that’s not the case you’re good to go with 48 grams of protein per day.
Hi, thank you so much for the pictures and info, on the side, so visual the best, much appreciated. I am trying to lose weight and get healthy, going vegetarian, would this be unhealthy? how many carrots do i have to eat a day to improve my eyesight?
Hi Grace, going vegetarian would not be unhealthy: you can see in the article that there are many vegetarian options to eat protein. Eating more carrots will not help dramatically improve your eyesight (google “carrots & eyesight” and read a couple of articles). I have myopia myself; what works for me is cutting out sugar and caffeine -but that’s just what I feel works for me.
Not sure where you got this information, but it appears to be in total contradiction to what the US RDA suggests. One hundred thirty grams (130grams) of protein for one person in ONE day is way too much for anyone–according to them.
http://life.familyeducation.com/protein/foods/48678.html
The pictures that you’ve placed above look correct for 20grams, though.
Hi Saje,
You overlooked the second paragraph: in the second paragraph, I wrote “The official rate for protein for adult women is 1 gram per kilogram -about 0.4 grams per pound of body weight.”. This means that for someone who weighs 130 pounds, that would 52 grams of protein per day, around the same number as the link you put in your comment. The recommendation of 1 gram per pound of body weight (thus 130 grams for a person who weighs 130 pounds) is the recommendation you’ll find in most fitness books. This is also the usual recommendation made by various fitness gurus (Tosca Reno, Jennifer Nicole Lee, Jillian Michaels etc.)
This is awesome, thanks for posting this. I find it to be really helpful.
Glad I could help Monique!
{ 1 trackback }