Protein Puzzle

There is a lot to figure out the past few days for the fitmixer bootcamp.   It's been a challenge. Like putting together a puzzle.  I like puzzles. Good thing, cause I might have given up already. 

Let's talk meal plan.  So here are the goals I was given by the registered dietitian:

Calories: 1200-1300

Carbohydrates:  150 grams

Protein:  90 grams

Fat: 27 grams

Calories are no surprise for me.  It's consistent with every other plan and weight loss tool I've used.  Carbs are in line too.  Protein on the other hand is much higher than what I have been eating.  I've been in the range of 45-60g eating a plant based diet.  So I've had to work at getting to that mark. 

I decided to plan my meals as usual, then see what I need to add to ramp up the protein.  My go to meal is a veggie bowl.  This particular one was:

1/2c brown rice

1/2c broccoli

1/2c chickpea salsa

Usually I would stop there, but that only got me to 11 grams of protein.  Goal for dinner is 20 grams.  What to add?  I would have loved to add more chickpeas, but alas I had to keep it to 350 cal's too.  Since the chickpea salsa had a Mediterranean flare, I took a peek at the protein in some fat free feta cheese crumbles: 8 grams in 1/4c and only 40 cals in a serving.  CHEESE! Perfect!  Cheese completely makes a meal seem indulgent.  And here is what I ended up with:

I could have completely loaded up on more broccoli to get the additional 8 grams I had with the cheese.  Usually in trying to get volume in my meals I would have.  But 6 meals a day in this plan has been working well at keeping cravings at bay.  It feels like I'm constantly having to jump up to grab the next round of food.

People always ask me if I get enough protein.  And the answer has been yes.  And with awesome products like fitmixer protein drinks, I can ramp up on protein when I am working out bootcamp style.

There is plenty of protein in vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, with soy and legumes coming in as the heavy hitters in protein for vegetarians.  Soybeans weigh in at 29g of protein - completely keeping up with 3.5oz of chicken breast which has 30g, and lentils come in at 18g per serving, most legumes come up in the teens.

Check out sparkpeople.com which has a great article for more plant based protein sources.

And speaking about those workouts.  Wow!  New terms on day 2 and 3:  Isometrics and Tabata.  It is a test in patience, and an investment of time for me!  Not only am I learning what these are, I have to take time to watch the videos a few times and practice the motions as these are totally new to me and I have to really watch and work on form.

Nevertheless, I know it's only the first week, so I am taking the time to do it, and am DEFINITELY getting good workouts.  I know because I am becoming AWARE of muscles in my body that I didn't know EXISTED before this week.

AND I am soooo tired! 

Anyone else a newbie at all of this?  How are you doing Week 1?