I’m (44F, 5’4” and 158 lbs, GW: 130 lbs) doing 18:6 and have calculated my TDEE. I’d like to both lose weight and gain muscle. I’ve found my sustainable exercise that brings me joy - Pilates reformer classes - and take about 4-5 classes a week, which I usually supplement with 1-2 strength training classes per week.
Here’s my confusion on protein:
I’m not getting anywhere close to the protein amount I should be consuming according to the TDEE calculator - 160g for cutting, 200g for maintaining, 260 for bulking. Even adding in a protein powder & collagen powder, I’m getting to like 70g of protein before I max out on calories. How am I supposed to get there?? Should I be drinking a shit-ton more protein powder? That’d be the most calorie-efficient method, otherwise I’d be going way over my caloric goals.
I read that I’m supposed to drink the protein powder within an hour of exercise to maximize the benefits. But protein powder breaks my fast. Soooo….if I work out in the morning, should I wait until my eating window to drink the protein powder? Just skip it?
Thanks for any tips/clarity!!
My advice would be to try to get more protein from the food itself and potentially trying a higher quality protein. Im fasting while trying to gain muscle and thats whats worked best for me. Some good sources of lean protein that aren’t as obvious that I enjoy includes beans, yogurt,tofu, and turkey. And finding a good quality protein helped me so that I can the most amount of protein for the least amount of calories. My favorite one is Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey Protein. And as far as i’m aware drinking protein after your workout or later in the day doesn’t have any negative side effects so theres no harm in keeping your fast and drinking your protein shake later on in the day. These are some things that helped me so I hope this works or provided some insight!
I’ve heard and generally experienced that it’s hard to lose weight and bulk on muscle at the same time. So kind of a case of choose one for a bit and then switch to the other.
For example since December, according to body scans, I’ve “lost” roughly 6lbs of skeletal muscle mass, but do feel like I’m slimming down as a whole too. I can kick myself for a bit, but at the same time, as long as I can continue losing the body fat, I can always bulk up on muscle later.
I need to do heavier lifting during what resistance training I get right now.
There’s a lot of literature saying that protein intake windows offer maximum efficacy. This likely is a mix of truth and propaganda by protein manufacturers.
Your protein count is a bit high. Most literature recommend for muscle building 1g protein per lb of lean body mass, 1lb per body weight to be safe.
You will need to find various high protein sources. Chicken is your friend now. Lots and lots skinless chicken. You’ll find that eating that much lean protein isn’t exactly easy, but it’s not impossible. Beef jerky is a great option. Find some without sugar.