One year experience with high-protein diet

[Dominique]

I’ve been eating my current diet for one year and I thought I’d share my experience with it. Actually, I’d prefer to say "way of eating" instead of "diet", because of the slightly negative connotation linked to "being on a diet" and the fact it usually implies it’s for losing weight. I’ve been at a healthy weight for several years and have no imperious need or desire to lose weight. In fact, while on this "diet", I have been losing weight for about three months, gaining weight for five, maintaining for one and losing again for three. During that period, my weight has fluctuated between a high of 65 kg (BMI 21.2) and a current low of 58 kg (BMI 18.9).

My primary motivations are long-term health and improvement of body composition. I’ve got most of the ideas and principles I’m following from an outfit called Renaissance Periodization (RP), via two e-books published by them (Understanding Healthy Eating and the Renaissance Diet, mentioned previously in this topic) as well as a couple of diet templates (one for fat loss, the other one for muscle gain) purchased from them. Disclaimer: I have no vested interest in the company, just happen to be a satisfied customer. There’s nothing ground-breaking in their content (it’s mostly "conventional wisdom" available elsewhere), but I like the fact they’re cutting through the BS and sorting what really matters (e.g. calories, macros, food composition) and what matters less (e.g. nutrient timing, supplements). I started following the templates to the letter and eventually switched to a more liberal approach that better fits my preferences and lifestyle.

If I were to list the main tenets of the diet, they would be:

• high-protein: I aim at 100-125 grams per day (125 on training days, i.e. 5 days a week, and 100 on the remaining 2 non-training days). That’s between 0.76 and 0.95 grams per pound of bodyweight, based on a fluctuation range of 60-65 kg for bodyweight. In reality, it’s slightly higher than that, because I only count protein from "true" protein sources (e.g. eggwhites, meat, cottage cheese), and not the incidental protein from things like peanut butter, rice, pasta etc., that fits in other categories.
• whole / minimally processed foods: these are my main sources for 80-90% of what I eat, so the diet could qualify as "clean eating". I’m slightly more flexible when in a caloric surplus to gain weight, during which I can allow some "fun" foods like ice-cream, cookies etc.
• veggies and fruits everyday: 2-4 servings of (non-starchy) veggies like spinach, cauliflower, green beans, broccoli etc. and 1-2 servings of fresh fruits. Veggies and fruits are one of my adjusting variables when cutting and bulking: more veggies/less fruits when cutting, less veggies/more fruits when bulking,
• high-meal frequency: I eat four meals a day (usually at 8am, 12am, 4pm and 7pm), five if you count the workout shake (25g protein, 15-25g high-glycemic carbs) during training days. They’re mostly centered on protein, though I try to put the majority of my carbs in the meals immediately before and after my training session.
• high-carb/moderate-to-low-fat: I’m not prejudiced against fats, but I tend to favour carbs as they better support my training and are more anabolic. I still eat a good amount of carbs even at the end of cutting phases, when fats are my second adjusting variable.

I guess based on the above, my way of eating would qualify as a stereotypical bodybuilder’s diet. You just won’t see me carry broccoli, tunafish and rice in neat Tupperware boxes as I’m self-employed and have the luxury of being able to work from home .

Now that I’ve described the main lines of my diet, I’ll try to list the pros and cons.

Pros:

• No/very little hunger when dieting: thanks to the satiating effect of protein and the high-fiber content (veggies and fruits), I hardly feel hungry in a deficit. And thanks to having many meals spread through the day, I never have to wait for very long before it’s time to eat again.
• Not restrictive: this approach doesn’t exclude large food groups, if anything, that would be highly processed / junk food.
• Good for health: with a mix of primarily whole foods from both animal and plant sources, I get all the fiber, vitamins, minerals and other micronutrients needed. Haven’t had bloodwork done during the past year (I intend to get one in a couple of months), but I haven’t been sick at all and I have been feeling well and full of energy all the time.
• Good for body composition: it’s of course quite subjective, and difficult to separate the impact of training and eating, but I feel my physique has markedly improved during the past year (current pic here).
• No need to count calories: it’s a big plus for me, as tracking everything is completely alien to me. All I have to do is track protein (and that’s easy, since I only have a limited selection of protein sources I rotate, and I now know without measuring what’s 25g for each source) and I can go "by ear" with the rest.

Cons:

• No gastronomic experience: let’s face it, most of the protein I eat taste pretty bland, same with veggies. If you’re interested in a high-end culinary experience, don’t come to my place! 
• Difficult to combine with active social life: I’m mostly a no-lifer, so it’s not too much of a problem for me, but I noticed when my sister and brother-in-law visited me earlier this month, I had to serve food they expected to eat, not my weird diet; likewise, things tend to go out of control for me when I’m travelling. Fortunately, that doesn’t happen too often. Eating out with friends on a single night isn’t a problem, though
• Expensive: eating a lot of protein from real food (as opposed to protein powder) is quite costly, when comparing price per 100 calories to typical carbs and fat sources. Many protein sources (meat, fish) also have a limited shelf life, whereas you can store most carbs and fats in a cupboard for months if not years.
• Time-consuming: eating many meals a day is time-consuming, even with well-planned meal prep. And there’s a lot of dishes to clean, even for just one person!

So this way of eating is quite unpractical in many respects, and I’m not even trying to "sell" it to anyone, nor trying to start a "my diet is better than yours" debate. Just wanted to explain what I’ve been doing, and why. If anyone is doing something similar, I’d love to hear about comments and suggestions!

[WendyB]

Looks really good. I should track my Protein but I need to watch Fiber really close and make sure I get it in. Maybe I will try and track both

[Dominique]

I think if you eat plenty of veggies, fruits and whole-grain products, your needs in fiber should be covered without tracking specifically.

[WendyB]

I know. But my Dr specfically told me to make sure i got all my fiber in. So i need to track it for a while. 

There have been a few days when i was short. Though not by much

[Baltoscott]

My diet pattern over the past year has been similar.  I've read both the the e-books you mentioned and agree with most of what they say, and I like your summary of what matters most (calories, macros, food composition) and what matters less (e.g. nutrient timing, supplements). As you say, it is not earth shattering, or much different that what you get from other conventional sources in the weight-lifting or athletic communities.  But it is well-documented and there seems to be good science behind the assertions.

I've been eating slightly more protein/lb of body weight than you.  Around 1 gram/lb/day.  So usually somewhere between 160-170 grams/day.  Around 40 grams of it comes from some combination of whey, casein, or pea protein powder.  I think my carbs are a little lower than you as a percentage of daily calories, and fat a bit higher. I consume 2-3 cups of dairy in the form of yogurt and and milk (with coffee for lattes) -- all of it whole, rather than non-fat, and I typically eat a couple of whole eggs every day (not just the whites).  I even add a little extra fat to my yogurt in the form of tablespoon of ground up flax seed.   

I don't really vary daily calories or macros much on training days vs. non-training days.  Because of bike commuting, hills and lots of walking, exercise a fair amount even my non-training days.  For me, a "training day" means I'm adding weight lifting.  I usually lift 4 days/week, though sometimes 3, and then there are deload weeks.  I don't really adjust the diet through any of that, shooting for somewhere between 2500 and 3200 calories/day depending on whether I'm trying to gain, lose, or maintain weight.  The protein stays about the same all the time, but carbs and fat go up if I'm trying to gain weight, and go down if I am trying to lose it.  Right now I'm still trying to lose, so the target has been 2500 cal/day.   I've overshot the target a bit and that slows down the weight loss.

I don't find my diet all that hard to integrate with my wife our my friends when we go out.  My wife and I eat dinner together, so that it the only meal I don't choose everything I eat.  But like me she has been trying to focus on whole foods, and simple preparation.  We don't completely avoid anything, but whereas pizza might have happened once or twice/week before, now it is more like once or twice/month.  I eat breakfast on my own and my lunch with friends at work is usually somewhere with a salad bar so I can load up on veggies, beans and chicken or tuna.  My daily veggie count may be a little higher than yours -- maybe 4-6 servings -- and fruit about the same at around 2 servings/day.

I eat 4 times/day, around 5 am (large meal), 11:30 am (large), 4 pm (small) and 7:30 pm (large).  I usually start feeling hungry around 30-60 minutes before the next meal.  I think this is really more a function of meal pattern habit than actual hunger.  But generally my diet and the amount of food I eat is such that I have no problem turning down snacks between meals.   The only time it is really a challenge to avoid snacks is before dinner when dinner runs late.  

All in all, I don't see any reason why I would ever change from this way of eating.  I stay within the description above about 80-90% of the time, I feel great and I lost around 40 lbs as I started doing it in the beginning of 2017. It works really well for me.

[allensharon]

A protein diet is the best option if we are trying to lose weight.

My weight loss protein diet-

Breakfast -3 boiled eggs+ 1 apple+green tea

lunch- omelet/chicken soup

Dinner- oats 

amino acids protein like meat, poultry, fish, dairy, soy, legumes, buckwheat, quinoa, etc.; or, even though dietary supplements help us for weight loss. If you are on a weight loss journey you

[CharlesBarnett]

Hey there. It's been a really long time since your last update, so I'd like to know how it's going now. I'd really like to gain some mass, so I'd be grateful if someone with related experience guided me through the process.

[CharlesBarnett]

Hey everyone, I'm new to this forum and excited to share my thoughts on this topic. If you're looking to gain some mass, a high-protein diet can definitely help, but it's important to do it in a healthy way. One thing that's worked well for me is using a bulk vegan protein powder. I'm lactose intolerant, so that's why I take the vegan powder. In terms of gaining mass, it's important to remember that it's a slow process that takes time and consistency. You'll want to make sure you're eating enough calories to support muscle growth, and also focus on strength training exercises that target the areas you want to bulk up. Overall, it's a journey, and everyone's experience is different, so don't get discouraged if you don't see results right away. Best of luck!