Protein Question

[Parvathi 2]

This may be a silly question, but in an earlier post re hitting a plateau, several people said I needed to make sure my Protein intake was 60 grams/day. I picked up a small can of tuna yesterday for lunch and noted that it was 100 grams and thought gee, that's an easy way to get my daily Protein in. Then I noted the nutrition info on the back said that it contained 20 grams of protein.

Sooooo, I'm guessing I shouldn't be going by the weight of the food, but rather, the nutrition information. Am I correct in this assumption?

[the best me 6]

You mean the can of tuna was 100 grams...that's how much tuna was in the can? Was one whole can a serving? Or were there two servings in the can? (Forgive me, 100 grams should translate to ounces for me but it doesn't...) If there are 2 servings in the can, then eating the whole can of tuna should give you 20 grams of protien. Eating 50 grams of the tuna would give you 10 grams of protien. Know what I mean?

Aw man, sorry if none of that helped...

[Parvathi 2]

Hi Kathy,

The can was one serving. 100 grams roughly translates to 3.5 oz. So I should go by the nutritional info, rather than the actual weight of the idea, yea?

[the best me 6]

Yea, read the label. You just need to know how many servings are in whatever you are eating. If there are 2 servings per container, and you eat the whole container, double your nutritional volumes. The 100grams (or 3.5 ounces, thanks BTW!) is only a measure for the amount of tuna, not the amounts of nutrition.

So if you want to eat 60 grams of Protien a day, you would need to eat (3) 100 gram cans of tuna.

I hope I finally helped!

[Parvathi 2]

hehe.. you helped heaps! Thanks Kathy mmmm.. tuna *g*

[the best me 6]

Yea, tuna, ummmm! Okay, one can is fine, but 3 a day?!

Hey, there's an old thread I remember reading about tuna causing hair loss and memory problems or something? Paula knows, and Dylansmom, I'm pretty sure. I'll see if I can dig it up for you. Wait here, I'll post the link...

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=5442&highlight=tuna

[giveyouthemoon 4]

Read the labels, it is the best source of info. Grams used to measure Protein don't equal weight in grams.

I can see how that's confusing tho.....

[Parvathi 2]

Thanks Kathy - that stuff Paula found was definitely interesting. No way could I eat 3 cans of it a day LOL - I can't even eat a whole 3.5 oz can at the moment. But I do like it, cause its quick, easy and cheaper than buying a lunch out at a cafe that I won't eat even a quarter of.

Karen- thanks for the advice. It sure was confusing me LOL.

[Alexandra 55]

It may seem confusing, but it really isn't. Even though nutrition labels vary in appearance, the basic info should always be there. The important thing for us to see is the grams-per-serving of whatever the nutrient is we're interested in. The weight of the whole package of food is utterly irrelevant.

I just had an Atkins bar for Breakfast, with 21 grams of Protein. I love these things! So efficient. 250 calories, 21 grams of Protein, and 7 grams of Fiber. There's nothing else I can eat that packs that sort of punch WITH Fiber.

[Parvathi 2]

Cool, Alexandra - I'll have to try some of those. Which flavor is the best?

[Alexandra 55]

There are several flavors, and I like them all except coconut. And today I just bought a smaller bar also by Atkins, called Morning Start or something like that, which is essentially the same thing but less of it. Either of these makes a great bandster Breakfast.< /p>

[giveyouthemoon 4]

You know what I found over the weekend? Powdered egg whites. Wow, all Protein and nothing else. Added some of that to my morning Protein Drink and powie, upped my protein by a lot! Cool stuff!

[momof4 0]

Alex -

I try to boost my Protein with either shakes or Protein Bars too, but it seems that most of the Protein Bars have a lot of carbs. How many carbs do the Atkins bars have and also, where do you buy yours?

Tricia H

[HarleyNana 10]

Have you tried the Zone bars? They're pretty good, specially the milk chocolate and Peanut Butter one, 16 grms of Protein, but take your time eating it, it seems to grow as you chew.