Counting protein & Vegetables? Complete protein?

[Jane]

I'm trying to work out the #s for my diet, and I dont know whether I should count the protein in things like veggies and whole grains. For example, do I include the following in my protein count:

1 cup wholegrain cereal: 11 g protein
2 slices wholewheat bread: 6g protein
2 sweet red peppers: 2 g protein
1 tomato: 1g
1 cucumber: 1g
.5 cup peas: 4g
.75 cup broccoli: 2g
5 cup mixed greens: 4g

In all that adds up to 31 g protein from "shady" sources. What do I do?

[syntekz]

Count em. It might be incomplete proteins, but they are still protein.

[body]

count them. but biological value is more important.
just mix a incomplete protein with another protien food that has the incomplete protein in its food. this way the meal will have a complete source of protein.
just do not include gletine.

[The_Chicken_Daddy]

if you don't count them then you may end up with an unmatching calorie count if you tally it up at the end.

[w8lifter]

I was wondering what everyone would say to this. I always say count 'em, for the same reason body said, but certain people at a certain site always argue w/ me.

[The_Chicken_Daddy]

btw when i eat green veg [broccoli, cauliflower etc..] i don;t even write them down, so nothing from them is considered. Anything else is.

just thought i'd let you know.

[MWB]

I do the same as Chicken Daddy. Broccoli, lettuce, etc I don't count them because they are mostly water and fiber anyway.

[body]

for broccoli and lettuce etc the amount of protein in them is small. aless your a rabbit the amount you eat of them will not add to much. regardless of biological value.
you can only approxiamate how much protien you eat not know it exactly as
1) seasonal variation
2) product make up

[ToysRusKid]

get your daily required protein from meat, dairy, and powders. whatever incomplete protein you consume on the way is just extra credit. afterall, since I need 300+ grams of protein per day, I'm not about to eat 100 slices of bread and call it a day

[YatesNightBlade]

I count them, but still ensure I get enough complete.

[Jane]

what do you guys think is the best way to figure out how much protein a person needs?

[YatesNightBlade]

Activites undertaken and body weight.

[Jane]

any good sites w/a formula maybe?

[Franco]

Yes, here.

How active are you outside of High School?

e.g sporting activites

[Jane]

very little. no cardio allowed until my weight is higher, and i can only get in the gym to lift 2-3 times a week.

[hemants]

As long as most of your protein is from good sources and you have a reasonable variety, you should count everything.

As a matter of convenience, if 25 items you eat are going to amount to 4 g or protein then you can estimate or leave em out.

[ToysRusKid]

Jane- the generic formula that I've always been told (which works well for me), is 1 to 1.5 grms of protein per pound of bodyweight. So a 200 pounder would need 200 to 300 grms of protein per day.

[Spartan936]

BIG bump

quick question for those smarter than I: do lentils and almonds create a complete protein? I can't seem to find their amino acid contents.

Thanx

[Shao-LiN]

Unless that's the main bulk of your diet, it doesn't really matter. The point is to get protein from varying sources through the day.

[Spartan936]

Hey, Thanks Shao-liN, I'm using it as a shake on the go (weird, I know) and I do eat plenty of meat.

[wrestlemaniac]

heh, guys... brocolli is like 50% protien

also, the more diverse the foods you eat (and the more food you eat) the less you have to worry about how complete it is. It's something to read up on as much as you can and be mindfull of though. Keep in mind if you eat 2 60% complete protien foods you're likely to have more than 60% complete when combined because they'll fill each others holes if you understand what I mean.

but, with all that said I try and make sure my main meals have complete protien in them

[Holto]

there is no such thing as an incomplete protein

go to www.nutritiondata.com and look at the amino profile of any vegetable etc...

[TheGimp]

Exactly Holto

The key is variety

Also to those who mentioned not counting vegetables: I can understand it for things like lettuce, but like wrestlemaniac says broccoli contains a decent amount of protein. I do not think it is unreasonable to eat a whole head (say 300g) of broccoli with a meal and that is about 100 calories and 13g of protein off the top of my head.