Have you measured your protein requirements/intake?

[shikara]

So we all know that sufficient protein intake is necessary for healthy hair growth. I've done this for awhile, not at first because of hair, but just health overall. I'm currently at my 'required' amount of 57g/daily, but will start adding an extra 10g. Meat is not my thing, but it's still easy to do - just got to make sure to add the other necessary foods to make a 'complete' protein. What about you? Do you how much you consume? Do you exceed required amounts? by how much?

[whitestiletto]

FYI, you don't have to put foods together in 1 meal to have a complete protein. You can eat brown rice on Monday, and beans on Tuesday, and it's the same complete protein as if you mixed them together.

Im vegan 4+ yrs and I don't measure my protein intake.. My hair grows about an inch every 1.5 months.

If you're worried about not getting enough, try switching out your white grains to whole grains... I only eat brown rice. Also quinoa (a grain similar to rice) is a complete protein all on its own. Now I just want to talk about food (http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/chana-masala-10000001634725/) *resisting urge*

Seriously though, protein deficiency is almost impossible in the developed world. Don't lose sleep over it :) Just eat a healthy couple meals a day and icecream when you feel like it.

[misspriss]

When I was working out, I measured my protein. I was working out with the goal of muscle building, so protein was important. I attempted for a 40/30/30 (the word "zone" comes to mind) split of carbs/protein/fat. It was hard. I don't think I ever hit that ratio, I was only tring to get 1500 calories, but getting 450 calories from protein would mean 112.5 grams of protein, which is hard to get. (that is 150 grams for those on a 2000 calorie diet!). The biggest part was restricting carbs to 40% though, but if you ate enough protein you weren't hungry anyway.

I don't get that now. I wish I did, I felt great, I was never hungry, I lost weight, I had way more energy...but it was probably a component of working out and eating right.

I don't remember the impact on my hair growth, and I don't track my food now. I can tell you I eat way too many carbs and not enough proteins and fats, and I feel pretty crappy and stressed out all the time and my hair isn't growing as fast as I would like (but cutting it off short and imeadiately growing back out probably has something to do with it)

[PianoPlaye]

Lil sis is vegan, and when the omnivores gathered for a family meal, I watched my lads devour a lentil & rice lasagne without a cheep.
If Mum hadn't added fresh herbs there might have been a rebellion. but it tasted great & I don't think the lads realised. (That or they were ravenous again & were not eating the table after years of patient training.)

[darkrose]

i take a vitamins tablet a day with a cod liver oil tablet, i dont measure my protein intake, but because i cant consume vitamins naturally i know that with the supplemets i am getting the normal amount.

[~BoHemiAngel~]

Shikara, how do you calculate how much protein you need? I've heard you take your weight (in kg) and multiply by .8 to get the total number of grams you need per day. Would you agree with this or do you have another method?

Thanks!

[Autumn]

I drink a whey protein supplement every morning with my vitamins.

[RitaCeleste]

I did Atkins for years off and on and really counted up my protein. I had to be careful and make myself eat enough meat and make sure I was getting enough calories. I find if I eat the protein, I just eat less and feel less hungry. I've been eating different this summer and unfortunately gained some weight. But my appetite seems to be what's affected by too many refined carbs, not my hair and skin.

[pinknika]

I haven't really measured but I would say if I did, I think about 40 grams a day not including other meals containing protein. I eat a protein bar as a snack when I am at work before lunch, then before I workout, I drink an atkins shake or myoplex or my egg protein whatever and it says 20 g. I also eat salmon, chicken, tuna, turkey at least once a day so maybe like 50 grams a day? I don't think you can overdo it with protein, it is very essential for us and contains so many amino acids. Quinoa has a good amount of protein and so does beans and peanut butter for those vegan sources.

[oktobergoud]

I hardly eat meat, try to eat beans as much as possible. I also take protein supplements but I hate taking them because THEY ARE SO BIG :( Used to take protein shakes but the taste was just disgusting (without artificial taste so it was.. ugh D: the ones with an artificial flavour are just too expensive for me, I'll do without it ;))

[ouseljay]

I know I need to eat more protein, but my diet's so messed up right now that keeping track would be beyond useless. I do take a vitamin supplement that contains amino acids, and I specifically supplement with a few more since I was deficient in those.

Most healthy people aren't going to get too little protein (provided they have enough food to eat), unless they have a weird diet, or an unbalanced vegan or vegetarian diet, or have some underlying absorption problems. Most healthy people aren't going to get too much protein, either, but the by-products of protein metabolism are hard on the kidneys. So anyone with kidney problems or risk factors (advanced age, diabetes, family history, high blood pressure, etc.) should keep that in mind if they're trying to eat a lot of protein.

[1953Diygal]

I've been getting back to the gym and am drinking my DBF's Myoplex protein drinks. They taste like shakey goodness but with an aftertaste of Knox gelatin. It'll be interesting to see if they really do grow muscle and grow hair.

[KatiSasha]

I work out 5 days/week lifting weights and used to really keep track of my protein intake. Nowdays I just make sure I have some form of it with each meal or snack. For me good choices are string cheese, edamame, almonds, beans, yogurt, cottage cheese, low sodium deli meat and the staples of chicken breasts, turkey and fish. Put that together with lots of veggies and whole grains and you're good to go. Pre-cooking and leftovers are huge fo me. I tend to stray a lot less if I have stuff ready to eat in the fridge. I cannot emphasize strongly enough single serving edamame packs - they're life savers, protein and fiber packed + delish! :)

ETA: My hair grows about 1.5-2 inches per month judging by root growth :)

[toodramatik]

I also have a lot of protein, both because I lift weights and because it's really the only thing that fills me up. Half of my intake is whey, and the rest is usually chicken :)

My hair grows 1-2 inches a month.

[luxepiggy]

I have no idea how much protein I consume, or how much I'm supposed to consume, but I'm quite certain that it's more than enough. I love just about any kind of meat, especially steak! YUM. I'm a big fan of dairy products and tofu as well. Maybe that why my hair grows so quickly? (^(oo)^)v