This topic has been a long time coming… the ol’ “but I did add some protein!” debate.
It’s something I hear a lot from friends and family, and I see a lot in client food journals before we do the work ;)
It so clearly indicates to me that you KNOW it’s important, but don’t really know how to do it right…
I want to talk about the measly handful of nuts, or scoop of hummus that’s the extent of added protein in your meal!
For 9 out of 10 people, it’s simply not enough. Even getting a “recommended daily allowance” of protein, might not be optimal for your body. A health sciences researcher, John Carbone, writes “despite greater awareness of how higher-protein diets might be advantageous for muscle mass, actual dietary patterns, particularly as they pertain to protein, have remained relatively unchanged in American adults.” (Read more here.) So we know it’s important, but that doesn’t mean we’re taking any steps to change it.
If you’re someone who needs to:
1. Build or maintain lean muscle mass.
Psst - that’s pretty much everyone! Increased muscle mass improves long term health outcomes across the board. Especially for those dealing with insulin resistance, and women of any age and particularly peri/post-menopausal women.
OR
2. Stabilize blood sugar for better energy, sleep and mood throughout the day…which is also pretty much everyone!
Then prioritizing protein is a MUST. And I’m not talking about a tablespoon of chia seeds in your smoothie.
My goal for clients is anywhere from 30-40g or even 50g of protein per meal.
For context:
2 Tbsp of hummus = 3g protein
2 Tbsp almond butter = 8g protein
2 Tbsp chia seeds = 5g protein
1 oz cheddar cheese = 6g protein
¼ C almonds = 6g protein
½ C black beans = 8g protein
That’s a LOT of nuts, seeds, beans + cheese to be adding to your meals to hit that goal of 30g for breakfast, and 40-50g with lunch and dinner.
If you’re not sure how much protein you’re currently getting per meal, you can use a free app like Cronometer, which has a huge database of foods you can search and add to your meals for an accurate representation of the carbs, fat and protein you’re getting with each meal.
And here’s a surprise - I don’t care about calories. *gasp*
How many calories you eat (so long as it’s enough!) doesn’t give me nearly as much information as the balance of protein in those meals.
Here are some easy ways to add more protein to your meals to hit that 40g protein target:
3 large eggs = 18-20g protein
¾ C 0% Greek yogurt = 18g
1 C 2% cottage cheese = 27g
1 chicken sausage = 12-15g (chicken sausage tends to be higher in protein than pork because it’s leaner)
1 chicken thigh = 28g
1 can of tuna = 43g
6 oz salmon = 34g
¼ lb of beef = 21g
As the quote from Carbone above suggested, even though we know protein is important, we’re still not eating enough of it on a daily basis.
I know personally for me, it was a matter of feeling like animal protein was bad or unhealthy for a long time. It’s taken years of learning and experimenting with higher protein levels to understand how much better I feel with adequate protein in my diet.
If you’ve read this far (Yay, I love that you’re enjoying this topic!), I’d love to know, what feels like the barrier for YOU to get adequate protein in each meal or as a daily total?