All About Protein

Every food we eat is made up of combination of three essential macronutrients: protein, carbohydrates, and fat. While all three macronutrients have their own unique roles, protein is often considered the most important.

It’s easy to think that eating protein is only important for bodybuilders and elite athletes, but it plays a crucial role in all of our bodies, regardless of our age or athletic ability. Protein is essential in building, maintaining, and repairing tissues and also helps perform vital functions that aid in our body’s immune processes. 

Protein plays a large role improving performance, optimizing overall health, and creating aesthetic progress.

EATING FOR PERFORMANCE || When we exercise, we are actually damaging muscle fibers. Protein plays an important role in repairing damaged muscle and rebuilding new muscle tissue. If you are working towards improving performance, protein is essential for building muscle mass and helping you optimize both your performance and recovery. 

EATING FOR OPTIMAL HEALTH || Even if you’re not trying to lose body fat or become a better athlete, the important functions of protein that we covered on the last page still apply to you. Adequate protein keeps you full, strong, and functioning optimally.

EATING FOR AESTHETICS || Eating adequate protein helps you maintain your lean muscle mass so that the weight you lose is a product of losing body fat, not losing muscle mass. Protein also requires more energy to digest and, as a result, can keep you full when you are eating in a deficit. 

HOW MUCH PROTEIN DO I NEED?

An ideal protein intake range is between 0.73-1 gram per pound of body weight. If you weigh 150 pounds, that would mean a range between 109-150 grams of protein daily.

0.73 x 150 = 109
1 x 150 = 150

If your current diet does not contain a lot of protein, if you are not exceptionally active, or if you have a higher starting body fat percentage, start on the lower end of that range. If you already make it a point to add protein to your diet, start on the higher end. You have the flexibility to choose anywhere within the protein range you calculated. Don’t stress too much about it!

HOW TO HIT YOUR PROTEIN GOAL

Dramatically increasing the amount of protein you eat can be intimidating. It is best to break up your protein intake throughout the day and just focus on adding a protein source to every meal.

That doesn’t mean your days have to be strictly chicken breast and protein shakes.

While meat and protein powder may come to mind first when we think of easy protein sources, protein can be added to your diet in many different ways. Here is a quick list of some common foods that can add protein to your day:

LEAN MEATS

Chicken breast

Chicken thigh

Lean ground turkey

Sirloin steak

Lean ground beef

Pork tenderloin

Sliced deli meat

DAIRY/EGGS

Egg whites

Eggs

Nonfat greek yogurt

Milk

2% cottage cheese

Low-fat cheeses

FISH/SEAFOOD

Canned Tuna

Salmon

Cod

Mahi-Mahi

Shrimp

Crab

Scallops

PLANT-BASED

Lentils and beans 

Edamame

Chickpeas

Mushrooms

Leafy green vegetables

Peanut butter powder