3 Reasons to FOCUS on protein
Oh protein, how I love thee.
I have always been conscious of having good, quality protein sources in my diet but recently I switched to making it my focus of every meal and snack.
I like to switch things up, listen to my body and experiment with how I eat versus how I feel and increasing my protein is something I’ve never fully committed to.
But almost immediately I’ve felt positive changes and here are the reasons why:
- Protein keeps you fuller for longer - If you are an oats girl (no added proteins etc…) for brekkie then this is one of the meals you will notice the biggest difference. Protein at brekkie (think eggs, bacon, adding collagen or protein powder to your oats and coffee) stops that mid morning hunger striking and you will breeze through until lunch without even a rumble.
- It’s REALLY hard to over eat protein based meals - Picture this, you’re out for dinner and smash a huge steak and then get offered the dessert menu… you WILL find room for dessert. But if you were offered a second steak you’d find it harder to chow down. Protein is extremely satisfying and your body has to work hard to digest it therefore that takes longer than say a chocolate ice-cream. More satisfied = less calories = no over-eating.
- It helps build muscle - Ladies, before you become terrified that you’ll end up looking like Arnie after a couple of protein shakes, I assure you that’s just not possible, and also pretty offensive to anyone who has ever worked their literal ass off building muscle. And guess what, that ‘toned’ physique you’re constantly chasing it created by building more muscle.
A good rule of thumb for the amount of protein you need in a day is roughly 1.6-2.2g per kilo of bodyweight. Example: I weigh 60kg so I aim for 120g of protein a day but to make it manageable I break it down to meal. Each meal I aim for 30g of protein and every snack I try for at least 15g.
It takes a little bit of learning at the beginning but pretty quickly you’ll learn how to tweak your favourite meals and snacks and that’s when you’ll start to feel the benefits throughout your day.