I’ve written about protein a ton already. Don’t worry, I’m not going to regurgitate the same information over and over again.
In fact, I’d encourage you to check out a couple previous articles I’ve written on the topic to get up to speed:
Those are both pretty detailed articles that address topics like why protein is important, how it serves our bodies, and how much protein is optimal on a day-to-day and person-by-person basis.
In this article, I want to give you a simple strategy to follow to help you eat enough protein each day and fit it into your daily life.
If you’re an active person, consuming protein is important. But it can often be a challenge to craft your diet in a way where you’re getting enough. For whatever reason, the typical American diet seems to be much more centered around fats and carbohydrates than protein, and that needs to change (but that’s a topic for a different article on a different day).
Recently with some of my clients this topic of consuming enough protein has come up. Ironically, it’s also been the subject of recent discussion on a few podcasts I listen to. It’s seems timely and appropriate, and I know many people out there are curious.
So… what’s the strategy?
Consume protein at every meal.
Real groundbreaking, I know… But hear me out. It’s a little more detailed than that.
Make the centerpiece of each meal something that is rich in protein. How often do you do that? Think about how many meals exclude protein.
Instead of eating a heaping bowl of pasta, or downing a calorie-packed bagel, or crushing a bowl of cereal, or snacking on a bag of chips… introduce a protein source as the largest element of your meal.
Great protein sources to start with, in my opinion, are:
- Chicken breast
- Steak
- Lean ground beef
- Eggs
- Deli meats like turkey or ham
- Seafood like salmon or shrimp
Just in general, if you’re able to fashion the majority of your meals with those types of protein sources as the focal point, you’re probably getting enough protein each day. This eliminates the concept of having to weigh your food for each meal or meticulously track nutrients each and every day. It also gives you a lot of variety (think about how many different meals you can make with everything I listed above!).
Don’t get me wrong, there’s definitely a place for being more meticulous. I encourage all of my clients to track their food each day. But if you’re just getting started, or if you’re just looking to get started on the right track with your diet, this is a great place to start.
From there, once you’re able to get this part of your diet to become a habit, you can progress into more detailed strategies like trying to get a specific amount of protein each meal and each day. You don’t need to make a science out of everything right now.
So give this a try. Consume protein during each meal of your day. Make a protein source the largest element of each meal, and see how that makes your feel.
I bet it gets you moving in the right direction!
—
CG