Protein, are you getting enough?

Protein builds muscles. Protein reduces snacking. Protein helps reduce body fat. That sounds too good to be true! But, it is and science proves it! 

I’m sure you eat food with protein such as chicken, yogurt, fish, beef, beans, milk, etc. 

The question is are you eating enough protein-dominant food to achieve your goals?

Here’s a calculator, based on scientific studies, that can help you determine how much protein you need per day. Then divide that number by the number of meals you eat per day (3 - 4 is average.

https://examine.com/protein-intake-calculator/

Was the number higher or lower than you thought it would be? 

Time to measure how much you're currently eating compared to what your body really needs if you want to get stronger. You can do that by actually measuring food, using My Fitness Pal or using your hand as a guide (1 hand palm = about 15 - 20 g of protein depending on the size of your hand)

EXAMPLE:
Let’s look at yogurt. Goal is 30 g of protein for a 125 lb athlete:

• A 16 ounce (¾ cup) cup of Fage 2 percent plain yogurt = 17 g of protein https://usa.fage/products/yogurt/fage-total-2#product-219
  
• So .. you need to add 15 g of protein to this yogurt to create a muscle-building yogurt
  
• Extra protein ideas: 10 nuts (2.8 g), 1 oz oats (4.2 g), hemp seeds (3g), 2 thumbs of nut butter (8 g)
  
• OR instead of adding protein to your yogurt maybe you add protein to a drink:
  

1/4c dry milk to coffee (8g), drink 8 oz milk (8g) or a protein powder drink (20 - 30g)

A lot of math, but you get the idea. 

What you think is a high protein meal, might not be. Thus, you could be lifting weights and wondering why you can’t lift more or aren’t getting bigger muscles. 

What can you do? For two weeks find ways to incorporate more protein into your entire day and prioritize it over carbohydrates and fats. 

Do you need to measure? No, just use the palm of your hand as a measurement tool (since you always have it with you) and add one more palm of protein to your day. 
 See what happens to your performance and how you feel. 

Most athletes I train with who try this experiment consistently for two weeks immediately feel the results of the protein helping to build muscle, improve performance, reduce snacking because they’re full longer and crowd out some of the fats and carbohydrates that may have dominated their meals before. 

Do you want to build muscle, snack less and lose weight? Then why not try this?

If you want help trying this, I have a couple of nutrition coaching spots available and would LOVE to achieve your goals.