The Protein Struggle
The Quick Guide To Eat More Protein
Do you feel that no matter how much food you eat, you are unable to eat enough protein in a day? Eating enough protein in a day is an incredibly simple concept, but sometimes an IMPOSSIBLE task. In this article I am going to give you a few simple and effective ways you can make hitting your protein marks simple. Before we get started, I want to introduce myself, my name is Joey Placious, I am a personal trainer and the founder of KangaMovement.
First off, I want to talk a little bit more about protein before giving you these tips. There are a lot of conversations to be had around protein. Some of these topics include, how much protein should I be eating? What are the best foods to eat to hit my protein marks? “How much should I eat if I am a bit overweight because the general rule I’ve heard is 1 gram per pound of body weight?”. There are a ton of subtopics under the topic of protein.
HOW MUCH PROTEIN SHOULD I EAT IN A DAY? There can be some broscience here but also some backed data on this topic. The general rule of thumb and the most basic one to follow, is 1 gram of protein per LB of body weight. There can be some cases where a bit more or a bit less can make sense, but this is the general guideline I give the vast majority of my clients. The only clients I do not suggest this to are weight loss clients, general rule for weight loss clients is 1 gram of protein per LB of TARGET BODY WEIGHT. Say for example, I have a client who comes to me and they are 350LBS and they want to lose 100LBS. This would be a ton of calories just from protein, and chances of them being in a calorie deficit with this much protein(350 grams) would be near impossible. So the start would be 250 grams of protein, and their carbs and fats would fill in according to the rest of their macro(carbs, fats and proteins) and calorie goal. Dr Milo Wolf suggests that recent studies show .8g-1.3g per LB of body weight is ideal for muscle growth.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BEST SOURCES OF PROTEIN I CAN EAT? This is very simple. And I truly mean simple, DO NOT overthink this. Your foods with the highest protein count are almost always meats and dairy. There are of course some other sources of protein other than these, but these are by far the highest protein count and the easiest to get a ton of protein in. For people who are vegan or vegetarian. For vegans examples will be lentils(18g per serving), chickpeas(15g per serving), black beans(15g per serving) . For vegetarians you have these on top of eggs(6-8g per egg), greek yogurt(12-20g per serving), cottage cheese(14g roughly per half cup). So people who are vegan or vegetarian have options. But meats are still are generally a higher protein count. Take 90/10 beef or bison for example, this will usually be around the 22-25g of protein mark per serving(4oz). Chicken is generally around 25g of protein per 4oz depending on part of the chicken. My general thought process on a lot of this stuff is to not overthink it, eat what you like, and have a variety of whole foods to ensure a well balanced meal and way of eating.
WHY SHOULD I EAT SO MUCH PROTEIN? Well for starters, the first and only reason is to get INCREDIBLY JACKED. In all seriousness though it is not only for muscle growth, there are many benefits to eating more protein and eating a high protein diet. Such as, you are more likely to build more muscle(there are ton of benefits to more muscle mass which I won’t get into in this article), you will feel more satiated eating more protein(if you struggle to overeat, eat more protein and you won’t be as hungry), it will immensely aid in strength growth(if you aren’t eating enough protein, recovery will struggle and you will take a lot longer to recover from working out, and you will not make as much progress as you could. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t want to get as strong as they possibly can!). Eating a high protein diet is SO important, you will feel better, move better, sleep better, recover better, and live a way better life. In my personal opinion, I would rather eat a little too much protein than not enough. You will most likely go to the bathroom extra and get rid of any extra anyway.
3 ACTIONABLE TIPS/STEPS:
1. Break down how much protein you are intaking. If you need to hit 150g of protein in a day, just shoot for 30-50 grams of protein per meal instead of thinking of the big picture, break it down into 3 meals with this much protein in each, and for any additional protein needed add a small high protein snack(examples:greek yogurt, protein smoothie, etc.)
2. EAT MAINLY WHOLE FOODS. If you eat mainly whole foods, the likelihood of you eating higher protein is definitely increased from my experience. If you are always eating highly processed foods with lots of added sugars and a bunch of crap ingredients you are more than likely missing your protein marks. Stick to the old meat, potatoes and veggie diet, all whole foods and if you have a meat in there then you probably hit your 30-50g per meal.
3. LAST BUT DEFINITELY NOT LEAST IS TO TRACK YOUR PROTEIN. What better way to know how much protein you are eating than to track your protein? I know it sounds obvious but the truth is people struggle to do this even! It is low effort but just takes some consistent recording. And to be honest this does not need to be done forever, at the bare minimum do it for a month, obtain the skill of how much you are eating and then move on.
Eating enough protein is definitely easier said than done! If this is something you have been struggling with, this is one of the things I help my clients with on a daily basis. And if you need help I would love to help! Feel free to message me directly on my instagram, or fill out an interest form on my website!
Joey Placious
Personal Trainer
Founder of KangaMovement
