One pattern I noticed while reading through my clients' nutrition notes in TrueCoach is there are often meals that have nuts or seeds as the main protein component.
While these things do have some protein in them, we categorize them as fats (not proteins) because most of the calories are coming from fats. So, while nuts are technically “healthy” (and def delicious!) they’re not the right source of protein if your goal is to lose fat and build muscle.
Here’s what I need you to know:
Just because you’re eating healthily doesn’t mean you’re eating for your goals. You may not be giving your body what it needs.
I get it. There are tons of “healthy diets” out there. It can be hard to figure out what works for your body, your budget, and your schedule restrictions.
Here’s a very short list of diets that are spouted as healthy lately:
Vegan
Mediterranean
Vegetarian
no carb
low fat
“clean” (wtf does that mean?!)
local butcher-only meats
organic only
farmers market only
etc etc etc.
Sure we could break down all of these diets and find pros/cons for each of them. But they might not be the best fit for you, given your budget, lifestyle, access or fitness goals.
It all comes down to you and your personal fitness and health goals.
Olympic sprinters eat almost exclusively carbs because they need the energy to run like lightning. Bodybuilders who compete on stage go through phases of bulking diets to build massive muscle and then go on strict restrictive diets to show the details of their physique. NFL linebackers eat like legit mammoths to stay sturdy and a force to reckon with.
Are those healthy diets? I don’t know.
But the fact is, these athletes are eating in a way that supports their career (and thus their fitness goals).
Someone who works from home with a sedentary lifestyle will require a different diet than a professional yoga teacher who bicycles around the city teaching full time, training their clients and getting their own heavy weight workouts in.
If your goal is to lose weight – something I often hear from new clients – then your diet (and lifestyle) needs to support that goal. Which means eating enough protein, fiber, and fruits/veg.
Be aware of your intake. Pay attention to the amount of protein you’re eating. How do you feel after you eat? How about 2 hours later?
It will take practice as well as trial and error to get there.
The rewards are multiple: you’ll feel more satiated, your muscles have what they need to repair after strength training sessions, you’ll be more insulin resistant and so much more. Plus, you’ll be more physically capable and less likely to be injured.
The USDA recommended dietary allowance is a mere .36 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight.
That is only enough protein to meet your basic dietary needs.
If you weigh 165 pounds, that’s 59.4 grams of protein daily to maintain your baseline nutrition.
But when your goal is to get fit and lose weight (ie building muscle to replace fat and change body composition) then your protein intake needs to be triple the RDA mentioned above.
That would be .8-1 grams of protein per pound of your ideal body weight. If your goal weight is 150 lb then your daily protein goal is 120-150 grams.
That might sound like A LOT of protein, especially if you’re used to eating 10g of protein here and there. Realistically tho, you probably don't have a clue how many grams of protein you eat on the regular, right?
Here are my favorite tips for getting more protein:
Eat breakfast, lunch and dinner with a protein source
Eat greek yogurt as a snack or add it into a protein powder smoothie
Introduce protein powder
Try some bone broth
Add in egg whites to dishes
Design home-cooked meals around the protein source
Some efficient protein sources: eggs, egg whites, chicken (breast, thigh, drummies, low sodium deli slices), turkey (breast, ground, low sodium deli slices), lean beef and pork, salmon filets, tuna filets, whitefish, shellfish, lox, greek yogurt, cottage cheese, tofu, and protein powder.
Let’s do a little experiment to build some awareness.
Go to your fridge right now and look at a portion of protein that you usually eat. Measure out a serving size based on the packaging (you can put it back when you’re done). If it’s turkey - take out however many slices of turkey for a serving size and put them on a plate. And mentally note how many grams of protein is in that visual serving.
[ Visually measuring servings is a game-changer, especially if you have a tricky past history with obsessive eating and diet cycles. ]
You can use your hand as a portioning tool. Example: a palm size of protein, a fist size of veggies, a cupped hand for carbs, a thumb size for fats. Depending on your goals, these portions will be different. But the point is, you don’t have to have a scale to be aware of what you’re eating and how it fits into a balanced meal.
If you eat out a lot, then open up your web browser right now. Look up the menu of your favorite lunch spot (example: Sweetgreen) and note the nutritional value in that one dish you eat on repeat. How’s the protein count in it? Do you feel full and satiated after you eat it? Or are you hungry again in a couple hours?
Report back and tell me 1 thing you noticed about your regular protein intake. I’m curious what you find 🙂
-Macklen
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