It never fails. My clients and I will calculate their protein needs (Goal body weight multiplied by 1) and they FREAK OUT. Sometimes they even gasp and say, “is it even POSSIBLE to eat ALL THAT PROTEIN?” Well, fret not little lambs, it IS possible and it’s even pleasurable once you get used to it. I am here to provide a few great strategies for how to eat “all that protein” every day. But before I tell you the strategies, let’s review WHY protein is so important for us gals in midlife.
1. Muscles: As we age we start to lose muscle (to the tune of 3% per DECADE!) so consuming protein along with strength training helps us to maintain and build muscles. Remember – the more muscle you have on your body, the more calories you will burn at rest.
2. Protein keeps you feeling fuller for longer than carbs and fats. We know that being in a calorie deficit is the only way to lose fat and well, we want to feel satisfied and happy. Protein does that for us.
3. Protein has the highest thermic effect of all the macronutrients. This means that it takes more work (which equals more calories burned) for your body to digest protein than carbs and fats.
So, Steph, how am I going to eat ALL THIS PROTEIN?
Here’s the formula for protein success:
Divide your TOTAL grams of daily protein by HOW MANY MEALS you like to eat each day.
Here’s an example:
- 150g total protein / 5 meals a day = 30g of protein at each meal
“Okay, okay, that’s great and all…. 30 grams is still A LOT!” (insert thrown papers everywhere and an audible sigh).
Actually, if you are already eating protein at some of your meals, increase your servings by a few ounces! Instead of just eating a carb or a fat for a snack, add a protein from the list attached. A few of my favorites are hard boiled eggs, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, and deli turkey or chicken (all really badass forms of protein!). If you know that you want to eat 30 grams at each meal, find the download button at the top of this blog post, download and print the attached list of proteins. Find the ones you like and figure out how many ounces of each you would need to eat to get to around 30 grams of protein (get close but by all means, you do NOT have to obsess about hitting the EXACT number!). We are shooting for a goal here and if you are just starting out, give yourself some grace!
What are YOUR go-to sources of protein going to be? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.
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