In January 2023, I celebrated 10 years of lifting. It has been a journey full of ups and downs and a lot of experiences. The one thing that I realised after a few years into this was the importance of nutrition and protein.
Protein is an essential macronutrient and an important part of a healthy diet. It Sis one of three main nutrient groups that our bodies need to survive and gives us energy. Eating enough food for muscle gain is one of the hardest things for most people, myself included. I struggles with it for years until I found a method that helped me stay on track.
Regardless if your goal is to build muscle, lose fat or maintain your current weight, you need to be eating enough food to reach your goals. Muscles need food to grow and if you are not eating enough, you are not going to see the results that you desire.
Nutrition is simple but it is not easy. For anyone who is planning to take their nutrition goals serious this year or is stuck figuring out how to eat enough protein, here are five simple tips to increase your protein intake.
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Think Protein First
When you are planning your meals, always think protein first. That is the centrepiece of your meal. Once you have selected your desired choice of source, you can start choosing your carbs, fats and veggies. This applies to all meals and snacks to ensure that you are getting a balanced diet and the essential sources of energy.
If you want to build muscle, lose fat or maintain your weight, aim to eat at least 1g of protein per bodyweight. Also aim to have one source with every meal/snack that you eat.
Choose High Sources
Start by choosing and adding high protein sources to every meal. This will help you reach your targeted protein goal by the end of the day. Here are some sources to add to your shopping list:
- Chicken
- Steak
- Salmon
- Sardines
- Eggs
- Chia seeds*
- Chickpeas*
- Lentils*
- Greek yoghurt
- Tuna
- Cottage cheese
- Protein powder*
* Sources for vegetarians and vegans
Add More To Your Current Intake
Take a look at what you are currently eating and add more to your current portions. If you already have an egg for breakfast, have two eggs instead. Combine animal and plant based sources to have a variety in your diet. For example, salmon and chickpeas, sardines and eggs, chia seeds and yoghurt etc. Increase what you are currently eating as a small adjustment goes a long way.
Snacking on Protein
If you enjoy eating snacks, add a high source of this essential macronutrient to them. Greek yoghurt, beef jerky, deli roll ups, cottage cheese are great foods to snack on. For my lactose intolerant girlies, a lot of these high source snacks have dairy in it. One of my favourite things to snack on are chickpeas and creating a smoothie with high protein milk.
Protein Supplements
Lastly, adding a supplement when you can’t reach your targeted goal with just food alone. I want to add a caveat to this one: real food first. Supplements are only there to supplement your diet and not replace it. A lot of people in fitness make the mistake of having one or more shakes a day and eating protein-made snacks. I have done this and I felt lethargic most of the time. There is nothing wrong with eating these in moderation but they should not replace eating whole foods.
Final Thoughts
Although it is not easy to eat a lot of food and protein, with these five simple tips, you’ll be able to reach your targeted goal and see the progress through your workouts. Focus on adjusting to it over time and your body will get used to consuming that much. Thank you for reading and share this with a friend who would find this useful. Check out my Instagram for more nutrition content. Drop any comments that you have below. If you like health and nutrition, make sure to subscribe to the blog and never miss a post.
Until next time,
Folakemi
