Protein is the macronutrient that makes us feel full for longer.
This means that if you have it balanced in your day you will have 3 to 5 regular meals, feeling satiated at the end and less likely to reach for the final sugary “bit”.
Carbs and fats are great and also need to be part of your diet, but if you feel like you are protein deficient you may eat extra since you don’t feel as full.
You may also feel more tired, as we need protein to sustain our energy expenditure throughout the day.
Also, your body composition may change, reducing lean muscle mass and if you have weight goals in conjunction with training, you may not be able to reach them.
So here’s some tips to increase protein consumption in your diet, without going crazy and smashing a whole chicken a day.
- Sprinkle pumpkin or sunflower seeds on your meals
- Add nut butter on your toasts or smoothies. I prefer Almond as peanuts are inflammatory.
- If you exercise have a protein shake afterwards, with one scoop of protein and water. It will help you feel full until the next meal. I like collagen peptides, rice or pea protein.
- Boil some eggs at the beginning of the week and keep them in the fridge ready to go, they are a great snack and a great addition to your meals!
- Add quinoa to your shopping list and swap or add it to the meals you would have rice
- Tofu and tempeh are a great source of plant protein, however, they can be a bit bland. I suggest you marinate them for 1-2 hours with olive oil, lemon juice, soy sauce, S&P and any other spice/herb/sauce you may like. Game changer!
- Raw balls are a great source of energy, especially the ones with nuts in. Make sure you choose the ones with more nuts rather than dried fruit, a lot of calories can hide in those!
- Hemp seeds are the protein-bomb, they have a great amino acid profile and are just sooo good! I’m a fan.
- Lastly, if you roast a full chicken, get the bones out (keep them for a bone broth!!) and leave it in the fridge, it’s great for snacking! You can add it to your salads, soups or with your veggies. Not saying that is not good for breakfast, it’s awesome! Who says breakfast has to be sweet?
Below are my references and I have put one article that shows different sources of proteins with their amino acid profile! Awesome read.
References:
Pezeshki, A. et al. Low protein diets produce divergent effects on energy balance. Sci. Rep. 6, 25145; doi: 10.1038/srep25145 (2016).
Gorissen, S., Crombag, J., Senden, J., Waterval, W., Bierau, J., Verdijk, L. B., & van Loon, L. (2018). Protein content and amino acid composition of commercially available plant-based protein isolates. Amino acids, 50(12), 1685–1695. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-018-2640-5
Enjoy my loves! , and follow me on my IG:
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Maddy X