Benefits:
The third point in the Fuel section is to ensure you’re eating enough protein. This will support your training and can aid in achieving fat loss goals.
Benefits of eating adequate Protein:
- Thermic Effect – it takes more energy to breakdown proteins than carbohydrates.
- Necessary for repair – cellular as well as muscular
- Lean Body Mass Gain
- Satiety – protein sources often fill you up quicker and can stop you overeating.
- Hormonal effect of eating Protein (Glucagon) is fat release, rather than fat storage (Insulin is the hormonal response to eating Carbs)
- Easy to swap Protein for Carbohydrate as same cals per g
Action:
Eat 1.5g of Protein, per Kg of Lean Muscle Mass, per day
You can find out what your Lean Muscle Mass is by using scales which measure your bodyfat. They will tell you your weight and how much of that is Skeleton, Water, Body Fat and Lean Muscle tissue. This is much better data to have than your weight alone, as you wouldn’t necessarily need as much protein if you were overweight and not carrying as much muscle.
Vary your source (meat, poultry, fish, eggs etc.) and try to get a quality source of Protein at each main meal.
Use MyFitnessPal (or a similar nutrition app/website) to track
Food Sources:
Fish & Shellfish – Any.
Examples: Salmon, Trout, Bream, Mackerel, Sardines, Tuna, Monkfish, Sea bass, Prawns, Mussels, Crab etc.
Lean Meats – Any.
Examples: Beef, Lamb, Chicken, Turkey, Duck, Pork, Game (Venison, Pheasant etc.), Any other exotic meat (Croc, wild boar etc.)
Eggs:
Poached, boiled, scrambled etc.
Vegetarian/Vegan:
Tofu, Lentils*, Chickpeas*, Beans*, Nuts & Seeds*, Vegetables*
* Be aware: these sources also contain large quantities of Carbohydrate and/or Fat.
