Eat Your G̶r̶e̶e̶n̶s̶ Protein
Eat Your G̶r̶e̶e̶n̶s̶ Protein
Why protein is the key to staying full and fit and how you can get enough of it
If you were to track what you ate in a week or even in a single day, would you find that you are eating enough protein? What even is “enough” protein? What kind of protein is best? How do you get more of it in your diet? These are all questions you might ask yourself in a panic once you realize how critical protein is for good health and how little of it you are currently eating.
The benefits of protein
The most commonly known benefit of protein is that it helps you to build and repair muscle and gain strength. We’ve spoken about the benefits of being strong, so it stands to reason that you should be eating anything that makes you stronger. And that macronutrient is protein!
Protein helps you feel satiated due to its prolonged suppression of the hunger hormone ghrelin. When your ghrelin is low, you are less likely to binge on junk foods. Optimizing your protein is a great way to maintain a lean and healthy weight because of this.
As humans age, the above two points become even more important. This is because our metabolism, or basal metabolic rate (calories your body burns to perform functions that keep you alive) begins to lessen. This means that the older you get, the less your calories your body burns while at rest.
Muscle mass is one factor that greatly increases the number of calories that are burned while at rest because muscle is a metabolically expensive muscle to maintain. So, more muscle on our bodies = a roaring metabolism that can help offset any negative weight we might see from grazing on snacks.
So what does eating “enough” protein look like?
Of course, the answer here is that it depends. Protein needs vary from person to person, but I can say with near certainty that it is more than the laughable amount recommended by the government. That shouldn’t surprise you, but for comparison’s sake, use this calculator recommended by the government to see what that would be.
According to the government, I, a 200 lb, 6’2 and 30-year-old male should be eating the following:
First off, let’s take a moment to laugh at the number of carbohydrates it is recommending I eat per day. Is it any wonder most Americans are overweight when the Recommended Daily Values that their doctors are more than likely pushing on them look like this? Now, I'm not implying carbohydrates make you fat - Carbohydrates are a source of fuel for our bodies, especially when used to power you in explosive training sessions or long, sustained cardio-based movements. However, most Americans are not exercising nearly enough to earn those carbohydrates. Hell, the furthest most Americans walk nowadays is to their car in the driveway. I’m just saying that carbs are the only non-vital macronutrient - meaning, we can survive, even thrive, without them.
Now, back to protein. If you exercise at all, and I’m going to assume you do, your protein intake should be much higher. Shoot, even if you don’t (the majority of people do not), your protein should be much higher.
In fact, and this is me with a bit of “bro science” here, you should be eating 0.7-1.0 grams per pound of body weight. The reason I call it bro-science is because if you want to fact-check me, nowadays nearly all “academic” websites and publications will recommend what the government recommends AND say that your protein should come primarily from soy, corn, nuts, beans, broccoli, and a host of other plant-based sources before finally mentioning animal products. Even when these sites mention animal protein sources, they’ll talk about lean, white meat chicken, or egg whites. To say there is an agenda against red meat and healthy animal-based fats would be an understatement
That being said, my “bro-science” does carry some weight in that most fitness professionals generally recommend that if you are trying to gain and preserve muscle, which should be everyone’s goal, you should be eating closer to the .75-1.0 grams per pound of body weight.
What kind of protein is best?
As mentioned above, most websites will start a “Top 10 Protein Sources List” by mentioning soy, legumes, or nuts in their top 3 before giving way to low-fat yogurt, lean skinless chicken, egg whites, and finally, lean ground beef. In my humble opinion, these lists are bullshit.
When you are talking about protein and the amino acids that make them up, you want the most bioavailable sources. Eggs, milk products, and beef consistently rank at the top of the list when it comes to bioavailability. This means that your body can actually use all of the protein for its intended purpose. The following list of top protein sources is my opinion but follows the basic principles of eating like our ancestors while also prioritizing bioavailable protein sources.
Wild game meat such as elk, deer, bison, boar, turkey, moose, or bear
Local (if possible) 100% grass-fed beef or lamb, or pastured, soy/corn-free pork
Local (if possible) soy-free and corn-free eggs
Local (if possible) raw, whole milk, cheese, or yogurt
Wild caught fish such as salmon or trout
I also want to give an honorable mention to 100% beef isolate or grass-fed protein powder to supplement your diet, when real, whole foods aren’t an option.
If you’re wondering how you can eat enough protein, here’s what a day’s worth of eating looks like for me. It takes planning and preparation to eat like this but hopefully, it inspires you to build out your own “protein plan”.
Breakfast:
4 eggs: 24g of protein
2 slices of bacon: 6g of protein
Lunch:
1lb of ground beef: 85g of protein
Dinner:
8oz of elk or deer steak: 56g of protein
Snacks:
16oz of grass-fed, raw milk: 16g of protein
1oz cheese: 7g of protein
That’s 194 grams of healthy, bio-available, muscle-building, satiating protein. If I had a particularly hard workout or I just wanted to mix in something fun, maybe I’d add a scoop of grass-fed, chocolate protein powder to my milk for an extra 22 grams. The above adds up to about 2,000 calories, leaving another 800-1,200 calories for me to fill up on healthy fats, vegetables, and carbohydrates.
Plan your protein first and then supplement with other macronutrients. This will keep you full and eating the foods that help your body the most.
Take action: Tally up how much protein you currently eat in an “average” day. Are you above, below, or on the mark for where you should be for someone who is in pursuit of total health? If you fall short, take note, and use a food calculator to develop a plan of action for getting your protein in.
Do you know someone who struggles to eat enough protein? Help them out by sharing this link!
And, stay tuned for next week’s email on the journey our foods entail just to end up on grocery store shelves.
Until next time…
Sebastian