16 May EASY WAYS TO INCREASE YOUR PROTEIN INTAKE

Are you consuming enough protein daily? If you feel like your protein intake is slacking, you are not alone! Many people struggle to eat an adequate amount of protein per day.

Whether your goals are to build muscle, lose weight, or simply eat healthier, protein is a vital component of any complete diet. Protein is needed to repair and build tissues in our bodies and is important for essentially every human cell. Our skin, hair and nails are composed of protein. Protein also is the basic building block for our bones and muscles. So, how much protein SHOULD we be eating in a day? How can we ensure that we are getting enough protein to sustain our bodily processes?

Here are 7 easy tips and tricks you can follow to ensure you are consuming an adequate amount of protein, without overdoing it!

1. Learn your protein sources. Figure out which protein sources work best for you and your body. Try things like egg whites, whole eggs, chicken, turkey, fish, shellfish, canned tuna and salmon, or other meats. Just be wary of bacon and processed lunch meats, which often contain nitrates, MSA, and other harmful chemical additives. Beans, peas, nuts, peanuts, yogurt, cottage cheese, nutritional yeast and protein powder are also good sources of protein! Find sources that you prefer and ones that your body digests well.

2. Start with protein first. When composing a dish, start with a protein source and then add in healthy carbs and fats. Prioritizing protein-rich foods will ensure that you are receiving adequate protein for each meal or snack.

3. Space out your protein intake throughout the day. If each meal you eat has a protein source, you are much more likely to consume an adequate amount of protein in a given day. Eating protein with each meal can help with blood sugar control, overall muscle health, and can even curb hunger between meals for those trying to lose weight.

4. Set up a protein target. Figure out how much protein you should be eating in a day to satisfy your goals. If your goal is to build muscle, you may need more protein per day than someone who is trying to lose weight or maintain their weight.
   • The general rule of thumb for muscle gain is to eat around .8 to 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight a day.
   • For the average person, the DRI (dietary reference intake) is .36 grams per pound of body weight. On average, this amounts to 56g of protein for a male and 46g of protein for a female.

5. Learn what portion sizes LOOK like. When you know what a serving size of meat actually looks like, it can help you to not under-do OR over-do your protein intake. Learning to eyeball portion sizes will properly ensure that you are eating balanced meals. As a rule of thumb, 3-4 oz of meat is about the size of your palm. If you eyeball about 4oz of cooked ground turkey, the possibilities in terms of meals are endless (for example you could add the meat to a salad, burrito, quesadilla, or Bolognese sauce).

6. Focus on getting your protein from whole sources if you can. Protein powders are a good source of protein and they are convenient, but they lack other nutrients that many whole foods contain. Whole foods often provide more vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants that protein powders do not.

7. Prep your protein sources ahead of time. My husband and I like to prep a bunch of chicken breasts at once that we can pull from during the week for different meals. I also often make a batch of healthy tuna salad and/or hard-boiled eggs for different lunches. Having prepped protein can make preparing meals a breeze and can make composing a protein-rich meal much less daunting. Even if you don’t have time to meal prep anything else, prepping your protein sources can save you time, stress, and hassle.