Today, I’m going to share a simple guide for beginners on how to eat more protein. This nutrient is essential for muscle growth, repair, and overall health, especially as we age. It'll also help accelerate your weight loss efforts, too.

By the end of today, you’ll understand:

• Why protein is crucial for your health

• How much protein you need

• Easy ways to incorporate more protein into your diet

Importance

Protein is a crucial macronutrient for our body.

It plays a vital role in muscle growth, repair, and maintenance, regulates hormones, supports the immune system, and helps balance fluids.

Most importantly, it helps build and repair muscle, which is crucial for maintaining independence as we age.

Unfortunately, we lose 3-8% of muscle every decade after 30, and this rate accelerates after 60. Despite this, many people are told to eat less protein when, in fact, we need more.

When I tell people how much protein they need, the typical response is, “How am I supposed to eat that much protein?”

It can seem overwhelming, especially if you’ve been under-eating protein your entire life.

Let’s break it down into simple steps to help you get the right amount of protein into your diet.

This is something I spend a lot of time on with my 1:1 clients. I help them adjust what they're already doing so that increasing protein intake becomes easy. You can learn more about my coaching program here.

Implementation

1. Calculate Your Protein Needs

You need 0.8-1 gram of protein per pound of body weight.

For example, a 180 lb man needs at least 144 grams of protein, while a 140 lb woman needs at least 112 grams.

If you're active and/or on a weight loss journey, you'll want to eat closer to that 1g per pound.

(Protein is so important if you're trying to lose weight because it prevents the loss of muscle mass. If you lose muscle, your weight might decrease, but your metabolism is going to take a hit, making things harder for you in the long run.)

2. Track Your Food

The first step to eating more protein is understanding how much you're currently consuming.

Use a calorie and macro tracking app like MyFitnessPal or MacroFactor to track your meals for a week.

This isn't a lifelong commitment but a way to measure and manage your protein intake. Soon, you'll know how much protein is in the foods you eat regularly, and you'll be able to calculate your protein intake in your head.

Don't worry about calories here; we're just focusing on protein.

3. Follow the Daily Protein System

To optimize protein absorption, aim to eat protein 3-4 times a day.

Here’s a list of high-protein foods you should look to incorporate into your meals:

• Meats (in the order that I recommend them): beef, lamb, venison, bison, turkey, chicken

• Fish and seafood: salmon, shrimp, sardines, anchovies (be careful with bigger fish like tuna, which have higher heavy metal and microplastic content)

• Eggs

• Greek yogurt

• Cottage cheese

• Sheep/goat milk

• Legumes (lentils, chickpeas)

• Protein powders (look for grass-fed, organic, and no artificial sweeteners)

Here's how to lay this out, meal by meal:

• High-Protein Breakfast: Start your day with two scoops of high-quality, grass-fed protein powder

• Protein-Rich Lunch: Aim for 35-50 grams of protein. Look to add 1-2 sources from the list above

• High-Protein Dinner: Choose a protein-rich meat like chicken breast, ground beef, salmon, or steak

• Optional Protein Snack: If needed, have a snack like Greek yogurt with honey or a protein shake

If you're still short on protein, try these tips:

• Greek yogurt mixed with protein powder (a great dessert!)

• Use protein powder in your baking - there are tons of recipes online

• Legume pasta (e.g., lentil or chickpea) - these are packed with protein and are much lower in refined carbs compared to standard pasta

Consistency is key. It might be challenging at first, but it becomes easier once you find your rhythm. You'll get familiar with a few key meals that you like that you can easily cycle through.

If you're interested in getting help with this, you can learn more about my coaching program here.