How to Easily Eat More Protein

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All thoughts & opinions remain my own.

Protein has been getting so much media attention lately, and for a good reason! Protein is such a vital macronutrient, yet it’s one that most people are lacking in. And if you’re trying to lose weight, lean down, or build muscle then protein might even be the most important macronutrient of your diet! So let me explain exactly why protein is important and how to easily eat more of it!

The Importance of Protein

Protein is made up of amino acids, which are the building blocks of muscle. This is why protein consumption is so crucial for a healthy body composition. So if you want to build muscle, you need to make sure you’re eating enough protein. But if weight loss is your goal, then you also want to make sure that you’re eating enough protein, or else you might start to break down your muscle. And when losing weight you want to make sure you’re losing your fat, and preserving your muscle as much as possible.

Protein can also:

• build muscles, blood, skin, hair, nails, and internal organs
• help the body grow & repair itself
• help fight disease
• help you feel full longer

How Much Protein Should You Eat?

The amount of protein you need to consume each day depends on a lot of factors, such as age, height, gender, and activity level. It also depends a lot on your goals, whether it be to lose weight, gain weight or even maintain your weight. The research is really split on how much protein people should be consuming. However typically it all agrees on somewhere between .5-1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight. This means that a 200lb person needs to eat anywhere from 100-200 grams of protein each day. If you need help deciding exactly how much protein is right for you, then check out my one-time custom macro offering and let me take the guesswork out of it!

What Foods are High in Protein

Here a list of some common foods that are high in protein. Obviously this is not a complete list, so feel free to eat others foods that you enjoy.

Meat

• Chicken
• Pork
• Beef
• Turkey

Seafood

• Shrimp
• Tilapia
• Salmon
• Swordfish
• Crab
• Lobster

Dairy

• Cow’s Milk
• Yogurt
• Cheese
• Cottage Cheese
• Whey Protein Powder

Vegetarian Options

• Nuts (almonds, walnuts, peanuts, cashews, etc)
• Flaxseeds
• Tofu
• Quinoa
• Eggs
• Edamame
• Plant Based Protein Powder
• Bone Broth Protein Powder

How to Eat More Protein

If you feel like your diet is lacking in protein, here are my top tips for incorporating more protein into your day!

• Plan each meal around a source of protein. Make protein the star of each meal! For breakfast think about having eggs or yogurt. Then for lunch have a salad with grilled chicken on top. Then for dinner have half of your plate be a source of protein, such as salmon and then surround it with veggies.
• Have protein with every snack. See if you can incorporate a little protein with every snack. Do you usually have a banana as a mid-morning snack? Add a handful of almonds or a tablespoon of peanut butter. Do you normally have pretzels at night? Try adding in a cheese stick.
• Set a goal for each meal. If you’re trying to eat 100 grams of protein each day, then plan to spread it out between meals. For example plan to have 25g at each meal, and then that leaves you 25g to spread out between snacks.
• Consider a supplement. If you find it too difficult to consume enough protein each day, then it might be time to consider adding in a supplement. There are so many different protein powders and bars on the market these days, so find one that you like and add it into your day somewhere. My personal favorite protein powder is About Time and my favorite bars are RX bars.

Need Help?

If you’ve been trying to eat more protein on your own but aren’t successful, let me help you! I also offer 4 and 8 week macro coaching plans where I can give you more ideas and help you plan out your days.