The lowdown on protein
How To Get More Protein Into Your Diet
As we head into peri-menopause and especially if you’re post-menopause, your need for protein increases. We need an abundance of amino acids for the body to make the proteins we need. This process generally slows down with age but if we are providing the body with the ingredients, it will make what it needs in abundance.
An increase in protein will give you improved hair, skin and nails as well as keeping you fuller for longer , controlling your blood sugar levels and help in building muscle tissue.
So how do you get more into your diet? I’ve put together some things for you to try here.
Increase your portion
I’d say this is one of the simplest ways to increase your protein; just make your portion bigger. So you’re having 1 chicken breast? Add another half to your plate. If you do this for every meal, it’ll add up.
Know your target
It helps to know how much protein you need so you have that goal. As a minimum, aim for 1g of protein per kg of bodyweight. So if you weigh 65kg, you need 65g of protein MINIMUM. Ideally you’d build up to 1.5-2 x your bodyweight but if your current protein intake is at the lower end, your bodyweight is a good starting point.
Once you consistently meet your bodyweight target, keep increasing by 10g or so each week until you get to 1.5 x your bodyweight. So for 65kg, you’ll aim for 100g (I’ve rounded this up). Depending on your gaols, you may want to keep going to read 2 x 65kg which gives you a target of 130g protein.
There always has to be a starting point so follow these goals to get you started.
Split it up
It’s all good having that protein target but it can be overwhelming initially. It’s much more manageable when you split it up. Let’s say you target is 100g, aim for 30g with breakfast, 30g with lunch and 30g with dinner. If you have nay snacks this will make up the other 10g, if not, make your dinner goal 40g.
Overall if you aim for 30g of protein per meal and 10-15g per snack that should get you over 100g.
Vary your sources
Get your protein from meat, poultry, fish and plant sources. The more variety you have, the easier it will be and the more diverse you gut bacteria will be.
Beef, pork, chicken, turkey, duck, veal, cod, sea-bass, tuna, sardines, eggs, biltong/jerky, ham
Nut butters, Greek yogurt, Skyr yogurt, cheese, milk, protein bar, protein powder, lentils, beans, chickpeas, cream cheese, cottage cheese, almonds, cashews, Brazil nuts, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds,
Shake it up
No shake should ever replace food, but it can be good to add a protein shake. These can give you 20-30g of extra protein so if you struggle to hit your target, they can be useful. Don’t get dependant on them tough as foods always superior to powder. Nutristrength, Warrior Vegan protein, Protein Work, BULK and awesome supplements are brands I have used and like (no affiliation here).
Protein powder can also be added into muffins, pancakes and stirred into yogurt.
If your new to these, start with a half-scoop portion to get used to the taste/texture
Eat your protein first
This isn’t a way of reducing calories or anything, it’s simply to make sure out eat the protein portion you’ve put out
Make protein the main man
Lots of our typical home favourite meals are focused around the carbohydrates – pasta, baked potato, sandwich – so change this to make protein the main thing and the carbs/veg/fruit/fats work around that.
Have protein snacks handy
Especially when you’r out and about, it can be hard to hit that protein target. Have a protein bar, pack of cooked chicken, edamame beans etc with you while you’re on the go.
Add the plant sources
If your gut tolerates it, make sure you’re adding lentils, beans, chickpeas, edamame beans, peas to your dishes as these can really boost your plant intake and protein.
I’d love to know if you’ve found this helpful at all.
When we work together, this is one of the priorities we focus for improving nutrition.
If you’d like to chat more about it just drop me an email at [email protected]