How To Eat Enough Protein
Dec 01, 2023All of my clients know this simple formula:
1 g : 1 lbs
That is, I want them to aim for a minimum protein intake that equals the ratio of 1 gram of protein to every 1 lbs of their ideal body weight.
Classic Example, Real Client, Different Name:
Olivia wants to weigh 130 lbs, so her recommended daily minimum protein intake is 130 grams.
That's the easy part. Now how does this translate to food on your plate? Well, here's some options worth at least just over half (70g) of her total daily protein intake goal:
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How to approximate sizes without a scale:
Most Meat & Seafood: Remember the size of your palm. That’s the approximate size of 3 oz. (& about the same thickness of your palm)
Yogurt: A 3/4 cup is almost the size of your hand when you make a fist. One cup is approximately one fist.
Cheese, shredded: Half a cup of shredded cheese is 3 oz. That's half the size of your hand when you make a fist.
Cheese, uncut: Make a fist and stick you thumb out. The size of your thumb is approximately 1oz.
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For Olivia, getting enough protein was essential for her goals (first: to sustain and grow a healthy baby; and later on: to lose weight / get fitter / increase energy / recovering her painfree period after her firstborn), so we made an open meal plan with some example options.
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Notice how not all days sum up to 130 grams of protein. This way Olivia learns how to make up the difference to reach 130 grams per day through her own snack and meal ideas.
Olivia's job is made really easy on the days she starts her day with Whey Protein Powder Isolate (grass fed please). Collagen and or Collostrom also work very well.
As you can see on Day 1, if she eats no other protein for the remainder of her day, she hits over half her protein goal. Now the remainder of her day is so much easier and she's closer to her golden zone (130g).
Ideally my clients get all their protein from high quality meat sources (grass fed, grass finished, & organic or GMO free-feed ruminant animal meat), but if it's not in the budget or sometimes just takes too long to prepare... then he or she always has that Whey Protein Isolate to meet that minimum daily intake.
Because of her intense work and life schedule, I started Olivia on a minimum 2 scoops per day of the Whey Protein Isolate, spread between breakfast and lunch (all at breakfast works well too!). While she was pregnant, her energy mood and sleep significantly improved - and it all happened within a few days. After her birth, her breastmilk supply stayed plentiful. A few months later, she also noticed she stayed fuller for longer and those days in the gym felt easier to recover from.
What else could you ask from a magic pill?
Answer: Nothing!
And it would sell for thousands of dollars per bottle.
Except this magic pill is just from food - especially high quality animal meat & organs.
How Do I Start?
If you struggled with anything like Olivia did (miscarriages, moodiness, fatigue, and random weight fluctuations), I highly suggest you start with a high quality Whey Protein Isolate Powder.
Ideally, spread each scoop between at least two meals. When you start piling on too much protein per meal, you could have negative blood sugar effects. I usually start seeing such effects with clients around the 60 grams per meal range, but then again, there are outliers like Olivia, who did not feel those negative effects at all, despite a history of hypoglycemia.
This is not surprising, because protein helps our bodies create and maintain all the systems and hormones needed to regulate healthy blood sugar. Usually, people will blood sugar dysregulation are quite protein & mineral deficient.
That's why you want to fine tune what your ideal protein intake is per meal, ideally with the help of a trained professional like yours truly. High quality protein is a powerful tool in my toolbox of functional nutrition to recover my clients' health.
I can help you too, like I did Olivia. She joined my health foundation program and got exactly what she came for:
(1) a healthy pregnancy & birth of her firstborn even after multiple emotionally and physically painful miscarriages,
and after a few months of settling in with her little miracle (soon to be first of 3!), she returned for
(2) how to return into her right sized body, easily and smoothly.
We met, she told me her story, she found out about the structure of my program & how exactly it could help her. She signed up and her results inspired me to write to you about protein's significance.
It was that simple.
Have a wonderful week my friend!