How to get more protein in your diet
How to get more protein
in your diet
Oestrogen is anabolic - it drives lean muscle development. When it drops (and eventually stops), guess what? You start losing even more muscle mass. This is why it's important to eat more protein as you go through perimenopause and out the other side. You combine this with the exercise that stimulates muscle building (ie lifting progressively heavier weights over time).
Why is having muscle important?
Because it has huge health benefits. Longevity, vitality, mental wellbeing, strength (both physical and mental), confidence and shape!
Lifting weights + eating protein
= muscle building
"So, how much should I be eating?"
Thanks for asking. On a day when you're not even exercising you need 1.8 to 2g (even up to 2.2g/kg) of protein per kg of bodyweight. What the hell does that mean?
If you're 9 1/2 stone = 60kg, 1.8 x 60 = 108g of protein a day. Personally I'd go for the 2g/kg so that's 120g per day.
There's no point eating it all in one go. You need to space it out evenly throughout the day to maximise the body's ability to use it for muscle protein synthesis (but also other functions). Every meal should include a big portion of protein.
Two eggs for breakfast is NOT high protein
It doesn't all have to be animal protein either. Plant foods have protein too.
A tracker app can help you, Lose It! is a good one or My Fitness Pal.
Breakfast 30g
Snack 15g
Lunch 30g
Snack 15g
Dinner 30g
For example...
Breakfast
An egg 6-8g
Egg white 4g
Make scrambled eggs with 2 large whole eggs and 4 egg whites (you can buy a carton of egg white). One slice of wholemeal bread has 3g of protein. That's 33g of protein at breakfast.
Dinner
1 tin of tuna, 26g
1 wholemeal wrap, 9g
Bit of grated cheese, 7g
Handful of spinach, 0.5g
Tea
1 large chicken breast, 40-52g
Red lentil pasta, 6g
Green veg
Snack ideas
Greek yogurt & almonds
High protein yogurt (see pics)
Hummus
Peanut butter
Eating more protein means you'll feel better - more energy for a start off. Trust me.