These days it doesn’t seem too difficult to eat enough protein, but this is not entirely true. Trainimal Woman coaches hundreds of clients every week and that gives us a huge amount of experience of facts and reality, without any need for guesswork.
You need protein in order to build muscle, but also in order to keep the muscle you already have – you really don’t want to lose it!
I will give you a few tips on how to approach protein intake, and how you can increase it if you are struggling to reach the required level. In order to make it easier, you should think: your weight x 1.8g. If you weigh 70 kilos, you should be having 126 g of protein per day.
My tips:
Slow cooker. If you are short of time, this pot is a lifesaver. It will look after itself while you are asleep.
This is what I do: I put frozen chicken breasts in the slow cooker in the evening and go to bed. I wake up in the morning and have 5-6 chicken breasts that I can season as I like and eat with carbohydrates and vegetables, add to an omelette, put in a sandwich or eat on their own if necessary (no shame in that!)
Grilled meat. Even if the barbecue season is over (says who?), you can still carry on grilling meat!
Suggestions of protein to grill: skewers with different types of meat, halloumi and salmon. You can freeze some and defrost them when needed.
Plan your meals. I tend to say that you won’t eat too little (or too much) if you plan what you are going to eat in advance. I’m not talking several days or weeks, but at least one day. Build your meals around the protein – put it on the plate first and then top up with vegetables and carbohydrates.
Protein supplements. Not ideal, but perfect after exercise, or as a snack. Easy to eat on the go – just mix with water or quark, for example!
Larger portions of protein. If you are finding it hard to eat protein, just have more protein with each meal! Think low-fat protein, which will help you avoid unnecessary calories.
Record your protein intake. Sounds easy, but it is also efficient, since you will know exactly how much you are consuming.
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