Protein 101

Today I’m going to finish up my post on the macronutrients by talking about protein. Protein is important regardless if you’re trying to lose weight, or trying to gain weight. Protein helps you recover from a workouts, give your body the proper materials to produce hormones and enzymes, and it even influences your metabolic rate.

High-Quality Proteins:

All protein is are long chains of amino acids. There are a total of 20 different amino acids and 8 of them are essential (meaning your body cannot produce it so you must consume it).

While there is no “bad protein” or “good protein,” you should aim to try get your protein from sources that gives you good nutrients. For example, instead of getting your protein from a hamburger, try to get your protein from fish to get the omega-3’s (not to mention you’ll be avoiding a lot of saturated fat).

Some good sources of protein comes from sources such as:

Skim milk	Eggs	Pork
Fish	Chicken	Legumes
Peanuts	Nuts	Seeds

Try to avoid getting protein from red meats and high fat dairy sources (such as whole milk).

Other Sources of Protein: 

It is recommended to eat 0.8-1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight depending upon how active you are. If you’re not as active, 0.8 grams per kg of bodyweight should be sufficient. It should be easy to eat enough proteins in your diet, but if you are still having trouble consuming enough protein, you should try adding it from food sources before resorting to protein shakes.

Getting your protein from dietary sources such as nuts, seeds, and fish also give you healthy fats as an extra bonus. If you’re running late and need some quick protein, just drink a cup of milk which has 7 grams of protein. Getting protein in your diet through food sources is also a good way to save money. If you just finished a weight lifting session, of course drinking a protein shake would be more convenient than stuffing down egg whites. I personally use protein shakes but only after a weight lifting session (and occasionally as meal replacements if I am going to miss a meal).