Dietary Changes to Maximize the Use of Protein

Anytime that you’re trying to lose weight, you need to make sure you’re getting the protein that helps you reach your goals. The best way to do that is by maximizing the use of protein in your meal plan.

Protein and Carbs

It’s a given that you need both protein and carbs as part of any healthy plan to lose weight. But it’s not going to do you any good to make sure you’re getting plenty of protein if you’re still not paying close attention to the amount of carbs that you eat.

You have to eat fewer carbs, but up your intake of protein to create the balance that your body needs. Some people who are trying to shed unwanted pounds think that because protein is necessary for muscles and tissue repair and does all sorts of good things for the body, that you need to have an abundance of it.

Your body can’t use large influxes of protein all at one time to aid in weight loss. You can certainly eat it, but the weight loss benefit you hoped to gain from larger portions of protein won’t happen.

That’s because your body has to digest the protein in order for it to be able to use it. You can’t absorb a lot of it at once, so that’s why you should forget eating the larger meals with all of the carbs and protein and eat smaller meals instead.

Eat your protein in increments of 5-7 times a day. If you do that, your body is better able to absorb it and it will help you lose weight. Some diet plans will tell you that the more protein you eat, or if you focus solely on eating protein, then you’ll lose weight faster.

But you’re wasting your effort because your body uses the protein that you eat based on your body weight. What happens when you don’t eat fewer carbs and you don’t balance your protein is that your body has a cut off limit for what it will process and use.

Both extra carbs and protein that your body doesn’t need goes exactly where you don’t want it to go – it turns into fat. A quarter to half of all of your calories should be protein.

The thing about losing weight is that you really do need to be flexible with how you plan your eating. Not every day of your life is the same. You might use more energy on one day while barely using any the next.

You can adjust your carb intake based on what goes on in your life. When you’re having some really strenuous workout days where you’re pushing yourself, you can and should have more carbs on those days - but not so much that it’s counterproductive to weight loss.

Protein and Carbs: How Much Do You Need?

Protein is key to losing weight. You need to stay healthy; you need your muscles to be strong and you need plenty of energy if you’re adding exercise to your routine.

Eating protein throughout the day will keep your metabolism up as well as your energy. You also get your energy from carbs. But there are some carbs that don’t offer you much in the way of health benefits.

These empty carbs will raise your sugar level, give you a fast burst of energy, then drain it all away. These roller-coaster ups and downs aren’t good for you and can derail your weight loss plans.

That’s why it’s important for you to know exactly how much protein you need and how many carbs you should be consuming. When it comes to eating for weight loss, most people struggle to get in the amount of protein they need while getting in too many carbs.

This out of balance eating not only causes weight gain, but also fatigue. Knowing how much protein you should eat is a fairly easy fix. You need approximately .8 grams for every kilogram of weight.

If you break that down, it’s between 40-50 grams of protein for women who are not active and 50-60 grams for men who aren’t active. These numbers change once you add an exercise program.

When it comes to knowing how much you need to eat in the carbohydrate category, you need to know that it’s best to use a standard or average suggestion.

Obviously, to lose weight, you would need to eat fewer carbs than what you have been eating. When you’re figuring up the amount of carbs you need, always figure out your activity level first.

Then apply your age and your weight. Most eating plans suggests a carb level of between 50 and 100 grams per day when you’re trying to lose weight. You need to listen to your body once you have a calculation in mind.

It will tell you whether or not you’re eating enough carbs. If you’re watching your carb level intake and keeping it lower than you usually have, you can sometimes experience side effects.

Some of the more well know side effects of not eating enough carbs are nausea, headaches, shakes, bad breath, no energy, irritability and constipation. You can also experience low blood sugar levels that leave you feeling weak and dizzy.

One thing to keep in mind is that you can add more protein to your diet when you cut back on processed carbs. You can easily do that by cutting way down or better yet, eliminating the junk food from your day.

Convenience Eating

Elaborate, time consuming meals and snacks are a thing of the past. Today, it’s all about convenience. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Getting to eat your food fast can be a time saver that gives you more time to do the things that you want to do.

Plus, it can be an energy saver. No one wants to spend two or three hours working on a meal. The faster the better has become the norm. However, there can be a price to pay for convenience.

Not all quick foods are good for you. They can be loaded with calories, carbs and sodium - none of which are helpful to your body in excess. But when you’re trying to lose weight, you need to play for convenience because there will be those days when you’re going to have to grab something to eat faster than you expected.

If you’re not prepared, one of two things will happen. You’ll snack while you’re waiting for your food to get ready and can easily add an extra 300 or more calories to your daily intake.

Or, you’ll end up stressed and hungry at a fast food or other type of restaurant and you’ll end up overeating. Convenience doesn’t have to mean foods that are bad for you or foods that you end up going through a drive-through to get.

You can plan ahead and make sure that your meals - as well as your snacks - are readily available. You can balance them out with the right amount of protein and minerals.

One way to do that is to have a way to keep food that’s fast and accessible on hand. Obviously, if you need some protein fast, you might not have time to wait for some lean meat to cook.

You certainly don’t want to eat something that’s processed to get the protein. But there is something that you can do. Make sure that you have foods on hand for weight loss that are well known for their convenience.

This would be foods like protein shakes that are already prepared. These will boost your energy without giving you the crash of energy you want to avoid. Plus, they’re good for you.

They come in a variety and you can pick them up in cans, bottles or use the powder to quickly make your own right at home. There are also convenience bars you can get.

You can get protein bars that contain all of the protein that you need for a snack or even a meal. It’s important (not just for your weight loss but for your overall health) that you plan your meals for convenience.

When you know what you’re going to eat for your meals and what your snack options are, it makes it easier for you to make the right choices. Plus, there are steps that you can take that can help you stay on top of making sure you’re getting the right levels of protein as well as carbs.

You can also make sure that you’re getting all of your nutritional needs met by simply planning. The best way to do that is to get a calendar that has the larger squares on it.

These should give you plenty of space to write in. Then what you do is write out the meal that you’re having for each day of the week. You would do this for each meal and divide the meals by at least five so you spread out the protein intake.

Beside each of the meals that you write out, you would list a P followed by a short dash to indicate the grams of protein you’re getting. So, your calendar might look something like P-10.

For carbs, you would use a C. This is a quick-glance way of you being able to track your protein and keep your weight loss goals on track. For your snacks, you would list those and use the same letters.

The key to great meal planning is to stay organized and buy foods that support your weight loss decisions. If it’s not in the house, you can’t eat it. Or, learn how to eat small, mindful portions and pair a protein with a carb to stay satisfied, longer.

Ten Tips to Help You Maximize the Use of Protein Every Day

When you talk about protein and how it helps the body with weight and muscles, some people get a mental image of a bodybuilder with both hands loaded with meat.

You don’t have to constantly walk around with protein in hand in order to add it to your diet. Making sure that you get the amount of protein that you need is a lot easier than you can imagine.

#1. Make sure that you’re not substituting filler protein for the real deal.

You can buy protein in convenience packaging. But some of these meals don’t give you the full weight of the protein. Instead, extenders, binders or fillers are used.

Some of these are products that aren’t in any way associated with healthy protein. So, you don’t get the true amount of protein that you think you’re getting. You want real, lean protein options.

#2. Make sure that you’re eating protein in some form with every meal.

This will help make sure that you’re getting an amount of protein that’s helpful with weight loss. Plus, you’ll stay fuller - which will also help you lose weight. So if you know you’re eating a piece of fruit, which is a carb, add a chunk of cheese or lean meat to go with it.

#3. Seek out ways to increase the amount of protein in each meal.

When it comes to protein, many people who want to lose weight end up concentrating on the main entrée as their only source of it. You should look for ways with each meal to up your intake of protein.

That means you need to look for how you can add it to your side dishes and any appetizers. For example, if you were eating a low carb tortilla filled with refried beans and cheese, you could put fewer beans and add lean grilled chicken to the burrito.

#4. Make snack time synonymous with protein.

Every time you have a snack, it should include some type of protein. You’ll get the benefits of an energy boost along with soothing any munchies that you might be experiencing.

#5. Consider other forms of protein.

Some people, especially those who aren’t juicers and don’t use protein supplements, don’t realize that not all protein has to be eaten. Adding protein to beverages is a quick and easy way of adding protein to your meals or snacks.

#6. Become a meal prepper or planner.

Planning your meals can help you see if your carbs are taking over your proteins. By cutting back on the carbohydrates, you’ll have room in your stomach for more protein.

#7. Ditch junk food for good.

Weight loss tips always tell you to cut out the junk food. It’s not just because these foods are high in empty calories and not healthy. It’s because they take up room in your calorie and carb intake that you can use for protein.

#8. To make sure that you’re getting the protein that you need and keeping the cravings for junk food at bay, keep some with you.

There are convenience protein snacks that you can put in your car for those times when you’re stuck in traffic and dying to have something to eat. You can also take protein foods to the office with you every day and keep some at your desk. This way, you’re not tempted to get up and hit the vending machine when you’re feeling hungry.

#9. Eat on a schedule.

Protein can help you lose weight more effectively when you’re eating your meals and your snacks at the same time every day. This keeps your body’s energy levels up and allows you to be more mindful with your meals.

#10. Remember that not every protein is equal.

The amino acids in protein do vary from food to food and so do the grams of protein. To make sure that you’re not eating too many calories all day long, choose foods that have more grams of protein.