The Power of Protein
October 2008
I often get asked for advice on weight loss and exercise. It's common to hear people say: "I'm eating so healthy, and I'm still not losing weight!" Even if you are eating healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables, protein is your key to more energy, increased metabolism, greater fat burning and lean body mass. You need to eat to lose weight!
Start your day with a healthy protein breakfast and eat every 3-4 hours. Include protein at every meal and snack.
Here are some tips to add protein to your diet:
- Buy a roasted chicken for a quick dinner and use on a salad for lunch
- Hard boil a dozen eggs for an easy, protein-packed snack
- Grill/bake extra meat/fish to have for lunch during the week
- Cottage cheese with fruit
- Plain Greek yogurt, Fage or Oikos, (0 or 2%) have the highest protein content of any yogurt (add fresh fruit & walnuts for sweetness and crunch)
- At restaurants, hold the starch on your protein entree and ask for extra veggies
- Quinoa - ancient South American grain is a fiber-rich, complete protein with all nine essential amino acids
- Oatmeal with fruit - try adding: protein powder, chicken or a poached egg
- Snacks - lowfat string cheese, raw almonds, hard boiled eggs, natural peanut butter, slice of nitrate-free lunchmeat (combine each of these with a fruit or vegetable to meet your daily fruit/veggie serving requirement, 7-9/day)
- My favorite fall snack: Natural, sugar-free peanut butter on a whole wheat tortilla & warmed in microwave for 8 sec. Then add thinly sliced apples & drizzle with honey. Fold in half, slice and enjoy!
- Click here for more specific breakfast, snack, lunch and dinner ideas
Portion size guidelines:
- Meat & Poultry: Size & thickness of the center of your palm
- Fish: Size of a checkbook
- Vegetables: Two fistfuls
- Fruit: One fist size
- Nuts: Small handful
- Whole grains: 1 slice bread; 1/2 cup rice, barley or quinoa; limit grains to 1-2 servings per day
If you'd like some assistance getting your weight and eating habits back on track, try a complementary 30-minute coaching session and see firsthand how setting goals, having a plan with accountability will help you be successful.
847-971-3643 / andrea@hgcoaching.com
