Eat MORE Of This To Lose Weight and Keep It Off!

The Quick Cut:

• Protein is an essential ingredient that’s going to help you succeed in your fat loss goals, muscle-building goals, and overall living your best life.

• When you have more muscle on your frame, you will be burning more calories naturally around the clock and your metabolism will be higher.

• You want your protein to make up about 50% of your calories; a minimum of 40%. If you're not doing that, then your calories are being generated by carbs and fat.

The Long Slice:

I want to tell you about one of the most important things you can eat if you are truly committed to losing weight, having the best body and living your best life.

It's the kind of thing that is easy to overlook, and it's the kind of thing that’s easy to overestimate. 

One thing that you're probably not eating enough that you should be eating more of, is protein. 

Protein is the first and most important macronutrient.

Don't take that from me, but take that from the ancient Greeks. The word “pro” in Greek is the word for the number “one. The Greeks gave the name for this essential macronutrients protein based on the number one because it's the number one most important ingredient you can have.

Your body cannot live without protein. It exists in every cell of your body and unlike carbohydrates, and glycogen, that are used for energy, the body cannot exist without what's known as the nine essential amino acids.

What Kind Of Protein To Eat

Protein has been getting a bad rep over the last few years - there have been studies coming out about how processed meats are linked to cancer, for example. A lot of people are going vegetarian or vegan, because they don't trust the way meat is processed, especially in the United States. These meat sources (cows, pigs, chickens, etc) are being fed cheap grains that can cause inflammation in our own bodies.

If  you're going to have protein from animal products, (which I believe there's nothing wrong with, and I actually recommend it to my clients) you must make sure you're having a protein that is from a healthy animal source, such as:

• Grass-fed beef 

• Free-range chicken

• Tuna

• Haddock

• Halibut

• Salmon 

When you are consuming beef and chicken, look for the words “grass-fed” and “free-range” on the packaging. White meat has less fat content than dark meat, and make sure beef is a top round cut.

Serving Sizes To Follow

For the men, one serving is about the size of your fist, for meat. 

Your protein intake should make up about 50% of your calories, with a minimum of 40%. If you're not having enough protein, you're going to be consuming carbs and fat to make up your caloric need. 

That’s not a winning strategy.

If you are having too many carbs or fat, those extra calories will be stored as fat.

One thing I always like to say is, “If you want to be a lean piece of meat, eat a lean piece of meat.”

For example, some high-protein meals are:

• An 8 oz. steak with 3-4 eggs

• 12 oz. chicken breast

 This is also where protein shakes and supplements come in handy.

For example, you could just have 50 grams of protein in your first meal and I can have a protein shake in the afternoon as a snack, which could get another 50 grams as well. 

Protein is thermogenic, which means that it creates heat and the body has to work harder to digest protein. Because it takes a long time to break down protein, a couple of things happen. Protein takes 30% of its calories to digest itself if that makes sense.

So if you're having 100 calories with a protein, the net caloric impact on your body is only 70. Only 70 calories, because the body worked hard to burn that protein to try to digest protein to process it. The other effect of protein is that it digests so slowly that it keeps your blood sugar stable. Protein does not lead to an insulin spike, compared to carbohydrates. This leads to an even level of energy, and you are going to not feel as hungry.

Well there you have it, that's the advantage of consuming protein.

When you have more muscle on your frame, you will be burning more calories naturally around the clock and your resting metabolic rate (RMR) will be higher, and the easier it will be to burn fat and to keep fat off your body. 

For more help on how to lose weight fast by eating protein foods you love, schedule a free call here.