Get the Most From Your Meals

The above meal is eight ounces of broccoli and six ounces of cod.  It has 239 calories, 45 grams of protein and only 12 grams of carbs.  Now, that's almost one pound of food, so you won't have to worry about being hungry.  It's also low in fat (about 2 grams) and will most defiantly keep you full for at least two hours.  If you add lemon juice and salt for flavoring, the meal only has four ingredients.  

Many people who come into Baseline are worried about getting enough protein in their diets while trying not eat too many calories.  The trick is figuring out where the majority of your calories are coming from.  For example, if you eat lots of "junk" foods like crackers, cereal bars, chips, cookies, sauces, etc.,  you are consuming a very high amount of carbohydrates but almost no protein.  There isn't any reason you can consume over 150 grams of protein a day while still losing weight, if your calories are coming from the right sources.

The meal above has 239 calories, as I mentioned before.  What does that look like?

Foods with comparative calories:

3 Oreo cookies

1 small McDonald's french fry

2 1/2 tablespoons of butter

1 cup tomato soup

2 1/2 ounces of cream cheese

1/3 cup almonds

1 Hershey Bar

1 Grilled Snack Wrap from Wendys

1 and 1/2 Nutri-Grain Bars

1 cup frosted shredded wheat with 1/2 cup milk

1 Three Cheese and Broccoli Lean Pocket

Some of the foods above are not "bad" for you, but you can see that for the same amount of calories in the pictured meal, you will not even come close to getting the amount of protein in these comparative meals.  1/3 cup of almonds contains high amounts of heart-healthy fats, but only 11 grams of protein and 19 grams of carbs.

Something else to consider when fixing your plate for dinner is the "staying power" of the foods you are about to eat. Tomato soup may sound like a healthy option, but is it going to sustain your hunger until your next meal?  The same thing goes for the lean pocket and Wendy's Snack Wrap.

Getting the most out your meals can be easier than you think.  Load up on veggies like broccoli, asparagus, green beans and salad greens.  These foods take more work for you to digest and help keep you full longer, not to mention they have lots of antioxidants and vitamins for good health.  Lean protein in 4 to 6 ounce portions is an excellent way to consume your protein without consuming all the extra calories you'll get from ground beef, fried chicken, or any processed meats.  Chicken, white fish, tuna, salmon and buffalo meat are all very lean and offer upwards of 45 grams of protein per serving, and contain 200 calories or less.