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.

Protein Pudding Recipe

I use this whenever I desperately need something chocolaty but can't bring myself to buy an entire chocolate bar.  I usually eat this as a snack or small meal replacement.

Protein Pudding

2 servings

You will need:

1 and 1/3 cup skim milk (107 calories, 16 carbs, 11 grams protein)

1 small box of sugar free, fat free instant chocolate pudding mix (140 calories, 32 carbs, 4 grams protein)

2 scoops Designer Whey protein powder, natural flavor (200 calories, 4 carbs, 40 grams protein)

Add pudding mix to cold milk.  Whisk for a minute, then add the two scoops of protein powder. Whisk until blended, about 2 more minutes.  Divide into two servings and chill until set ( you can usually eat this within 5 minutes, but waiting 20 minutes will yield thicker pudding)

Enjoy!

Variations:

I have tried other brands of protein powders but the natural flavored Designer Whey mixes and tastes the best.  I have also used other flavors of pudding mixes, with generally delicious results.  Sometimes I will use the "cheesecake" flavored sugar-free, fat-free instant mix and use 1/2 scoop strawberry flavored Designer Whey protein powder, along with 1 and 1/2 scoops of the natural.  Yum!

Nutrition Facts per Serving:

223.5 calories

26 grams of carbohydrates

27.5 grams of protein

What the big deal with protein?

Protein is an essential element of any diet.  Every cell in your body is using the amino acids that make up protein to function.   It is a key part of life, and necessary for survival.

Weight Training

The goal of weight training is to breakdown your muscle, and rebuild it stronger than it was before.  When you are lifting really heavy weight, you are tearing the fibers in your muscle.  In order for those fibers to repair and re-grow, you need to consume protein after your workout. Consistent weight training sessions let your body know that "hey, I need more muscle in order to lift weight", and it will want to respond by building bigger muscle in order to meet the training demands you are putting on yourself.  Muscle is mostly made up of water and protein and cannot re-grow without it. Failure to eat protein within three hours of your workout will result in little to no gains. After you finish training, the body will go into recovery mode and work hard to rebuild, but it cannot do this unless you feed it the amino acids that it requires.  You also need protein to maintain your current muscle mass, so even if you are not lifting weights protein stills plays an important role in maintaining healthy body functions.  If the body cannot get adequate protein from food, then it will respond by breaking down it's own muscle mass to help cells continue to do their work and keep you alive.  

If you have spent hours weight training but are not making gains, you may need to look at how much protein you get everyday.  Most likely you are simply not consuming enough to be able to repair, rebuild and re-grow your muscles.  

Feel Full Longer

Protein takes longer to digest than carbs or fats, moving slowly through the gastrointestinal track.  Slower stomach emptying means you will feel full longer and get hungry much later. Fullness will last longer after you have eaten a chicken breast than if you had eaten the same amount of calories from something like a piece of bread.

Burn More Calories

The breakdown of protein within the body also burns more calories than the breakdown of carbohydrates or fat.  Anytime you eat something, you body will burn calories simply digesting it.  Eating a diet rich in protein can boost your daily calorie burn.  If you have two people (assuming they are eating at the same time of day and have the exact same genetic makeup) who both eat 1,500 calories a day, except one of them is consuming more protein than the other, the person who is consuming more protein will have a higher metabolism.

Slow Rise in Blood Sugar

Protein also slows down the conversion of carbohydrates into glucose in your blood-stream, keeping your blood sugar levels stable. Remember that protein takes longer to digest, so when you pair it with carbohydrates you have less chance of your blood sugar rising like it normally would when you consume only carbs.  A sudden spike in your blood sugar triggers the pancreas to release insulin, and a sudden increase in insulin greatly affects your body's ability to burn fat.