Smarter Protein Choices
By Gus
There’s a simple mistake about half of my members make when we talk about adding more protein to one’s diet. It’s mostly harmless, but we’re in the game of progress so let’s get it right.
Add more protein to your diet using food that’s mostly protein.
It seems so simple when we say it like that, eh?
But imagine you hear Coach Gus say to eat more protein, and you go to the grocery store. And nowadays everything gets labeled with “X grams of protein per serving” in big type. But anything that needs to advertise how much protein it has probably isn’t mostly protein.
High Protein and “High Protein” Foods
No matter the number of grams of protein in a serving, over 50% of the calories from that food should come from protein for me to consider it as a tool for adding more protein to the diet.
Say you had a goal of eating more nachos! Well obviously you need to buy season tickets to your favorite NFL team, right? Wrong. You can definitely eat nachos at a football game but you’re spending most of your time and money on things that aren’t nachos just to get some nachos. Go to Costco and get chips and cheese instead. Boom, more nachos.
I’m recommending you do the same thing with protein. Instead of trying to add protein to all the other stuff, make a choice to eat more of the things that are protein-based.
Where you should be looking for most of your protein are whole food sources where over 50% of their calories come protein. For example: lean beef, chicken breast and thighs, fish, egg whites, skim milk, and greek yogurt.
High-protein pancake mix is still mostly carbohydrate. Beans and quinoa are high in protein for plants, but are still mostly carbohydrate. Peanut butter does have protein but it’s mostly fat. Pancakes and peanut butter can still be in a healthy diet, but don’t start adding a shortstack to every breakfast in the name of protein.
Shakes
When folks begin strength training many find it hard to eat enough of these whole foods (because they get full) and so choose to supplement with a protein shake. And even with shakes we can find this issue! There are lots of premade shakes – and some powders – that add enough sugar and fat to make them appetizing that the shake becomes less than 50% protein. And you were only drinking the thing for more protein to begin with. So make sure to check your label.
Personally I use an unflavored whey isolate powder because it’s more grams of protein per dollar than flavored ones and I’m budget-conscious. A Blender Bottle can take two servings in one shake easily. Then I’ll make it just appetizing enough with an ounce of half and half and either chocolate syrup or diet soda (root beer and orange are the best.) I can choose my own ratio of fat, carbs, and protein that way.
Give and Take
It’s not an exciting change to eat more simple food, I know.
But maybe you should be getting excitement from something other than a protein-injected cookie anyway? Like playing a sport, seeing friends, enjoying a hobby? If I’m going to have more sugar, I’d much rather have it in an ice cream than in a protein shake.
Coaching
We offer nutrition habits coaching at Gus’s Barbell Club. If you’re interested in learning more schedule a free “no-sweat” introduction.
