EASY WAYS TO UP YOURPROTEIN INTAKE

AS WE TOUCHED on in the chapter on Hanger Management, protein is an important nutrient for giving your meals and snacks staying power and ensuring that you keep your energy and mood on an even keel through the day.

On a cellular level, protein provides the amino acids that serve as building blocks for tissue growth and repair and support efficient function and regulation of numerous processes throughout the body.⁵¹

Of the 20 amino acids we get from plant and animal proteins, nine are considered essential, which means that our body can’t synthesize them on its own and we need to get them from the foods that we eat (or from supplements). The essential amino acids include histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine.

How Much Protein Do I Need?

Protein recommendations are based on about how much we need to consume to cover our needs for these essential amino acids. Current protein recommendations for most healthy adults are 0.8-1.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. One kilogram is equivalent to 2.2 pounds, so a 150-pound person (68.2 kilograms) needs about 55 to 68 grams of protein per day, according to those recommendations.⁵²

There are different factors that can impact our needs, though. For example, if you’re pregnant or nursing, are healing from an injury or surgery, or have a medical condition that increases your protein needs, you should have more. Athletes and very active individuals also generally require more protein to help support efficient muscle recovery and growth.

On the flip side, certain health conditions that impact the way your body metabolizes protein, such as kidney disease, may mean that you need to limit protein to a range closer to 0.6-0.8 grams per kilogram, depending on the severity. Ask your doctor or consult a registered dietitian if you need guidance on this one.

Just as a heads-up, someone on a vegetarian diet would likely need to consume closer to the higher end of that 0.8-1.0 grams per kilogram range, as it may take more work to cover their amino acid needs, since most plant protein sources provide some but not all of the amino acids we need to consume.

Some foods are considered “complete” proteins in that they have all nine essential amino acids. These tend to be animal sources of protein, with a few exceptions, including soy, quinoa, and buckwheat. However, combining different plant foods can help you cover your bases. For example, peanut butter and whole grain bread both provide some of the essential amino acids, and when you eat them together, you get all of the different ones you need. Same goes for rice and beans.

If the number of grams of protein you need sounds intimidating, break it down by meals and snacks to make that goal more attainable. For example, if someone needs 60 grams of protein per day, they could break that down into 20 grams per meal or 15 grams per meal with the remaining 15 grams coming from snacks.

What Foods Provide Protein?

A lot of people think that meat is the only protein source, but there are lots of great plant-based options as well.

Animal Sources of Protein:

• Meat

• Poultry

• Fish

• Eggs

• Milk and dairy products

Plant Sources of Protein:

• Beans

• Peas

• Lentils

• Nuts and nut butters

• Seeds and seed butters

• Soy products such as tofu, tempeh, and soy milk

• Nutritional yeast

Easy Ways to Add Protein to Your Day

Here are a few ideas to get you started.

At Breakfast:

• Top your toast with nut butter, ricotta, cottage cheese, or an egg instead of butter

• Enjoy a vegetable omelet

• Use milk or a protein-rich nondairy milk like pea or soy milk in hot or cold cereal

• Add a spoonful of nut or seed butter on top of a bowl of oatmeal

• Cook eggs or egg whites into oatmeal or stir in a scoop of protein powder at the end of cooking

• Use plain Greek yogurt as the base for a bowl with fruit and nuts or a green smoothie

• Add a serving of nuts to a bowl of cold cereal

At Lunch:

• Add cooked chicken, fish, tofu, eggs, or beans to a salad

• Enjoy a broth-based vegetable soup with beans in it

• Have cooked chicken, turkey, tofu, or hard-boiled egg on a sandwich

At Dinner:

• Add cooked fish, chicken, or sausage to a pasta dish

• Use bean- or lentil-based pasta for a meat-free, gluten-free alternative that’s high in filling fiber as well as protein

• Enjoy your favorite cooked animal or plant protein with a side of cooked veggies and a starch like brown rice, quinoa, or sweet potato

• Add cooked ground turkey, leftover chicken, beans, or an egg to a vegetarian soup. You can also stir in unflavored protein powder

• Puréed or mashed white beans make a delicious high-protein, high-fiber side dish to a plate of green veggies

At Snacks:

• Enjoy a string cheese, cheese stick, or 1-oz serving of your favorite cheese with fruit or whole grain crackers

• Enjoy a serving of plain Greek yogurt, ricotta, or cottage cheese with berries

• Have a minimally processed nut- or seed-based bar

• Have a stick of jerky as an easy snack

• Two hard-boiled eggs are a convenient snack that provides about 150 calories and about 12 grams of protein

• Enjoy a latte or cappuccino made with cow’s milk or a protein-rich nondairy alternative—just keep in mind that many sugary versions will tack on a lot of extra calories, as will sweetened nondairy milks. Your best bet is a small size of an unsweetened beverage and to skip add-ons like syrups and whipped cream toppings.

Do You Need Protein Powder?

I get a lot of questions from clients about protein powder. Do you need it? Is it worth the money? How should you use it?

I know this is never the sexy, quick-fix answer anyone wants, but it really does depend on your unique situation. I generally encourage turning to food first to get the protein you need. However, if you have a chronic or acute medical condition that either increases your protein needs or impairs your ability to consume enough, protein powder might be helpful. For example, pregnancy and recovery from a surgical procedure are a few times you may need some help getting over the hump. If you’ve just had dental work or are dealing with a sore throat and need to stick to soft textures for a few days, protein powder can make smoothies, soups, and nice cream bowls (a nondairy alternative to ice cream, usually made with frozen banana in a blender or food processor) more substantial.

On a more serious note, in the case of someone with a condition like ALS that both impacts their ability to chew and swallow while also increasing their protein and calorie needs, protein powder can make a huge difference in helping them get what they need.

If you’re someone who’s on the go or travels a lot or who has an unpredictable schedule, protein powder can be a handy backup option to tide you over until you can have a regular meal. When I worked clinical, for example, plain instant oatmeal with protein powder made for an easy breakfast or even a snack. Today, I often carry a stick of collagen powder (a protein powder I like, in part because it just melts right in without adding a gritty texture or weird aftertaste) in my purse when I know I’ll be out all day or traveling so that I can easily stir it into my coffee if I need a little boost to keep me going.

Protein powder can also be fun to play around with in homemade energy bars, fudge, and baked goods if you’re looking for some more satisfying options and want to save money and avoid highly processed items in stores.

Just bear in mind that not all protein powders are created equal, so choose something that best suits your needs and preferences. Whey protein is a palatable option that’s easy to find at many budget levels, but look for organic or grass-fed—it’s worth the money. It’s milk-based, so if you’re lactose intolerant or have other issues with dairy products, this might not be the best option for you. Egg white protein is a great nondairy alternative that will lend a soft, fluffy texture to whatever you add it to. On the plant-based side, pea protein is super versatile and has a mild taste and texture. There are also a lot of great plant protein blends on the market. The main one I would encourage avoiding, though, is soy protein isolate, as it’s more processed and no longer has the good parts of the soy plant—just the “filler” protein that allows companies that use it to be, like, “OMG, look how much protein we could fit in here!”

Whichever protein powder you choose, check the ingredients list for crap you don’t want, like preservatives, excessive amounts of sugar, artificial sweeteners, or things you can’t pronounce and suspect shouldn’t really be going into your body.