Increase Your Protein to Reduce Your Fat

Let’s be honest here. Everybody and their Mama wants to decrease body fat. This is the most common goal that I have heard throughout the course of my career. But how do we make it happen? One of the most common mistakes that people make is going on a crash diet. Though it would seem logical that restricting food intake to very low levels would force the body to use fat as energy, that isn’t exactly how it works. In fact, we are more likely to lose muscle when we hop on a crazy fad diet that leaves us feeling starving. That definitely sounds like a lose-lose scenario to me! As highlighted by the Mayo Clinic (Metabolism and weight loss: How you burn calories - Mayo Clinic), the more muscle mass an individual has, the more fat calories they will burn!

To lay the foundation for building more muscle mass, the first step in promoting fat burning and healthy weight loss is developing an eating structure that makes sense. We hear about low-carb diets every day in the media. But are these really necessary? The truth is that a lot of people eat too many carbs on a daily basis, which limits our intake of lean proteins. So the answer is not necessarily to go “low-carb,” but rather to reduce carbs to a recommended “lower carb” level. It doesn’t have to be as drastic as cutting out all carbs. We just need to straighten out the macros.

Research published by the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (Protein and Exercise in Weight Loss: Considerations for Athletes (gssiweb.org) illustrates that when athletes reduce calories for weight loss, consumption of adequate high-quality protein helps preserve muscle mass while fat is lost. The same has been shown to be true in aging adults (Weight Loss Strategies and the Risk of Skeletal Muscle Mass Loss (nih.gov). High-quality protein includes foods like low-fat dairy, lean beef, skinless poultry, lean pork, fish, soy and nuts. Total daily protein recommendations typically have an upper threshold of 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. For example, a 200-lb (91 kg) man would need roughly 180 grams of protein per day. Equally as important as total daily protein intake is the way that it is included in meals and snacks. For athletes and recreational exercisers alike, I recommend that individuals consume consistent “doses” of protein throughout the day aimed at 0.30 grams per kg of body weight. So for our 200-lb (91 kg) man, the recommendation would be for roughly 30 grams of protein six times per day.

To make is easy for you, I have developed a general reference table. Find your weight goal on this table to learn more about how much protein you should be aiming for each time you eat, as well as your rough total daily protein needs.

So what does this look like? It can be a challenge to include multiple high-quality, high-protein meals and snacks throughout the day while juggling work, kids’ activities, going to the gym and commuting. When you hear the phrase “prepacked meals,” you might be thinking that you will settle for a bland, unappetizing meal. However, that doesn’t have to be the case! Check out all of the meal options available for order from Clean Eatz Kitchen menu, that are designed to help our clients do exactly what I just described!

To give you a sneak peek, here are a few of my favorite meals that offer the same unique flavors you will find in popular restaurants but in portion-controlled amounts aimed at helping you achieve your weight loss and wellness goals. Each of these pre-packaged meals that can be delivered straight to your home contains roughly 25-30 grams of high-quality lean protein, which hits the sweet spot for the protein dose needed by the average adult. In addition, they are loaded with vegetables and provide a portion-controlled healthy carb choice!

Do you fall at the lower end of protein needs? No problem! Split your meal into two portions. Need to boost your protein? Check out the extra protein meal options (High Protein Meal Plan Delivery | High Protein Diet Plan | Clean Eatz Kitchen) or add one of our high-protein Dessert Barz to satisfy your sweet tooth (Dessert Bar | Nutrition Bar | Clean Eatz Kitchen).