Protein... aaaah, the building blocks of pretty much everything in your body. We, as in our adult bodies, need protein for maintainance and recovery.
Research shows that eating protein can/may (because I'm a researcher) help weight loss WHILE increasing mass and strength (1) (2). This is without even getting into the fact that protein may help regulate blood sugar and balance diabetes (3)...
As most of you Bodyholics know, I am NOT one of the MANY health and fitness professionals who believe you need more than the recommended daily grams (on average 46 gr for women and 56 gr for men) to function optimally, and it's not just because I love carbs.
Here is a non-powder list for you:
Eggs! Almost pure protein and packed with nutrients.
Almonds are a great nut for protein as they are relatively low in fat and high in protein.
Skinless chicken breast is mostly protein. I'll repeat that - skinless.
Oats are a high protein and high fiber grain! How cool is that?!
Yogurt: Greek, Kefir, Full-fat...
Milk
Lean meat... obviously...
Quinoa is amazing because it does not need any supplemental food with it because it contains all 9 of the essential amino acids!
Lentils, soybeans, kidney beans, chickpeas are great BUT you're going to have to add them to a grain like: rice, buckwheat, wheatberries etc...
Fish
Shrimp
Turkey
We will talk about powders soon! Promise!
Please keep in mind that I am not a registered dietitan, this is just me sharing my knowledge with you and I would love it if you have anything to add! Everything I write is either friendly advice, my personal opinion, or, me sharing information with you when I find it is important.
xoxo,
Di
1Leidy HJ, Clifton PM, Astrup A, Wycherley TP, Westerterp-Plantenga MS, Luscombe-Marsh ND, Woods SC, Mattes RD. The role of protein in weight loss and maintenance. The American journal of clinical nutrition. 2015 Jun 1;101(6):1320S-9S.
2 Stokes T, Hector AJ, Morton RW, McGlory C, Phillips SM. Recent perspectives regarding the role of dietary protein for the promotion of muscle hypertrophy with resistance exercise training. Nutrients. 2018 Feb;10(2):180.
3 Wolfe RR, Cifelli AM, Kostas G, Kim IY. Optimizing protein intake in adults: interpretation and application of the recommended dietary allowance compared with the acceptable macronutrient distribution range. Advances in Nutrition. 2017 Mar;8(2):266-75.