5 Simple Nutrition Strategies for more Protein Intake

As a father, business owner, and a washed up athlete, I know the difficulties of getting enough protein in throughout the day. With constant varying task management, finding the time to shop, cook, and consume enough whole foods, or food period, can stop us from being healthy. We live in a world consistently wanting convenience and we do that at the cost of quality. This article is going to shine light on simple strategies athletes, everyday gym goers, or anyone for that matter can do to get enough protein.

A widely accepted amount of protein for an active individual is about 1 gram per pound of body weight with the lower end being around 1 gram per kilogram (2.2 pounds) of body weight. I personally weigh 195 lbs and consistently stay around the 195 grams of protein per day year round. To provide some context, the average 4 oz burger that’s 85%lean allows for about 25 grams of protein. The same portion of salmon allows for about 20 grams of protein. With that in mind, you can see with a busy schedule getting enough daily protein can be difficult. This led for the need to find simple solutions that fueled my goals.

Here are five of the best strategies I have found: 

1. Put collagen in your morning coffee

   
   

This has been a simple hack for me to get an extra 20 grams of protein that is a different source which provides more proline and methionine. Both amino acids that help with collagen synthesis in the body.

2. Eat protein at every meal

   
   

Prioritize and incorporate protien at every meal. Eggs for breakfast, chicken or ground beef for lunch, salmon or steak for dinner are just a few choices to choose from that provide plenty of micronutrients along with macro.

3. Eat snacks that provide protein

   
   

Instead of grabbing a bag of chips to snack on, think about cheese, a smoothie with protein in it, cottage cheese, lean jerky, a protein shake, or there are a bunch of body builders and powerlifters starting to popularize whats known as the chicken shack. Take cooked chicken breast add some bone broth, possibly some cooked celery & carrots (get creative with what you like) blend that up and drink.  For protein shake options I like fairlife ready to drink protein shakes or the Raw ready to drinks. When I don’t have one of those handy, I tend to hit up the local tropical smoothie or the like. I want to throw a caveat in this, peanut butter is a great source of healthy fats with the right brand, but not protein. Think about that when choosing it as a protein source.

4. Pick high quality protein that provides more grams of protein per gram of substance

   
   

When choosing your proteins, 93% lean ground beef is going to have more protein per gram then 70% lean ground beef. This should go without saying but it's because the 70% has more fat content that takes up some of the weight as opposed to the 90% which has a larger percentage of protein. Grass fed options for various meat selections will provide more protein per gram. Free range eggs provide a slight advantage per egg (when trying to get enough protein, every gram counts) and have a more advantageous fat content to them, that promotes better hormonal responses in the body.

5. Milk, Milk, Milk

   
   

Milk provides about 8 grams of protein per 8 oz glass. Milk is a solid option for protein while getting the added benefits of micro nutrients. Pro Tip) Fairlife provides about 15 grams per 8 oz glass and is lactose intolerant friendly. I know because I am lactose intolerant.

With an ever changing world and with people getting busier I can relate with how hard it is to get more protein in. These are five simple strategies to afford you more options. Here is a added Pro tip) no matter your goals or activity level a good rule of thumb is to shoot for 50 grams of protein before noon. This makes your goals more achievable and you don’t have to overload on the backend of the day before sleep. That's not the healthiest for an individual and can disrupt sleep. 

Hope this helps. If you would like a nutrition guide, I recommend Precision Nutrition. I am certified through the company and can't say enough good things about them. Click the link and fill out the form for an individualized guide catered to your needs for free. Precision Nutrition