In my popular video about the 7 Fundamentals of Fat Loss Nutrition, tip #4 is Make Protein the Foundation of Each Meal. Assuming you’ve watched that – you understand the importance of eating protein, but you still may not know how much protein to eat, or what type of foods provide high quality protein. I’ve got you covered. Read on…
(To watch the video I’m referring to, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCnTZpy0p4c )
As a rule of thumb, one should consume about 1 gram per pound of bodyweight per day. Let me point out that this amount is more for those trying to improve their body composition and who are exercising regularly.
So, if you weigh 150 pounds, then you should aim to consume about 150g protein per day. If you’re going to eat five meals, then you’d need to eat an average of about 30g protein per meal.
My even more general (and easy to implement) rule of thumb is that females should consume about 25g protein per meal, while men should consume about 40g per meal.
To give you an idea what, and how much, of various foods you’d need to eat to meet these requirements, here are some choices.
Here are some foods and portions that contain about 25g of protein.
25g Protein
- 3 oz Chicken Breast
- 3 oz Turkey Breast
- 3 oz Eye of Round
- 3 ½ oz Fish
- 3 ½ oz Lean Ground Beef
- 1 cup Egg Whites
- 8 oz Low-fat Cottage Cheese
- 1 scoop Whey Protein powder
The above servings of meat are for cooked weight. The egg whites are listed in volume, not weight (of course, since it says “cup”). The cottage cheese portion is, like the meat, listed in weight. Coincidentally, however, that portion also happens to equal 8 liquid oz (volume) as well.
Yours in health,
Dr Clay
