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Sunday, October 22, 2017

Sunday Sweats: Lean, mean protein

As I've mentioned before, I met with one of the wellness specialists at my office a few months ago to work on my food choices. I'm very active, but I knew my eating habits needed work. The biggest thing she pushed was more protein. She gave me a plan in which she wanted me to consume nine servings of protein (roughly 130 grams), four cups of vegetables, five servings of fat (of course, she prefers I consume healthy fats), and one serving of starch each day.


The problem is finding sources of protein I like that's portable and I won't grow tired of. Right now, I do a lot of eggs for breakfast (egg muffins and hard boiled eggs). For lunch, I do sliced turkey or chicken. But I don't mix it up much more than that. And I know I need to remedy that. Otherwise I'll get in a food rut and go back to bad habits.

Naturally, I decided to do a Google search for more sources of protein. 

There were lots of results, but I feel like WebMD is a pretty reputable one. I already knew about white meat poultry, eggs, and greek yogurt. But there were a two sources on the site that surprised me.

:: Seafood
I love seafood. And most kids of fish have more than 20 grams of protein per serving. This would be easy to incorporate into dinners at home (on the rare occasion it happens). I wish there was a way to make it more portable for lunches, but I refuse to be that person heating up fish in the office microwaves.

:: Pork tenderloin
I truly never imagined pork would contain protein. And because this is a very lean cut, it would be lower in fat as well. This would also make for good dinners and could reheat easily for lunch and be paired with a salad or vegetable.

Next, I looked at bodybuilding.com. People who are building muscle are definitely going to be all about the protein. I found a few other suggestions.

:: Cottage cheese
There are 14 grams of protein per 1/2 cup. That's a lot of protein. This is another food that could be breakfast or lunch on the go.

:: Steak
Top or bottom round has 23 grams of protein in a 3 oz serving. That's a lot!! I could easily make a steak salad with some avocado and other vegetables to get that fat and those veggies filled in. Yum!

:: Beef jerky
13 grams in a 1 oz serving. This would be an excellent snack at my desk or during a road trip. A lot healthier than what I'd usually choose, that's for sure.

So are there any non-meat sources? Of course. Eat This, Not That has a good list of other protein sources for weight loss. They're not as high, but they would definitely work.

:: Spinach
5 grams per cup.

:: Sun dried tomatoes
6 grams per cup.

:: Artichokes
4.2 grams per item

:: Peas
8 grams per cup

:: Lentils 
18 grams per cup

Of course, there's always peanut butter and good old protein powder. I really do need to start making more smoothies and protein shakes. The other day Ricci posted an excellent peanut butter cup shake recipe. I really need to do more of those. 

What's your favorite protein source or protein-rich meal?

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Last week's workouts
Sunday - Off
Monday - Cardio with Colby (30 mins)
Tuesday -Total Body Strength (30 mins) + Run (35 mins)
Wednesday - Group run/walk (30 mins)
Thursday -Barre with Britt (30 mins)
Friday - Flex Friday (30 mins)
Saturday - Off


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