You can’t move in the shops these days without seeing some kind of high-protein food. There’s protein bars, shakes, powders. Even Mars and Snickers bars with extra protein!
it’s in all the health and fitness magazines, all over the internet, and almost every personal trainer out there keeps banging on about it. But why do they?
The Facts
- Protein makes you feel fuller for longer so that you don’t get the hunger pangs half way through the day and you’re not tempted to head for the office draw or nip to the shop across the road.
- 30% of what goes in is burned simply in the process of breaking it down to be digested. That means that almost ⅓ of the calories are gone just by making your system work hard to digest the food. Bonus!
- Protein also improves lean muscle (with the right training of course!); which means that you burn more calories through the day simply because you have more muscle mass that needs feeding just to exist.
- Protein also boosts your immune system and repairs injured cells. So you get those extra health benefits just by eating different foods.
So what kind of foods are high in protein then? Do I need to drink shakes and eat protein bars instead of real food?
No, not at all! Some of the foods that have the highest protein counts are natural food that you eat right now; meats (steak!!!), eggs, fish, lentils nuts all have high protein counts. The trick is to have a source of protein in EACH MEAL!
Of course it isn’t always possible to grab a steak on the go, which is why protein shakes and bars exist. They are there to help you when you need to grab something quick, but don’t want to ruin the good work that you’ve been putting in. Shakes can be mixed with fruit and they’ll taste amazing.
But won’t it make me bulky?
No! Eating high calorie fattening food will make you bulky! You’re not suddenly going to go from looking like you do now to looking like Arnie!
