Protein, carbs, and fats fall into a category known as macronutrients. These macros are typically the main focus when you try to piece together someone’s diet. I could probably write an entire textbook incorporating all 3! But for now, I’m just going to discuss protein. Protein is probably the one nutrient you don’t hear too much about, because most people focus on losing weight which means they are told to eat less carbs and fat. I supposed you could be told to eat more fat if someone suggested the keto diet. But, protein is the one nutrient that is likely most under consumed, and you probably need more.

Protein is the building blocks of your body. When your body goes through the stress of exercise protein is there to rebuild your muscles and make them stronger. It’s unfortunate that protein has been categorized as the nutrient you need if you are going into body building or power lifting. These competitors do need to consume vastly more protein than the average individual, but even older adults that are 60+ should put more focus on consuming more protein. Someone that is active with any sort of training should consume close to their body weight in grams of protein. Protein also makes you feel full and helps you to stay feeling full. In other words, your meals will likely be smaller and you will be less likely to snack before your next meal. We’re going to learn what we can about protein so that we can easily work it into our regular meals.

Benefits for weight loss

Carbohydrates have been demonized as the weight gain macronutrient. When someone says they want to lose weight most people suggest stop eating carbs. But what about everything else? Fortunately increasing your protein will likely decrease the amount of carbs you’re eating. I’m not promoting the Atkins diet, but consuming more protein will most likely help with losing weight.

I already mentioned the satiety effect that eating more protein has on our bodies. Have you ever tried to eat just a giant steak? It’s tough, and carbs in comparison tend to go down much easier. Also digesting and breaking down the protein into amino acids to be used to rebuild what has been broken down has been shown to take a good amount of energy as well. Meaning, you will be burning some of the Calories that you just took in to break down the protein into pieces that your body can actually use.

Benefits for Strength gains

Have you ever worked out for a long period of time and stopped seeing results? Your weight has stopped dropping and the work outs have felt the same time and time again. You kind of expect those dumbbells to start to feel a little lighter but you are still struggling to finish your sets. Protein is likely one of the solutions to this problem. Without enough protein your body doesn’t have the building blocks to help it adapt to your training.

The human body does an amazing job at adapting. The more physical stress that we put on it the stronger that it becomes. But if we don’t provide it with the right nutrients then it will not develop. Remember our body only wants to survive and it will do what it takes to survive. If you train hard and eat lots of food, then your body understands that food is plentiful and it doesn’t need to worry about calories coming in. If you train hard and don’t eat enough food, then your body thinks that food is scarce and it won’t build stronger muscles. Stronger bigger muscles take more calories to maintain so your body will naturally avoid creating a deficit that isn’t needed.

Have you ever finished a workout and you haven’t fully recovered from that workout until days later? Everyone gets a little of the muscle soreness especially after your very first day of strength training. However, I’m talking more about how you feel a little lethargic, maybe some slight muscles soreness, and maybe you jumped into another workout just a little too early and you’re quickly fatigued. Everyone recovers at different rates, but a little more protein can help with recovery. Your body needs a minimal amount just to survive and fix what needs to be fixed. But, your body is going to need a little extra protein in order to build more muscle and maintain it too. With a faster recovery you will be able to hit the “get back to training” feeling the same or better than before.

So how do you get more protein?

Honestly, figuring out how to get more protein into your diet is slightly difficult at first. To start, understand how much protein you are already consuming. To do this I suggest tracking your food intake for just a few days. There are some great user-friendly apps out there like Myfitnesspal that allow you to input all this data with ease. These apps may seem overwhelming at first, but once you get the hang of it everything becomes much easier.

If you have a scale I would recommend weighing some of the food just to get started. Once you understand how much one chicken thigh weighs or your normal steak then you can start to estimate your weights from there. But you need to first gain and understanding of how much protein you are already consuming. This will allow you to see where the holes are in your diet, and where you can possibly squeeze in a little more protein. Feel free to weigh the other components of your meal as well just to see how many carbs and fats you are consuming as well.

Dosage

So how much protein should you eat? The number that I’ve seen float around is 50 grams. If you are purely sedentary, or just have an extremely difficult time getting any sort of activity in then yes that number may work. However, for the individual that is active and especially doing any sort of resistance exercises then this is wrong. The studies have shown that consuming close to your body weight in grams per pound is the optimal consumption for muscle growth.

The recommended intake of 50 g is extremely low for many people and doesn’t take into account the person’s weight or training protocol they are doing. I would recommend that you take a look at how you train and evaluate how much protein you need to consume. If majority of your workout consists of walking or cardio type exercise then you don’t need to consume as much protein. If you are doing a good amount of resistance exercise or strength training then I would recommend that you consume closer to your body weight in grams of protein. If you are overweight then I wouldn’t recommend that you consume 400 grams of protein, but I would still aim for something above 100 grams. Check out the chart I made at the end of this article for a breakdown of the protein content of different foods.

The best way for you to consume your protein is through whole minimally processed foods. In other words you typically want to consume your meats at home as opposed to eating out. If you are vegan then diligently consuming your beans, legumes, and other plant based protein sources. The plant-based meats like Beyond Meat can be ok but keep in mind that it is a processed food. Just because it is vegan doesn’t mean that it is healthy. Processed vegan food is still unhealthy.

I understand that sometimes eating this much protein can be a chore. When you actually see and try to eat that much food it can be overwhelming. This is where supplements can come into play. I only recommend supplements when you can’t get your nutrients through food. A protein shake is a great way to help you reach your targeted protein goal. Trust me these shakes have come a long way and some of them are freaking delicious! There are vegan or plant-based protein shakes as well out there, and I would highly recommend a protein shake for vegans. You can get enough protein from natural sources, but the digestive distress that comes with consuming foods that are so dense in fiber and nutrients is difficult to deal with.

Go Eat!

I hope I didn’t overwhelm you with information on protein. I understand that this can be a difficult concept for anyone to understand. This can be equally as difficult to incorporate into your daily life. Take it slow and keep it simple. Since protein can help with weight loss and building strength the addition of protein is likely aligned with your goals. Don’t forget that this is something I would recommend for you seniors to do. As soon as you are able to master this concept it will have massive benefits for your health. Don’t get discouraged if you can’t hit your protein goal in the first week. Keep trying, and even a little more protein can take you a long way. Once you start to feel the difference you won’t be able to stop.