I can boil eating well and getting results down to 3 main things:
- Eat quality foods. The more quality you consume, the quicker and BETTER your results.
- Consistency not perfection.
- MAKE PROTEIN YOUR FOCUS!
Many of us may even have started doing the first two as those are very common points we see touted just about everywhere.
But we may be both consistent and consuming quality foods and still not exactly getting the results we want.
And it may have to do with our protein consumption.
So let’s back up for a second and go over the basics so we can discuss how you can make protein your focus.
What everything comes down to our Macronutrients, or macros, AKA the amount of Proteins, Carbs and Fats we consume.
Often we hear of low-fat diets, or low-carb or even no-carb diets.
But you don’t have to demonize a macronutrient to get results!
All you need to do is dial in the amount of each that you consume. What you want to focus on is making protein your focus and making sure it makes up more of your daily calories than carbs and fat (this is easy to track using a food tracker like My Fitness Pal).
However, if you start tracking your food, you’ll find most fitness trackers don’t default to ratios that favor protein.
Did you know the average American diet, and the macro percentages that fitness trackers default to are: 20% from protein, 50% from carbohydrates, and 30% from fat.
50% carbs!?! More fat than protein!?!
And we wonder why we struggle to lose weight and improve our body composition…And especially get rid of that pesky belly fat!
It’s because even “healthy” diets recommend most of our calories come from carbs and fat!
And that simply won’t get us the results we want!
Sorry. I know carbs and fat are what we love, but if you want to lean down and really improve your body composition, you need to focus on protein.
That doesn’t mean you still can’t have meals and treats that you love. NOPE!
You shouldn’t feel deprived!
I’m not telling you that you can’t ever have a cookie. Or that you can’t ever have carbs or fats.
Dieting shouldn’t mean deprivation!
But you should make protein your focus! Try to add in some more protein to any meal that you can!
I like to have my clients start by adjusting their macro ratios to 40% protein, 30% carbs, and 30% fat INSTEAD OF the 20% from protein, 50% from carbohydrates, and 30% from fat that is “recommended.”
How you fill those calories with each macronutrient is up to you. The cleaner your calories, the faster your results, but having a macronutrient breakdown to focus on can still allow you to have those little indulgences you love so you never feel deprived.
Just make protein your focus.
So set your food tracker to 40% protein, 30% carbs and 30% fat and get started focusing on protein!
Next Page – How You Can Get More Protein In Your Diet To Get The Body You Really Want!