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Let’s take it back to basics

Amy Gorman

It’s easy to get wrapped up in hitting targets, nailing macros, and smashing every gym session. But if we lose sight of sleeping well, feeling good in ourselves, having regular bowel movements, having energy, or wanting to have sex (I can’t guarantee you’ll get any - but the desire is essential!) then what are you running around doing these things for?


It’s going to make your life feel a lot better to find that sweet spot where we can hit our goals without feeling like we turned into an energy-drained, grumpy/angry sloth most of the time.


So I wanted to take a step back to basics to remind us of the function of the macro nutrients we chase daily and put some of it into simple perspective. Allowing you to think about what we needs this fuels for, so you know how you can feel rather than just hitting numbers.


This week starting with the big one: protein. (In theory I was going to tell you about all of them today, but you'll thank me later than I didn't).


Protein


As fitness professionals, we keep banging on about this. Eat more of it, plan your meals around it, if you want to hit any goals you need to live and breathe this stuff. But why?


  • Your body uses a lot of energy to digest protein and then make use of it. Hello, helpful for fat loss goals.

  • When you eat a meal, it is the first thing to be broken down in the stomach - nothing else until it’s finished, and it does it slowly. Therefore, you stay fuller for longer.

  • Protein is essential for muscle growth - there are some crazy bodily functions (muscle protein synthesis) after you do strength training that helps the muscle to grow back stronger than it was before (smart) and we can really help it to do this (and grow more) by eating protein regularly throughout the day.

  • It is our emergency backup fuel - ideally, we’re not using this for energy, we’re using it to make our muscles and connective tissues work as they’re supposed to.

    • If we don’t have enough fuel from carbs and fat (not uncommon in a big calorie deficit) then protein is going to transform into usable energy and keep us going.

    • So you can’t really eat too much because the body is going to make sure excess has a purpose.

  • It makes your skin, hair and nails grow and glow.


So what does that actually mean in terms of your goals?


  • Eating a diet high in protein (one-third of every meal or snack you eat) will help you to feel and stay full for longer.

  • Regular meals with protein are going to help your muscles grow. Essential if your goal is to build more muscle, but equally important if your goal is to lose fat (i.e. tone up and feel good).

  • Muscle requires fuel to survive and thrive. So the more we have, the more fuel we need. This means building muscle and eating protein can only be a good thing, because it allows us to eat more glorious food.

    • Note on above ‘lose fat’ - ideally, we want any weight loss to come from fat, and eating sufficient protein is going to help you maintain the lean muscle mass you’ve worked bloody hard for. Weight loss could include anything - fat, muscle, bone, water.



How do I get more?


  • Look at where you already consume protein in a day - slightly increase your portion every meal.

    • If you have milk with your morning cereal or porridge, could you add some protein powder to that mixture?

    • Using two eggs in your scramble? Add another or some liquid egg whites.

    • Using half a chicken breast, how about three-quarters, or a full one?


  • Eating more veggie and vegan meals? Have you mixed your protein sources lately?

Why does this matter? Animal sources are complete proteins, whereas most veggie sources are incomplete, i.e. the body cannot produce the amino acids itself and must find them from food - they aren’t all made in veggie sources.

Therefore we must combine them with other veggie sources to provide all the amino acids we require.

  • Tofu with chickpeas

  • Classic rice, peas and beans combo

  • Quinoa, edamame and seitan

  • Quorn mince and lentils


  • We can also explore leaner options that not only boost the protein volume but also reduce the fat

    • Chicken thigh → chicken breast

    • Full-fat yoghurt → low fat

    • Full-fat cheese → low fat

    • Rib eye steak → sirloin

    • Salmon → cod

    • Pork sausages → chicken

    • Beef mince → turkey

    • Coconut milk → light coconut milk

    • Bottled oil → spray oil

    • Butter → almond butter (not lower fat, but higher omegas)


Yes, some of these swaps take away flavour, so it’s up to you if you want to do it - but they can also have some great benefits in helping you achieve your goals and feel better. Then you can explore adding them back in later!


What are the side effects?

  • Possible smelly farts

  • Possible constipation when you first increase - make sure you combine with plenty of fiber (i.e. veggies)

  • Feel fuller

  • Feel better fueled and recovered from training sessions

  • Fewer cravings

  • Better mood

  • Have more energy

  • Have more steady and sustainable energy

  • Stronger hair, nails and glowing skin

Got more questions? Respond and let me know!


Next week - breakdown of the functions of fat.

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