My social media feeds are full of gym equipment, pictures of fat people who become thin people and bowls with one slice of carrot and three spelt grains in them. Are they trying to tell me something?
I did rather well over Christmas, I’m patting myself on the back. Not quite so well over New Year when my mind must have been like ‘phwoar! you’ve crushed it girl! have another chocolate!’ and so there’s a bit more of me now mid-January than I’d wish there to be. Just a bit.
The gym equipment though is a different angle since even horrid skinny people run on exercise at this time of year. Building muscle and keeping osteoporosis at bay is obviously a thing at the moment so hell, yes! I’ll join the brigade. Eating myself fit, how about that, huh? If only it was so simple.
There are some seriously weird (and serious about exercise) people around, who clearly believe what and when you eat around workouts is a make or break. But most of us are ordinary folk with a creaky left knee and a target of not breaking a sweat going upstairs to our bedroom. For us, it’s important to stay active and eat sensibly in general, rather than meticulously count the carbs in pre-exercise snacks. Especially that as with everything else, you can find research to prove both sides of a coin.
But I’ll admit that it’s important to make sure your protein intake is sufficient if you wiggle those dumbbells around twice or thrice a week. If your diet is balanced and full of necessary nutrients, you need no extra protein, especially in the shape of powders or shakes.
But many of us are not entirely certain we get the relevant nutrients, especially if we’re trying to lose some weight at the same time. What to eat to make sure those muscle building blocks, amino acids, are plentiful in our daily menus?
If you eat meat, it’s a no-brainer as most people know that it’s the food with highest protein content per weight. Chicken breast, for instance, has 32g protein per 100 grams. But I bet you didn’t realise that almonds are not that far behind, with 21g per 100g.
Plant-based protein sources are mainly beans, pulses, grains and nuts. Admittedly, you need to consume more of those to reach your protein target, but a flatbread with hummus will contain on average about 20g protein. That’s a third of your recommended daily intake! Plus, if you are vegetarian rather than vegan, you have wonderful protein sources in the form of yoghurt, eggs and cheeses. And in this instance, the non-dairy alternatives are low in protein, hence – pointless.
So the bottom line is: don’t fret, and don’t panic-drink protein shakes. You can’t store protein in your body, and surplus gets turned into fat, which obviously is not a desirable outcome. It all comes down to my eternal mantra: balanced diet, eaten in moderation will get you where you want to be.
And since I am a cook not a nutritionist (though all my information comes from reputable, reliable, medically verified sources), a bunch of good all-round, protein rich recipes can be found below. Happy workouts!