Wondering how to eat more protein to compliment your weight loss goals? In this article, I’ll explain the importance of protein, how to eat more protein and share my favorite high protein foods and snacks.

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It’s the most common question I get from not only my one-on-one online coaching clients, but friends, family and everyone in between:

“Can you tell me how to eat more protein?”

If you’re reading this now, you’ve likely been schooled in the ways of The Force and understand the importance of a high(er) protein diet, but need a few tricks and tips for hitting a more effective protein target.

In this article, I’ll discuss:

• Why protein is so important
• How much protein do you need
• How to eat more protein
• My favorite proteins
• FAQs about protein: Is a high protein diet safe?

Let’s get into it.

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What is Protein anyway?

Protein is one of the three major macronutrients (along with carbs and fats) that make up the foods we eat on a daily basis. 

Each macro carries a specific caloric measurement:

• Carbohydrate (4 cals per gram)
• Fat (9 cals per gram)
• Protein (4 cals per gram)

Protein’s primary role(s) is to build and repair body tissue (namely, muscle) and is thus an essential part of your survival as a person who enjoys living. It’s because of this specific task in muscle building and repair that the health and fitness industry places an extraordinary amount of importance on this particular macro.

Why protein is so important

Many fat loss diets place a huge emphasis on protein and the amount that you eat, and for good reason: It’s the one macronutrient that the body cannot create on its own.

This means you must get enough protein through your eating in order to achieve that awesome physique and terrific health.

Protein also tends to be the most filling of the four macros. When you are dieting, hunger is going to be a natural part of the process, so finding ways to beat those hunger pangs without blowing up your diet is important.

Out of our Big Three macros (protein, carbs and fats) protein has what is called the highest Thermic Effect of Food (TEF).

Simply put: your body needs to use more energy (calories) to properly digest protein than it does for carbs and fats. You’re basically burning calories while eating protein.

Protein is the only macro that builds and preserves muscle. If you are in a proper caloric deficit and burning more calories than you eat, your body is essentially eating itself for energy. Eating enough protein is a signal to the body to utilize your excess fat stores instead of muscle.

This is important. Because when you are dieting and trying to “lean down, tone up and lose weight,” what you really mean is that you want to lose fat.

When you are in a caloric deficit, your body needs to turn somewhere to find energy to function. You want that energy to come from fat and not lean muscle tissue. Eating enough protein and tossing in a workout program based on improving strength will ensure this happens.

Why do you want to keep your hard-earned muscle? Fantastic question.

If you lose too much muscle while dieting, it can dramatically slow down your metabolism. If you want some more info on exactly how your metabolism works and how to get it back up to speed, you should check out this article: How to Increase Your Metabolism and Lose Weight.

Muscle provides at least a gazillion additional benefits for fitness, fat loss and life in general:

• Increased Strength
• Improved Confidence
• Improved Cognition
• Improved Posture and Stability
• Improved Longevity

Unfortunately there is this misconception that’s tricked many women into believing that more muscle will make you big and bulky. But, the only way to get “big” and/or “bulky” is to eat more calories than your body needs (a.k.a., a calorie surplus).

If you are in a deficit, you will lose weight. Period.

If your goal is to lose weight and look great, you’ll need the muscle in order to get that “toned” look you are hoping to achieve. Which means you need to eat more protein to make that happen. 

How much Protein do you need in order to lose weight and keep muscle?

This is where shit can start to get confusing. But, that’s why I’m here to help ya out.

Let’s start with the bare minimum. On the one hand, we have the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) that suggests aiming for about 0.8 g/kg (0.36 g/lb).

In other words, a young woman who weighs 150 pounds and is looking to lose weight would target about 54 grams of protein per day if she was to follow the RDA guidelines.

However, this recommendation is actually just the absolute minimum a person should eat in order to stay alive and … like … not die. This is not a suggested target for regular peeps trying to lose weight, look great and feel awesome.

Simply put: you need to eat more protein to compliment your weight loss goals.

But, on the other end of this protein spectrum is the oversaturated hype you see from the magazines and Instagram influencers that tell you to eat upwards of 1.5 to 2.0 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight.

Under this equation, our young 150-pound woman looking to drop a few pounds would be eating 200 to 300 grams of protein per day. That is a metric fuck ton worth of chicken breasts and egg whites to hold on to some gainz.

And it is not needed.

Contrary to popular opinion, you do not need to eat 20 eggs and an entire chicken; nor do you need to snack on horse heart in between meals in order to get upwards of 200 grams of protein per day.

The answer can be found in between these two extremes.

To promote fat loss and aid in muscle preservation while dieting, you should set a protein target somewhere between 0.7 to 1.0 gram(s) of protein per pound of bodyweight.

More specifically, we really should be hitting about 1.0 to 1.5 grams of protein per lean body mass (LBM). But, this can be difficult to calculate accurately and it includes an extra layer of unnecessary math. 

I’m not big on math. I’m assuming you aren’t that big on math, either. And the last thing I want is for additional calculations to be the barrier preventing you from getting started.

So for the real sticklers out there worried about getting as close as possible to the most accurate protein target, you can set your daily goal at 1.0 gram of protein per pound of your TARGET or GOAL weight.

In other words, if you are 180 pounds and would like to lose 20 pounds … you’d set your protein goal at 160 pounds. Simple enough, right?

That’s the top end range of protein. And if you aren’t into eating that much chicken and eggs and beef, you can still see substantial benefits from lowering your protein target to something closer to 0.82 grams per pound of bodyweight … even as low as 0.7.

To make this even more simple for you: Start by just aiming to eat about 100 to 125 grams of protein per day. That comes out to 400 to 500 total calories and for most us normal-sized human beings, this falls within the range necessary to keep muscle while benefiting from fat loss.

Of course, fat loss will only happen as long as you are in a calorie deficit, though. So if you need help figuring that out, I’ve got your back with a handy article you can find right here: How to Calculate Calorie Needs for Weight Loss.

Okay, I convinced you to eat more protein, but can your body actually handle all of this stuff?

There’s a ton of misinformation out there about just how much protein our bodies can handle. Rest assured, your body can process a lot more protein in each meal than what your favorite morning show may have you think.

One of the biggest myths about protein is that you shouldn’t have more than 20-30 grams of protein in a meal and that any more than that will go to waste. Wrong.

This is part of the reasoning behind that whole idea to eat small and frequent meals throughout the day. The thought being that 4-6 small meals, every 2-3 hours, with a decent size of protein (but never more than 30 grams!) would still allow you to hit your daily protein goals and “raise your metabolism.”

Science has since debunked this theory.

Sure, it is beneficial to consume some protein before and after a workout (and even sometimes during the workout, depending on the workload), but it is not the end-all-be-all.

Get your total protein source for the entire day … spread out throughout the day … however that breaks down in a convenient fashion for you and your lifestyle.

How to eat more protein

One of the biggest mistakes that the newbie dieter makes is to fall into the Macro Tetris trap.

Let me explain.

You likely jump right into your eating for the day by downing whatever breakfast it is that you have on hand and head right into your regular schedule as you move smoothly into late-morning snacks or even lunch before you’ve decided to open your food tracking app of choice.

In this setup, you’ve probably now realized that with just one or two meals left in your day, you’ve come woefully short of your attempt to hit your protein goals. And now you’re puzzled on how to make it all fit the remaining calories and protein targets for the day without devouring an entire turkey.

This is called Macro Tetris and it is completely avoidable.

The absolute best way to ensure you meet your protein goals is to prioritize your protein consumption. Before you even start your day, plan in advance how you’ll break down each meal so that at the end of the day, you are on point with your macros.

For instance, if you are sticking with my recommendation of at least 100-120 grams of protein per day, that’s about 20-25 grams of protein per four meals. If you’ve planned it out this way, it is much more manageable and attainable.

If you are still looking for some inspiration, allow me to lay out a few ideas to help you reach that evasive protein target.

How to hit 20-25 grams of protein per meal (including a snack):

• Add 2-3 eggs or 3-4 egg whites to your breakfast
• Toss one scoop of protein powder into your morning oatmeal to make “PROATs”
• Enjoy one serving of nonfat Greek Yogurt for a midmorning snack
• Add 3-4 ounces of lean protein to your lunch salad
• Slightly increase your dinner serving protein to the size of the palm of your hand
• Mix up some cottage cheese with sugar-free jello as a late-night snack (friends don’t let friends simply eat cottage cheese without any flavor enhancers, I’m not a sociopath)

The best dieters spend a few minutes per day (or even the night beforehand) planning out the meals to ensure success.

Break out your smartphone. Open up your calorie-tracking app of choice. Think about how to hit your 100-120 grams (or more) of protein and map it out for the day. It’s like the game plan for a football team before they take the field. This is your playbook.

Imagine breakfast, lunch, dinner and even a snack or two and how each meal will break down so you can hit your goals. Punch those foods into your app and then you can build the remaining calories around those higher protein options.

Is this a tedious process? Perhaps.

But I guarantee you’ll spend less time planning in advance to hit your protein numbers than you would scrambling to find a food that has exactly 47 grams of protein with zero grams of carbs and exactly 6 grams of fat. Not even a protein powder carries those types of macros.

Cool. Cool. You’re on board with planning ahead. But, finding the best foods that are high in protein can be a total chore.

Have no fear, I’m here to help you out.

My favorite high protein foods

Let’s get into the different protein options you can incorporate to make sure you hit them gainz and fat loss goalz.

Meat & Poultry:
Chicken, turkey, beef, pork, bison are high-quality protein options. Don’t forget the ground variety, too (just make sure you’re opting for the lower fat, leaner ground options). These proteins are usually the foundation of your plan.⠀

Fish & Shellfish:
Shrimp, tuna, salmon, tuna, scallops, tilapia, etc. There are a million options here to enjoy and almost all are low calorie and high protein. Aim for at least 1-2 servings of fish per week to get some awesome health benefits.⠀

Dairy:
Milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, regular cheese. Nonfat Greek yogurt is the undisputed champ in this category for packing a ton of protein and comes in on the lower calorie end.⠀

Eggs:
The incredible, edible egg can be made approximately 437 different ways and every time, it’s awesome. The whole egg carries higher calories and some extra (beneficial) fats, while the egg white is pure, unadulterated protein. Play around with both versions.⠀

Meatless varieties:
Tofu, tempeh, soy, seitan are perfect options for the vegans/vegetarians of the group that are looking for more protein to pack on muscle.

Legumes:
Beans, edamame, etc. are not the highest in protein, but still help move the numbers forward to help reach those goals. These should be a staple for the vegans and vegetarians of the bunch.

Grab & Go protein:
Jerky, protein powder, protein bars, etc. are fine options for anyone that’s traveling and needs a quick and convenient protein source.

If you struggle to meet your daily targets, protein powders and drinks really come in handy. But, always opt for whole food sources first and then supplement with the quicker options.⠀

Now go forth and get the meat sweats.

Protein FAQs

Q: I’m pretty sure that eating protein will bulk me up. I don’t want to get bulky!

This is a common misconception among both men and women. A ton of dudes think the brotein shake will lead to massive gainz and an equal amount of women are out here avoiding protein out of fear of looking like a bodybuilder.

Let’s set the record straight: Protein will not make you “bulk up.” The ONLY way to add muscle and weight is through a calorie surplus. If you are dieting and hitting a consistent caloric deficit, you will lose weight, no matter how much protein you eat.

The protein will help keep that hard-earned muscle and allow you to tone and lean out, it will not bulk you up. Promise.

Q: But, can I eat more than just 20-30 grams of protein in one meal? I heard you can’t digest that much in one sitting.

Anthony from accounting is on his bullshit again. This idea that you can only eat 20-30 grams of protein in one sitting was the precursor to the idea that you need six small meals per day in order to have a well-oiled metabolism. It ain’t true.

Your body is much more efficient than we’d like to give it credit for. It will not “toss out” any excess protein after 30 grams. Your body can process, digest and handle every single calorie of protein no matter how much you shovel down your mouth.

So order up that triple dose of meat on your next bowl at Chipotle and enjoy guilt-free.

Q: Will eating too much protein harm my kidneys?

Unless your doctor has advised you to limit your protein consumption, you are totally fine to eat the protein amounts recommended in this article.

A high protein diet will not lead to kidney problems. But if you have pre-existing issues with your kidneys, a high protein intake could lead to renal function decline. A safe recommendation for most people to follow is anywhere between 1-1.5g/lb of lean body mass OR just stick with what I laid out earlier in this piece.

Let me help you learn how to eat more protein so you can hit your macros and make weight loss more effective … 

I’m here to help you out. 

If you have any questions, reach out. I answer all of my emails at pete [at] petecataldo [.] com … Hit me up with the subject line “How to Eat More Protein” and I’ll answer any questions you have to make this work for you.

Or you can hit me up anytime on the socialz on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

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