Top Five Reasons to Prioritise Protein

If you’ve been following a long so far with my Sixteen Week Transformation, then you’ll know that I’m making protein a large percentage of my daily food intake. In fact, I’m probably getting 60% of my daily calorie intake from protein, 30% from fats and the rest from carbs (found in vegetables).

The word protein comes from the ancient Greek word proteos, which translates loosely to ‘of primary importance’. It is one of the most vital tools we have for creating dramatic fat loss. If you aren’t prioritising protein, you’ll struggle to get in amazing shape. Here are my top five reasons to focus on proper protein intake.

Trying out a new form of protein - Ostrich! (it was amazing)

1. Protein increases satiety. That means it makes you feel fuller for longer. Research shows that protein increases how full people rate themselves feeling after eating it. They also reported feeling less hungry in between meals. This helps naturally reduce calorie intake while also making you feel less hungry during a diet.

2. Protein helps support lean muscle mass. Protein is the building block for muscle. Inadequate protein levels could lead to loss of muscle. The more lean muscle tissue you have, the faster your metabolism will be. That means that even while your asleep or sitting at your desk, you’ll be burning more calories.

Fully prepped with all my protein and veg for the week

1. Protein helps recovery. When you exercise hard, you damage muscle tissue. Your body then repairs itself stronger than it was before by using protein as building blocks. If you have good levels of protein it will help your body repair itself stronger and fitter. You should feel stronger each time you go into your workout – able to lift or do more. If not, it could be because you’re not getting enough protein.

2. Protein supports detoxification. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. It takes twenty different amino acids to make a protein. Those amino acids are essential for detoxification in the liver. If you can’t detoxify well because you lack nutrients, you’ll struggle to burn fat, sleep well or have good energy levels, let alone stay healthy.

3. Protein keeps blood sugars stable. Keeping protein a primary part of your meals will limit the amount of carbs you are eating. That will prevent spikes in blood sugar. Those spikes can be useful in certain situations, but generally you’re better off keeping blood sugars stable for the best fat loss.

Meat, fish and eggs contain the highest levels of protein, by far. If you’re a meat eater, focus on filling up at least forty percent of your plate with these foods at each meal. If you follow plant based nutrition then it’s a bit more difficult but do your best to prioritise beans and legumes, while considering some additional protein supplementation if necessary.

As a quick update for anyone following a long with the Sixteen Week Transformation, here’s where I am currently. I have just finished my seventh day of the first fourteen days of my nutrition plan. I’ve eaten three meals per day of meat and vegetables with one snack of beef jerky in the afternoons.

I have trained three times – I’ll cover the work outs next week hopefully if you guys want to give them a go! Body fat wise, it’s very early days. I’ll check progress at the end of the first two weeks to get the most accurate picture of the changes. For now, I’m just focusing on being consistent as hell and training hard.

Yours in health,
Coach Ben
#coachben