Just have baby and already starting to feel the itch to rebuild your body?
Do you have a goal to improve your body composition - as in, lose fat & gain muscle?
Do you want to achieve that goal without feeling hungry or cutting out your favorite foods?
Today I get to show you how to do that as I break down 3 important reasons why - and how! - adding more protein to your meals is the most important part of those goals.
In this post you'll read:
Why protein supports fat loss
The biggest reason to add more protein to your meals has to do with muscle.
Over the years coaching women, I have learned to read between the lines when I am told "I want to lose weight". What they really mean is they want to lose fat. Same goes for the " I want to be toned" goal - what that means is they want to lose fat and see more lean muscle pop through.
For a fat loss goal to be attained, you will need to be in a calorie deficit. This will push your body to lose overall weight - not necessarily just fat, but muscle too! This is not an ideal situation, why? Because you don't want to lose your prized lean muscle.
Ideally we want to preserve as much muscle as possible so you can not only look the way you envision, but so that your body maintains a good metabolism along with strength by the time your fat loss phase is over.
Muscle is our body's energy burners. More muscle means higher metabolism. Not eating enough protein, especially during a calorie deficit, may lead to your body losing muscle along with the benefits of it.
An equally important reason to add more protein if you have a fat loss goal is to support your calorie deficit goal. No one wants to feel hungry while they're trying to get healthier and lose weight.
Hunger is the quickest hinderance to your weight loss goals - when you're hungry you will grab anything in sight, most of the time a high calorie option. Feeling that nonstop hunger can quickly tip those calories over your daily budget.
How can you feel fuller while eating less calories? Protein.
Protein, especially real food sources of protein like meat or eggs, does this cool thing in your brain. When you feel hunger, certain hormones turn on to signal your brain to want to eat. Protein does an excellent job at turning off those hunger cues with the help from amino acids.
This effect doesn't happen as well with carbs or fats, that's why it's easier to eat an entire bag of chips than it is to eat 16 ounces of steak in one sitting.
When I guide women to eat more protein what usually happens at the same time is they have less sugar cravings. This makes it so much easier to stick to their calorie goals when the sweet tooth isn't ruining their progress.
So if you've ever identified yourself as someone with a strong sweet tooth, the good news is that you are more than likely deficient in daily protein. Upping your protein is an easy solution you can start right now!
How protein improves postpartum recovery and fitness specifically
All of the above reasons take part in why protein postpartum is so important. To add to the reasons above, postpartum mamas should pay even closer attention to how much protein they are eating.
Most of this has to do with breastfeeding, if you choose to or are able to do that. Adding quality protein to your diet as you're producing milk not only gives baby the right nutrients, but studies have shown increasing meat consumption actually increases milk production! Read more about that here if you'd like.
Even if you aren't a breastfeeding mama, upping your protein postpartum is still a really good plan! Think about your tissues, muscles that have been stretched, blood loss, not to mention all of the nutrients your body has been working hard to give to baby - now it's your turn to fuel your recovery and help your body heal.
Protein for recovery is a huge part of healing and feeling a little more like yourself again. More than likely pregnancy may have led you to lose some muscle mass if you weren't able to be quite as active or lift weights like you did prior to pregnancy.
A recent article noted that ingesting more protein with or without resistance training still resulted in producing lean muscle - this means that even if you don't have time for lifting weights right now as a new mom you can support lean muscle growth by focusing on eating more protein. Read more about that here.
Protein is great for baby, yes, but also great for mom!
What proteins are the best to eat
Hands down, research has found that the best, most utilized, sources of protein for the body are from animal sources. For the calories and for their ability to be absorbed well by the body, animal protein always comes out on top.
A few of my favorite protein sources are:
-Eggs
-Chicken
-Steak
-Greek yogurt
-Cottage cheese
-Beef jerky
I like using whey protein powder as well to help myself and my clients reach their daily protein goals - this why protein powder is a great option!
Help with your goals to improve your body composition from my app!
If you're wondering how much protein you need, how you can make sure you are eating enough, or how to add more to your current routine can be worked on in my app when you sign up for any program with me.
Add a lifting routine to your schedule along with more protein and you'll be amazed at how quickly you'll see your body composition change!
For 50% off your first month use the code: FIRST50 when you sign up for any program!
All clients also receive a Simple High Protein Recipe book for healthy meals and treats to be armed with easy meals they can enjoy.
Remember, even if an exercise program doesn't feel possible right now, putting the work into eating more protein has so many benefits all by itself!
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