A Few Ideas on Eating Lean and Low Fat Protein

Protein is a beneficial addition to your diet but often comes with high calories and loads of saturated fat. Despite its downsides, it is necessary to eat enough protein to ensure that your mind, muscle and body are adequately provided with the nutrients needed to stay healthy. If you are a fitness nut and are concerned about the amount of fat in your daily protein intake consider lean and low fat options.

If you like to exercise and improve your fitness level you will need an ample supply of protein to repair your muscles. It is recommended that men consume between .4 and .8g of protein per pound of body mass (1). .4 is an absolute minimum and .8 for an athlete.

-White vs. Dark Mean Chicken: Chicken is a main staple. There is a difference between legs ad breast. Eating white meat chicken with mostly spices versus marinated is the best alternative.

-Lean Beef: Lean beef versus regular beef is best as it substantially reduces the overall amount of saturated fat in your diet. Use it for cooking in any recipe that requires meat.

-Fish: Fish is one of the best sources of protein with very little fat. How you cook it will determine its overall benefits.

-Lentils, Beans and Legumes: If you desire to obtain protein without the burden of high fat check out lentil, beans and legumes as an alternative.

-Nuts: Only a handful is needed to get you a solid portion of protein. It also helps your heart and cardiovascular system.

-Protein Smoothies: Putting protein into smoothies helps find a balanced way of getting your daily intake needs.

Are You Ignoring Contributing Factors to Fitness?

Is fitness and health exclusively about exercise? Certainly one can make that argument but they often forget about other aspects of one’s life that lead to greater fitness and health. If a person jumps on the treadmill for a half hour a day they will not magically get in great shape.  Those that fail to make a connection to other needed life adjustments are unlikely to achieve their full potential. The reason? – Limited perspective that results in ignoring contributing components to improved fitness.

Fitness and health is as much a lifestyle change as it is engaging in new activities. It requires adjustments in Food & Diet, Fitness Routine, Motivation & Habit, Self-Image, and Nutrition & Fitness Knowledge.  To encourage success in your endeavors you should consider how each aspect of your health impacts your chances of success:

Food & Diet: What we eat will have an impact on our overall health. High fat and calorie laden food will continue to add to your unused energy each day. When your body reaches 3,500 calories you gain a pound and begin to add fat. Eating low calorie but highly nutritious food will help you lose weight and provide the building blocks for enhanced muscle growth. 

Fitness Routine: Fitness routine design will determine focus, speed of change, and the likelihood of injury.  The type of activities influences weight loss, muscle gain, flexibility and performance. For example, gaining muscle requires resistance training while weight loss needs more cardiovascular routines.  It is best to follow other routines or find help in developing a customized routine.

Motivation & Habit: After the New Years gyms are packed with enthusiastic fitness hobbyists that disappear after a few months. The problem is related to motivation and habit. Motivation helps get someone to the gym but habit keeps them coming back at regular intervals. 

Self-Image Development: How we view ourselves will have an impact on our fitness levels, the body image we project, and sustaining motivation. Developing a self-image that is associated with fitness, exercise, sports, etc. will help integrate proper fitness behaviors that are relied on throughout the week.

Nutrition & Fitness Knowledge:  A lack of knowledge can regularly lead to fitness failure. Learning about how the body works, exercise movements, food choices, and sports hobbies encourages greater knowledge for proper fitness choices.