Day 4 - Fuel #1... Protein

Over the next few days, I’m going to be talking about each of the macronutrients that your body needs. I think that it’s so important to know about these because no matter what your lifestyle may look like, these are the basic building blocks for fueling your body!

The first one that we are going to cover is good ‘ol protein!

⭐️What is protein?⭐️
Protein is made up of small compounds called amino acids. There are hundreds of amino acids that exist in nature, but our bodies only needs 20 of them, in varying amounts, to be healthy and functioning! Our bodies can actually produce 11 of the 20 we need, but the remaining nine, come from foods that have protein in them! (PAUSE: How amazing is our God that He designed ALL of this to work in perfect harmony?!🙌)

Proteins are the body’s building blocks: bones, muscles, skin and blood are all made up of protein. After a tough workout, muscles are rebuilt and repaired by the proteins you eat.

Protein also helps you feel full and satisfied… plus it also helps stabilize blood sugar levels and minimize mindless munching #winwin This is because they are more difficult for our bodies to process (vs carbs and fats), which means they stay in our system longer!

⭐️Where do you get Protein from?⭐️
Protein is found in both animal and plant foods such as meat, chicken, fish, eggs, nuts, seeds, dairy products, legumes, grains and some vegetables.

If you go a little deeper in research, you'll find that there are "complete proteins" and "incomplete proteins". What you really need to know is that complete proteins are foods that have all 9 of the missing amino acids that your body needs, so those should be the ones you aim to eat first! Here's a quick list of some of them:
⭐️Meat
⭐️Fish
⭐️Eggs
⭐️Dairy

To read more about complete protein vs incomplete protein, visit: https://buff.ly/2X94ryg

Though protein offers heart health benefits, many protein-rich foods are high in saturated fat, raising cholesterol and increasing the risk of coronary heart disease, (https://buff.ly/Hy53hE). Higher fat protein foods to avoid include: fatty cuts of meat, full-fat dairy, regular ground beef, hot dogs, bacon and processed luncheon meat.

In today’s graphic, it’s a helpful chart to show you which lean proteins you should strive to fill up on first, and which foods are proteins, but you should have in moderation!

⭐️How much protein should you be eating in a day?⭐️
Depending on your eating style, the amount of protein that you eat in a day may vary. But, if we’re going by the normal, maintaining weight, 3 meals a day, nutritional standards, it’s recommended to incorporate 1 serving of protein in EACH of your meals.

To understand what an actual serving of protein is, we’ve included a super helpful graphic for you to get a great visual and you can literally take the measurement tool with you EVERYWHERE! Literally check out the palm of your hand and you can roughly use that as a serving of protein.

However, remember: Some seasons may not look the same as others, especially for your protein intake! For example, if you’re working out more, you may need to up your protein intake to help repair your muscles, even if it’s above what’s "average". If you’re not feeling great and had a week of chicken noodle soup, and mashed potatoes, with little to no protein, that’s totally OK sister!

What I love most about protein is that it's SUPER easy to add to most any meal & know that my body is going to feel full for longer because I made sure to get some in my diet!

⭐️ ACTION: Share your favorite protein-rich/ centered meal with the FSM family!⭐️