The Importance of High Protein Diet

Across the nations of the world today, people are embracing a diet based less on overly refined carbohydrates and more on lean protein, fruits, and vegetables, and they

are seeing positive results. It has benefited so many that I believe a fundamental shift away from excess carbohydrates will prevail, just as our understanding of the role of saturated fats has caused a serious change in the way most people eat. 

Empty calories will eventually equal extra pounds. Research has been found that by eliminating many of the carbohydrate-rich foods that forms the backbone of most of our diets and boosting our intake of lean protein, we will not only lose weight, but we will feel better, have more energy, and see some pretty significant changes in our blood cholesterol levels.

I want to make one thing clear. It doesn’t take a doctor to tell you that a diet consisting entirely of enormous grilled steaks or chicken breasts with green salads on the side will not sustain good health. In fact, it can lead to serious health risks. That’s why we’ve pursued a moderate path. The recipes we will be looking at preclude the dangers of a radical protein diet, which potentially puts the body into a state of ketosis, by incorporating generous amounts of healthy vegetables and fruits. You’ll see that most of the recipes include a protein and vegetable or, at the very least, a vegetable suggestion.

The best shot at good nutrition is to eat a wide and varied diet of unprocessed foods, including sufficient protein for health and endurance, and five vegetables and fruits every day to provide the best quality of complex carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and sufficient fiber for optimum health.

A Word about Portion Size

In order to lose weight, we do have to count calories. They are nothing more than the energy units necessary to fuel our own personal furnaces. When we feed our machines excess energy, our bodies use what they need and store the rest for a rainy day in the form of fat.

The recipes we will be looking in the next hubs do not offer unhealthy, outsized portions. Three to 4 ounces of meat or up to 6 ounces of fish provide more than enough protein and are sufficient to keep you satisfied until your next meal. In restaurants today, it is not uncommon for each diner to be presented with 8, 10, or even 12 ounces of protein, and a meal that represents about 2,500 calories overall. This is absurd and unless you are able to radically increase your daily exercise output, you will not lose weight if your caloric intake exceeds about 1,500 per day. 

The recipes should indicate clearly what a portion size should look like. Should you find yourself staring at a typically gargantuan restaurant serving, here’s an easy no-scale way to judge how much you should eat: Look at the palm of your hand. A 3 to 4 ounce portion of meat or fish is about that size. If there’s more than that much protein on your plate, cut some off and hand it to your dining companion, or put it in a “doggie bag” for a free lunch the next day. If you follow a high-protein diet, you can do this without feeling hungry because the body takes longer to digest protein. Protein “sticks to your ribs.” Add one cup of leafy green vegetables, ¾ cup cooked vegetables, plus medium-size pieces of fruit (oranges, apples, and pears), or 1 cup of berries.

Fruits and vegetables give you the needed fiber, which protects the bowel. It is like your mama said: Eat your vegetables. The body is a wonderfully adaptable machine. Just as it has adjusted to your former bad eating habits, given half a chance, the body will adapt and quit crying out for cookies and cakes. Then you are more than halfway to success. Eat sufficient protein, balance it off with a generous serving of the right vegetables and fruits, and you will succeed.

When there is No Time to Cook

Don’t even have time to look at a recipe? You belong to a huge club; some would say an enormous society. In fact, if you think we use recipes every night to make terrific meals, you have a fantasy about the life of a food writer. Many a night, we do nothing

but grill or sauté a chop, rip open a bag of salad, and eat. Part of this new way of life is making food less central to your existence.

You can learn how to improve your skills with a sauté pan and grill so that you will soon be whipping up sweet little suppers without cracking a book. Yes, that’s right; you may have to break the muffin, breakfast cereal and sugary doughnut habit. Those convenience foods have come to dominate most of our societies’ breakfast and the cessation of that habit may be the most important change you make. Stop the hypoglycemic yo-yo that starts with a big jolt of sugar for breakfast, and you’ve made a heroic beginning on a high-protein plan.

Eating the Rest of the Day

The recipes in this High-Protein Cooking tips are intended primarily as dinner entrees, although many could be made in larger quantities and served for lunch the next day. I recommend that you decide on a basic breakfast and lunch strategy and simply stick with it, day in, day out, saving your energy, creativity, and best recipes for the evening meal.

Before you protest that this will be too limiting, think about what you eat for breakfast now, it is probably just as limited a menu. Do not skip breakfast; simply substitute a healthy, high-protein option, such as cottage cheese and berries, or eggs with a piece of thin toast, or even a cheese omelet. Make that your “regular” and be done with it. Soon it will feel as natural as that bagel “with a smear” or that bowl of oatmeal does now.

Make sure you get sufficient protein at every meal. Eat five vegetables and fruits

every day and drink lots and lots of water, at least 64 ounces per day. Load your refrigerator and purse with acceptable emergency provisions, such as string cheese, hard-cooked eggs, and hard salami. If you’re so hungry you can’t wait for dinner, spread a tablespoon of chunky natural peanut butter on a couple of celery ribs and munch away. It’s about 6 grams of carbohydrates and quite satisfying. And don’t forget, a glass of red wine has been shown to promote good cardiac health. So eat well, drink wisely, and feel good about realigning your eating habits into a more healthful, life-affirming pattern.