Glamour on a budget - Mattie Roberts

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How Does a High Protein Diet Work?
August 10, 2006

Earlier this year, studies from both the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and the Journal of Nutrition released studies that show high protein diets to be highly beneficial for weight loss. But take note of the fat contenet: 20%...that's really low!

This is not the high-protein, high-fat Atkins diet of old with a pile of steak, cheese and eggs on your plate. This is the newer, leaner high-protein diet.

If you want to take advantage of the satiety boosting aspects of protein, watch the fat content. Ideally you should be getting your fat from healthy sources (plants, nuts and fish). That means that the protein in your diet comes from fish, lean chicken and meat, soy and low-fat dairy products.

The study recommends eating some protein with every meal...and if you can do it in five mini-meals, it's even better.

Don't leave out the "smart carbs". Those are the colorful vegetables and whole grains which should make up 50% of your caloric intake.

These studies where done with exercise in mind. You want to keep your fat-burning lean body mass and the protein combined with exercise will help you do just that. So keep up your 5-6 days-a-week mix of cardio and weight training which I'm sure y'all are doing already.

If you were to follow this plan your day might look like this:

Breakfast:

A whole egg plus one egg white and one slice of whole-grain toast or oatmeal with a couple of lean turkey sausage links or sugar free yogurt with a scoop of whey protein powder mixed in and some berries.

Snack:

Low-fat cheese stick and a Wasa or Kavli cracker or a couple of turkey or chicken slices rolled with a slice of fat free cheese.

Lunch:

Canned tuna with 1 tbsp olive oil dressing or low-fat mayo over dark leafy greens and shredded carrots or shredded chicken in a low-carb tortilla with grilled peppers, onions and salsa.

Snack:

Blueberries in sugar-free yogurt or Kashi Go Lean cereal with skim milk.

Dinner:

Lean, organic steak with a baked sweet potato and broccoli sauteed in olive oil or salmon steak with salad and low-fat dressing or whole wheat pasta with crumbled lean turkey sausage and organic tomato sauce.

Oh, and a glass -- or two -- of wine. The study didn't say anything about that -- it's purely my own personal recommendation for health and well-being.