How 30g of protein in the morning changed my outlook on food...

Cooking and being mindful of what I eat has influenced and overhauled my entire life recently. I was never someone who ate 'unhealthy' per se, but looking back I'm not even sure how many times a day I would eat, or what I would eat. One of the main things that sticks out to me retrospectively is that I would never eat breakfast, I just thought I wasn't 'one of those people'.

My mornings would consist of making myself a coffee 5 mins after waking up (beautiful way to spike my cortisol unnecessarily) and then having a crash mid-morning because I have literally eating nothing. This may sound like intermittent fasting (which I will touch on later), but it really wasn't. Intermittent fasting requires precision, organisation and overall a healthy, balanced lifestyle. And what I was doing wasn't any of those.

A couple of years ago I came across a Tiktok which spoke about having 30g of protein in your breakfast. At this point I had a vague idea of what protein was, but I definitely was not 'in-the-know' with how much I would need and how I could introduce this to my diet. But I decided to give this 30g protein breakfast idea a go, and it has honestly changed my entire diet and my outlook on food. Now let's get into the why and the how!

1. What is protein?

Starting out my healthy eating journey, I didn't even know much about protein, or macros, or any of these words that fitness influencers throw about. To summarise, protein is macronutrient and this is essential to the growth and repair of our body (hence why it is so important to people who go gym).

Your typical adult should be consuming roughly 0.75-1g of protein per kg in a day. So if you are around 60kg then you should be consuming between 45g and 60g of protein a day. If you are looking to tone up and increase muscle mass, then you would need roughly 1.5-2g per kg a day. My personal goal is 120g of protein a day as a minimum as I am in a body recomp phase and looking to tone up, plus I lead quite an active life when I'm not working, so I definitely need the fuel!

So how do I implement protein into my diet? If you have a look on my tiktok (@argita_m) I regularly post 'what I eat in a day' vlogs where I provide a breakdown of what I eat, alongside my calories and protein, whilst also giving some meal inspo, as I do not believe clean eating should be boring!

2. Examples of high-protein food

If you are looking to increase your intake of protein, but not sure where to start, then just make the below your food-shop staples and you will essentially never have to worry about getting enough protein!

• Chicken breast

• Turkey

• Steaks

• Salmon

• White fish

• Cottage cheese

• 0% fat greek yogurt

A simple high-protein meal could be, roast chicken breast, some wild rice and boiled veggies (season to desire) and you have a clean nutritious meal - healthy eating does not have to be complicated either :)

3. Benefits of a high-protein diet

Since I've started focusing on high-protein meals I feel so satiated and honestly, aside from when I'm eating or deciding what to cook, food is not at the forefront of my mind. My body has enough fuel to continue doing what it needs to do, so I can focus on literally anything else. I have gained so much mental clarity and I feel my body is finally getting the nutrition it needs and deserves.

As I mentioned, I am currently focusing on a body recomp (losing fat and gaining muscle to ultimately tone up) and I have noticed the biggest difference since I started eating high protein. It goes without saying but my energy levels are so much higher compared to previously, and I am noticing faster and more obvious changes in my body than trying to be ultra-low calorie (which will just end up working against you anyways). As long as you remember food is fuel you cannot go wrong.

Then we have all the other benefits (just as important): boosted metabolism, increased bone health, improved blood sugar control, as well as weight loss!

4. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day

A lot of people focus on high protein dinners (which is important) but for me, nothing is as important as breakfast. I truly believe that this is the meal that decides how the rest of your day goes, and I believe it truly is that important.

Firstly, by having a HP (high-protein) breakfast you will automatically feel more satiated, so you are way less likely to snack or eat mindlessly throughout the day, which leads to reduced calorie intake and can actually help you with weight loss!

If you are a low blood sugar girly (guilty) then this will really help bring that under control more and you won't feel that sugar crash that you usually do. Protein also takes longer to breakdown in your digestive system, potentially slowing the release of sugars into your bloodstream.

5. Fasting: Yes or No

There is so much research behind intermittent fasting and how beneficial this can be for your body, however I will say that this requires a lot of organisation and discipline (in my opinion). Firstly, you would need to be at the stage in your health/fitness journey where you know for a fact that you will be able to consume your necessary calories/nutrition in the time frame you have allowed yourself, otherwise you may end up actually putting your body into starvation-mode.

In the same breath, I also think you need a strict sleeping regime to actually sustain intermittent fasting long-term, otherwise your cortisol and blood-sugar will be all over the place. Overall, based on what I've researched I don't think intermittent fasting is achievable long-term for your average person.

6. Fibre is your friend!

If you do decide to implement a high-protein diet in your day to day, remember that this comes in hand with high-fibre. The fibre will really help in your digestive health, as well as nourishing beneficial gut bacteria which aid your bodily processes.

By adding grains and fibre-rich foods to your diet, this will ensure that you are maximising the benefits of your high-protein intake!

A HP diet is overall beneficial to your physical (and mental) health, it is the perfect way to start becoming aware of what you are actually eating throughout the day and how this is benefitting you!

Hope this was helpful and see you tomorrow!

Argita xo