How to Hit Your Protein Targets
You want to know what’s harder than hitting PR’s?
Hitting your daily protein goal
Seriously….
For a lot of people, consuming more than 100 grams of protein can seem like an almost impossible task.
But prioritizing protein should be the forefront of your daily essentials if you want to optimize muscle potential.
So I’m going to explain why protein is such a hard nutrient to get adequate amounts of. How we can modify our nutritional habits to include more protein at every meal. And how to get to the point where meeting your targets becomes nearly second nature.
I’m also going to share what I’m doing with my own diet and how I get 180-200g of protein everyday, including the weekends.
Why Is It So Hard To Get Enough Protein??
The main answer to this is simple, protein adds NOTHING to either taste and/or texture to food. Sugar (carbs) adds sweetness and Fat can both add flavor and texture.
Compare full sugar jelly to reduced sugar jelly
And compare regular peanut butter to powdered peanut butter
Typically when someone experiences cravings, it’s usually towards something sweet, salty, or fatty, or even a mix of the bunch.
I’ve never heard anyone say they crave chicken breast or cottage cheese. Foods loaded w/ carbs and/or fats tend to be the more sought after choices due to their increased palatability.
Protein does nada. And top that with the fact protein is also the most satiating of all the four macronutrients, it’s no wonder why most of us are drastically undernourished in this essential nutrient.
“Essential” meaning you CANNOT live without it. If you’re chronically low enough in protein long enough, your health will start to decline beyond muscle loss.
Most of us get enough “essential protein” which means we’re getting enough to avoid noticeable health decline, but not enough to build muscle and optimize our health.
The other reason why it’s so hard for someone at first to hit protein targets is because doing so requires a big change to their daily habits. They have to become far more aware to include protein earlier in the day, at every meal, and make it the centerpoint around most snacks. As someone who’s been doing this for a decade, it’s become practically effortless for me to get 100, 150, or even 200 grams of protein all in a single day.
I’ve been doing it for so long now that I know how to structure my diet to one that’s not restrictive but yet, allows me to still hit my goals.
Unfortunately, most people don’t have a lot of experience structuring their diet in a way that’s progressive; there’s no previous experience, so it may be a rather difficult process at first.
Then How Do I Make It Easier?
The best answer I can give you is in the form of pre-planning your days. The benefit of doing so is that you won’t have to stress about which foods you should be eating. You’re not constantly guessing in the moment or constantly playing a game of catch up.
You don’t want to be at dinner knowing you still have to consume 80+ grams of protein.
Pre-track your days ahead of time. Plan out what you’ll have for breakfast, lunch or dinner. If you prefer to skip breakfast altogether, totally fine! Just plan out your lunch and dinner.
I personally love recommending to my clients to start their day off with a hefty dose of protein. If you can slam 30-50g at breakfast, that’s just going to make hitting the rest of your protein that much easier!
Foods like chicken, lean beef, fish, tofu, whole eggs, egg whites, tempeh, greek yogurt, cottage cheese, turkey, or lean pork are all awesome protein sources you can include at breakfast.
I’m also a huge fan of protein oatmeal. Regular oatmeal w/ protein powder mixed in. Super convenient, takes less than 5 minutes to prepare, and tastes amazing! Depending on the protein powder you're using, it could become caramel, peanut butter, cookies & cream, vanilla, or even chocolate flavored.
Once you’ve spent some time planning out some high protein meals, you can write them down or save them into a food logging app. Apps like myfitnesspal or chronometer let you save custom meals. Let’s say I saved a meal consisting of beef and rice, I can quickly tap a button and add that to my food diary.
It’s basically never been easier to hit your nutrition goals!
Make a conscious effort to start every meal around a source of protein; it could be meat or it can be plant based. And if you enjoy snacking, including a protein bar or maybe some hard boiled eggs could also be an added plus.
What Are High Protein Foods?
I did briefly mention some high protein choices earlier, but I want to give you a list of some of my personal favorite sources of lean protein.
“Lean” means these foods contain very little excess calories from either carbohydrates or fats.
Pick any lean source of protein you’d like, and have enough of it to garner a large protein intake. Your body is well equipped to utilize more than 30g in one sitting, so go crazy!
I just listed off some of my current favorite sources of protein. Any lean meat such as pheasant, turkey, duck, or elk are also solid options!
Another tip I can give that’s similar to tip #1 is including high protein snacks throughout your day. Protein bars, Protein shakes, boiled eggs, and greek yogurt are easy options that can put a big dent into your daily targets.
And while there’s nothing wrong with snacks like nuts or granola, both of which are incredibly healthy and delicious! I just know that making an effort to include protein-rich snacks would greatly benefit the majority of gym-goers.
How I Personally Hit 180g of Protein Everyday
Because I’ve been doing this for so long, hitting my daily targets has kinda become second nature. And while I do believe that no one diet should be the same, I think it could benefit if I showed off some of my own habits that allow me to reach my daily targets, while still leaving room for flexibility.
The following is NOT a recommended diet plan. This is what has worked for me specifically, you SHOULD NOT copy my diet.
A common trait amongst those who’ve been able to maintain a healthy body weight long-term is having SOME level of repetitiveness within their diet. I’m not saying you need to eat the EXACT same thing everyday, but having a handful of go-to meals that you have more frequently than others does make maintaining weight loss a lot easier.
That’s kind of what I do with my diet, I like to cycle between a handful of different meals. The amount of meals you have during the day also really doesn’t matter beyond personal preference. Though there has been research showing frequent feedings can be slightly better for overall gains, the actual difference is so marginal that it’s really nothing you need to worry about.
Which is why I personally eat 2 meals per day.
Breakfast and dinner.
With a pre and post workout snack.
I do this for no other reason beyond it being the meal frequency I prefer. I like to workout as soon as I wake up, so for a pre workout, I like to make a cup of coffee and grab a protein bar. A typical post workout snack for me is something like an apple or a banana.
You CAN have protein before your workout if you prefer. The amino acids consumed will still go towards muscle protein synthesis, allowing for muscle growth.
Yes, it may be a bit more optimal to have protein post-workout, but again, the difference is really small.
< Total daily protein is what you should be focused on >
I’m also eating breakfast as soon as I get back, so I’m already kinda covered in post-workout protein.
Breakfast for me is usually a cycle of 3 different meals. I personally like consistency, so this works for me.
Option #1: Protein Zoats
Oatmeal w/ grated zucchini to enhance total volume (you don’t taste the zucchini) with some greek yogurt spread on top. I like to add a tiny bit of stevia & cinnamon for some added sweetness.
Option #2: Scrambled Eggs with Egg Whites mixed w/ Veggies or Fruit
If I’m saving calories, I’ll go with egg beaters. Though it does contain a small amount of xanthan gum which can bother some, I’ve never had issues with it. Half a carton (453g) gives me 250 calories and 50 grams of protein!
And if I’m not saving calories, I tend to go for whole eggs. I’ll usually mix my eggs with some vegetables or perhaps some berries.
Real talk btw, eggs and fruit go really well together!
Option #3: Cottage Cheese w/ Fruit
This one is super simple, usually a 10-16oz pint of lactose-free lowfat cottage cheese with some fruit mixed in. Though I don’t HAVE to have the entire pint, I’ve always felt pretty good having it, plus 50-ish grams of protein is something you’ll never hear me complaining about.
This one is less frequent than the other two because despite it being lactose-free, that’s still a whole lotta dairy.
Dinner is also extremely consistent with a very similar template.
1 meat and 3 veggies.
I’ll cycle with what kind of meats and vegetables I’m having, but that’s pretty much been the template I’ve been sticking with; It’s easy, I enjoy it, and it helps me reach my goals.
And regardless of the type of meat itself, I’ll always have at least one pound of it.
Which I know you’re probably thinking, “how can you eat an entire POUND of meat??”
A pound is really not a lot of food.
When you look at a plate of cooked meat, a pound really doesn’t take up that much space. Meat loses volume as the water inside evaporates during the cooking process.
A pound will typically give me around 90-95g of protein, depending on the choice of meat. I’ve recently switched from chicken tenderloins to lean pork tenderloin which, let me tell you, has been a game changer! If you can allow pork into your diet, lean pork either in tenderloin or in pork chop form is 100x better than chicken breast!
Sometimes I’ll do pork, sometimes I’ll do chicken, and when it’s on sale, I’ll play around with different cuts of steak.
And as for vegetables, I also like to cycle between different types. My only rule is I need to have at least three different vegetables on my plate. Both for diversity and for a rich micronutrient profile.
So a typical plate of mine could look like this
Steak of choice
Broccoli
Sweet Potatoes
Butternut Squash
Or it could be:
Chicken Breast
Peppers & Onions
Rutabaga
Cauliflower
It’s an easy template
One meat
Three vegetables
That’s pretty much the gist of my diet. Nothing fancy, but that’s okay with me. I don’t feel restricted and if I do happen to eat something processed, I don’t freak the hell out; I have a positive relationship with food, which I think is a place most people would like to be.
Could I have more variety with different meal templates? Perhaps
And could I include a third meal to better enhance muscle protein synthesis? Also yes
But the cool thing I’ve found with this way of eating is I still have tins of room in my calories for other things. With both breakfast and dinner included, that only puts me at around 1,700-1,900 calories out of my 3,000 calorie daily maintenance, so I have plenty of room to include going out with friends, or enjoy a snack here and there.
And if you want to find out what your maintenance calories are for yourself, I have a whole guide going through that process!
One of the most important things to know regarding nutrition is just how nuanced it is. It’s one of the main reasons why I love it so much! The shear complexity, that no one plan can truly suit two people.
I know some would be starving eating my diet, despite the protein, fiber, and volume. Some people prefer 1 meal per day while others may prefer 2, 3 or even 4.
Stick with the meal frequency that you prefer. Make sure you’re not starving yourself. And please don’t listen to the online charlatans saying you should only eat one meal per day to optimize fat loss. Sure it may work for some, but not everyone.
Conclusion
If you paid attention to both my meals, you may have noticed a theme.
< Both meals were centered around a large serving of protein >
I didn’t just have 3 ounces of meat, I had the entire pound.
I didn’t just have one egg, I had a bunch.
And I didn’t just have a small cup of cottage cheese, I had enough to garner a large serving of protein.
Center each meal around a large serving size of protein. It can be a meat of your choice, dairy if you can tolerate it, or even a vegan source.
You DON'T have to eat an entire pound of meat or have an entire small carton of egg whites to get enough protein.
Have a large-ish serving of protein to garner 25-50g and pair that with any side of your choosing. Could be vegetables, fruit, or starches, it could also be all three!
Include high protein snacks throughout the day. Protein bars, protein shakes, greek yogurt, and cottage cheese are easy options that can give you anywhere between 10-30 grams of protein.
Once again, I’m not telling you that you need to consume an entire bird or eat an entire thing of greek yogurt. I’ve always liked high protein foods, so having fairly large servings has never been a issue for me. Regardless though, I know most of us are drastically under-nourished in protein and can greatly benefit form having larger servings of it. Maybe not to the extent as me, but you get the point :)
Some will also say they get plenty of protein because they had a few ounces of turkey on their sandwich for lunch.
That sandwich in total probs gave you only 13g of protein.
When you probably need more than 100.
And you don’t need to worry about using up all your calories on protein. Protein per gram contains 4 calories.
That’s only 600 calories for 150g worth of protein! Even with fats and/or carbs included, you could easily get away w/ 150g within 800 calories. Which is enough to allow PLENTY of flexibility for the rest of your diet.
But quickly going back to the beginning on how to make this process feel intuitive, the answer to that is time. After enough time making protein the center focus at each meal, it does start to become sorta instinctive, something you kinda just do without second thought.
My goal with this article was to give you some tips on how to structure your diet in a way that’s both progressive towards your goals, and leaves you flexibility to enjoy other foods.
Keep Chasing Great!
-R
