Tag: Sources Of Protein

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Weight Loss Exercise

The Truth about Protein

If you have been researching low carb diets and the Paleo diet in particular you will have noticed that they all have one thing in common. They recommend that you increase your intake of protein. This may come across as strange especially if you are trying to lose weight. Doesn’t protein contain high amounts of fat and cholesterol and should be limited?

Well that is not exactly true. The truth about protein is that your body needs protein for energy and to build muscle. Yes most people could benefit from increasing their protein intake. But knowing which proteins to eat is important.

The Functions of Protein

Your body needs protein to build and maintain muscles, organs, connective tissues, skin, bones, teeth and blood. Protein provides your body with energy, eating more protein when sick will help your recover quickly. If you didn’t eat protein your body would feel weak and exercising would be almost impossible.

Almost all of your bodily functions require the use of enzymes such as digestion. Protein helps to form enzymes in your body. Antibodies are the protein which is found in your blood and helps fight bacteria and toxins. Hormones contain protein and are responsible for sending messages throughout your body.

If you consume too much protein your body will store the excess as fat. Good sources of protein are lean sources such as turkey, chicken and fish.

Truth about Protein

Because so many people choose meat as their protein source animals are now raised with manufacturers having one thing in mind. Making a profit from what they sell. This is why today’s animals are fed chemicals to help them grow and to keep them disease free. Unfortunately this makes eating meat not as healthy as it once was.

To combat this you can choose to purchase meat and poultry which has been raised as organic, free range or as natural choices. Many people on the Paleo diet prefer to shop for grass fed protein sources. This is in keeping with eating the way your ancestors did many years ago.

Your Best Sources of Protein

The Paleo diet suggests that you consume high amounts of protein each day, around the 35% mark. When choosing protein look for very lean sources such as rabbit, lean chicken and turkey, lean beef cuts and lamb.

The Truth about Protein

Truth about Protein

Fish is an excellent source of protein and low in fat. Salmon and mackerel have higher amounts of Omega 3 which is good for you and should be included in your diet.

You will want to consume protein at every meal so having eggs for breakfast is a good start to your day. Eggs can be combined with peppers and mushrooms and turned into scrambled eggs or even an omelette.

Protein choices for lunch can include a tuna, chicken or turkey salad. For dinner you could have grilled salmon or roasted lamb along with plenty of high fibre vegetables, broccoli and Swiss chard are good examples.

Once you get used to eating a little more protein at every meal your body will start to feel the benefits. You will notice that you probably have more energy and that your muscles feel less sore after exercising.

Related Blogs

  • Related Blogs on Antibodies
  • Related Blogs on Blood Protein
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Weight Loss Exercise

Foods to Include in a Simple Diet Plan for Weight Loss



If you want to lose weight, you need to exercise and eat a healthy diet. Making the right food choices is essential in any diet plan. A simple diet plan for weight loss should include wholesome, natural foods that will provide the nutrients your body needs and help boost your metabolism.

Best Food for Weight Loss

A diet plan for weight loss should be simple and easy to follow. Anything complicated that requires exotic, hard-to-find, or expensive foods is doomed to fail. Luckily, the best foods for weight loss are easily available and often affordable. The following foods can be included in a simple diet plan for weight loss:

1. Lean Proteins – The body needs protein to build and maintain muscle mass and boost metabolic functions. Proteins also help regulate the appetite. The best sources of protein are lean meats such as skinless chicken, fish, and pork with most of the fat trimmed off. Avoid fatty meats because they are high in saturated fats. Other excellent sources of lean protein are eggs, beans, nuts and seeds. Beans are high in protein and fiber but low in calories. Nuts such as almonds and walnuts provide healthy essential fats along with protein.

2. Fruits – The natural sugars in fruits help curb your craving for sweets and provide carbohydrates for energy. Fruits are also high in fiber which keeps you feeling full. Additionally, fruits are packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Include fruits in a simple diet plant for weight loss. You can add fruits to your meals or for a healthy snack.

3. Vegetables – Like fruits, vegetables are low in calories but high in vitamins, minerals and fiber. A diet plan for weight loss should include plenty of vegetables especially leafy greens, bell peppers, onions and tomatoes. Go easy on starchy vegetables such as potatoes and corn but have your fill of spinach, kale, broccoli, and collard greens.

4. Whole Grains – The body also needs carbohydrates from grains and cereals. Whole grains provide carbohydrates for energy as well as fiber, vitamins and minerals. They are nutrient-rich and help maintain stable blood sugar levels. Avoid highly processed and refined carbohydrate sources such as white bread and candies.

5. Low-Fat Dairy Products – Dairy products are excellent sources of calcium, protein and fat. Choose low-fat dairy over the full-fat versions to help reduce the total calories consumed. Non-fat or low-fat milk, yogurt and cottage cheese can help you lose weight.

Simple Weight Loss Diet Plan

When you are trying to lose weight it’s important to eat the right amount of food often enough so you don’t get hunger pangs. Start your day with a healthy breakfast consisting of 2 eggs scrambled in a non-stick pan. You can add chopped onion and green pepper to your scrambled eggs. Have a piece of whole-wheat toast and a small cup of berries or melon.

For your morning snack, eat an apple or a handful of nuts. Lunch can be a fresh salad with light Italian dressing, and grilled skinless chicken breast.

Your afternoon snack can be a banana or an orange. For dinner, you can have grilled fish, steamed vegetables, a salad with tomatoes and lettuce, and vinaigrette dressing.

  • Foods to Include in a Simple Diet Plan for Weight Loss


Foods to Include in a Simple Diet Plan for Weight Loss

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General Weight Loss Tips

Food History: The Founding Foodies

Since our trip to Monticello a week and a half ago, I’ve been a little consumed with all things Thomas Jefferson. I’ve watched two documentaries (though I’ve fallen asleep- a habit of mine), and am now reading The Founding Foodies by Dave DeWitt.


I’m very interested and slightly obsessed with knowing how and what people ate. Did food taste the same? Where did they get their food? I know that Thomas Jefferson was a big fan of ice cream, wine (and making wine jelly), macaroni and cheese and ate more vegetables than meat. During colonial times pigs, followed by fish were the main sources of protein.

I’m not someone who believes that we should eat exactly like our ancestors (yes, another contradiction) mainly because food wasn’t regarded as it is today. They ate what they had access to and just didn’t have the information that we have today. Food history, like all history, is complex. It weaves and turns and sometimes, like now, it just doesn’t always make sense. Though, I will say that I’m even more convinced that the modern overeating/fat issue derives from having too much convenience food. It’s easier now to pack away the food than it was a hundred or more years ago.

I don’t believe that history makes something authentic. It’s easy to get caught up in the “good ol’ days” mentality. That unless people were doing it, listening to it, or eating it a hundred years ago means we should be doing the exact same things today. I wouldn’t trade my modern freedoms for the past, but I will happily pick and choose lessons from another time.

Before, if you wanted ice cream you had to find a source of cream which wasn’t always available. Then you had to find sugar which was heavily taxed at certain points in history. And then you had to churn it (or in Jefferson’s case, have it churned for you) with a hand crank. And then after all that, you probably didn’t have a whole gallon to yourself.  There were guests, and children who were vying for a scoop too. It’s not ice cream that is the problem. It’s the abundance and ease to which ice cream comes today. I could plop down $5 at my local grocer and get a decent pint, or gallon of ice cream depending on my mood. And if there’s  a sale, I could buy one and get one free.

Not to mention that most of the cheaper varieties come from abused and medicated cows. The sugar is replaced with corn (did you know that Benjamin Franklin loved corn and may have started the corn crop popularity in America? He often made beer from corn sugar among other things.)

This is what Michael Pollen means, in Food Rules, when he says if you want junk food, make it yourself. This is why I’ve often said to people what you see me eat, isn’t the reason for my weight. A normal portion of pretty much anything won’t make you fat. My excess weight comes from the indulgences you don’t see. The abundance that is hard to control. Because it is so easy to just eat and eat and eat. It’s cheap.

What if we had to source the ingredients for all the food that we overeat today? What if I had to kill a cow and clean it every time I wanted a burger? What if I had to grow the potatoes, harvest them, cut them, fry them every time I wanted a french fry?  Or milk a cow, skim the cream, find the sugar, hand churn the ice cream? It would take real work and maybe a better appreciation for food when actual work is involved with consumption.

Taking a peak into history helps shift my perspective. And I’m left wondering how I can apply some of these principles to my modern life? Leave some of the stuff in the past, like heavy drinking, because I know better, but picking up the extra work involved with eating.

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Other updates. I finally lost my water weight and am thinking I’m going to add another 2-3 pound loss this week. I’ve gotten better at moderation, even with a couple of days off on the weekends. I’ve found that I can have moderate, portioned treats on the weekend without feeling guilty or totally derailing my efforts. More on all of this time come.

I’m going through a few personal/career changes, that are all very good at the moment. This means that I won’t be able to post or analyze my food and exercise consumption like I would like in the next month. This could be a good thing! I will still post when I can, and update my weight losses, but I won’t be able to document every time I exercise or eat eggs for breakfast. Just know that I’m still around doing what I need to do, I just have a little less internet time until things settle in around September.