Why is eating a healthy diet important? You have probably heard of weight loss by eating a diet rich in protein, with plenty of fruits and vegetables. Well, did you know the reason is that eating a high protein diet is essential for fat loss?
There are two main reasons.
The first is because protein is very filling, and it takes a long time to digest. Your body uses up a lot of energy to digest meat and other animal products. When protein is the main component of the food you eat, the digestive system uses up a lot of energy, and you are left feeling tired.
Without enough protein, you lose your muscle mass faster. Not eating enough protein will cause your body to feed on your muscle/fat because it needs to keep running off those protein levels that you used to control in order to survive.
The second reason is that eating a lot of protein causes your blood sugar level to rise. Carbs do not cause the same effect, because they do not affect your blood sugar as much. I’m sure you have noticed that when you ravenously eat carbs, you get extremely tired and sleepy. The reason for this is that your blood sugar plummets, and you are not getting enough protein to keep your body operating on that stored amount of glucose.
The key to this is not just in choosing when to eat protein, but also in the amount of protein that you eat. You can get plenty of protein without ever eating carbs or fat. Let’s look at a few ways that you can use to ensure that you are getting plenty of protein in your diet.
Eat Protein With Every Meal
If you are going to eat a high protein diet, it is important that you don’t do it without paying attention to the amount of protein that you are consuming. Every time you put something in your mouth you need to count the amount of protein that you are taking in.
For example, let’s take a look at the burger that you may normally have. This burger is very high in protein, with nearly 25 grams of protein. But if you put it on a whole wheat bun and skip the mayo, then you will be taking in around 25 grams of carbs instead, which is not nearly as healthy. You should be taking in around 50 grams of protein with every meal that you eat, no matter what it is. Remember to adjust your meals if needed.
Get Protein In Before You Start Exercising
You don’t need to work out all day to get your needed protein. You can get plenty of protein in your whole day as long as you start early and get enough in your meals.
I usually start my day by making a protein shake, which usually takes around 5 minutes to make. I then put a serving and a half in my bag while I’m heading out the door. That way I will have protein for at least the first half-hour of my workday.
I usually have a gulp of milk to give me my calcium along with my protein, and I usually pack a nice bag full of nuts to snack on while I’m on the go. That is really your only time to really have a high protein meal. It is very important to start your day off with a protein-rich meal.
What To Do If You Don’t Like To Cook Or Don’t Have Any Cook Time
The best thing about a plant-based diet is that you don’t have to cook anything. I mean, you don’t really need to know how to cook anything when you get enough protein in your whole day. Most foods that are good for you can be prepared in a few minutes.
You can eat these foods any way that you want, whether it be taking a knife and fork and chopping the vegetables at home or preparing the meal at home and popping it in the microwave for a few minutes.
I personally don’t know how to cook any foods other than grilling, but with a little practice, I have gotten myself in the habit of cooking my meals.
To make things even easier when cooking you can try to make large batches and store them in the refrigerator. You can pull these meals out and reheat them in a minute.
I try to have each meal that I’m cooking with several options. I cook with starchy vegetables once and with anything else I know will give me a great boost in nutrition and flavour.
It’s a lot easier to open a pre-made frozen meal and cook it when I know I have some raw vegetables on my plate. This way I don’t need to worry about how long my food will be cooking.
Your options for protein are going to be much greater with a raw vegetable diet. I recommend having at least 2 large salads per day.
Preparing these salads is easy.
