How to Hit Your Protein Goal

What most people are after when it comes to their body composition goals is the best possible outcome, with the minimum amount of effort – that is what is achievable when you hit your protein goal.

Body composition is the percentage of fat, bone, and muscle in your body, it helps health professionals to determine if you are at a healthy weight. If you want to hit your body composition goal in 2022 you must hit your protein goal. 

But, how do you set a protein goal? 

General guidelines state that a person should consume 0.8 – 1.2 lbs per pound of body weight over the course of a day. However, this depends on a few things:

• What your body composition goals are.
• The activity level that you have.
• Your individual body fat.

It’s up to you to decide where you sit on the spectrum of how much protein you need, and if you are really struggling to work it out, speak to your ERA Fit personal trainer/fitness coach. 

A good general rule, though, is to hit 1g protein per pound of body weight per day (a 200 pound man would need to hit 200g of protein per day). 

And, what should you be reaching to achieve that goal?

Often when we think about protein, we think of meat. However, our protein intake comes from meat, fish, eggs, dairy (complete protein), fruits, nuts, vegetables, grains, and seeds. For example:

• 1lb of meat is around 100g of protein (depending on type of meat/fish). 
• A cup of cooked lentils will provide around 18 grams of protein and 15 grams of fiber, and it has virtually no saturated fat or sodium.
• 1 ounce (28 gram) serving of cheddar cheese contains 7 grams of protein (and a lot of calcium).
• 3 large eggs provide 19 grams of high quality protein, as well as important nutrients like selenium and choline.
• Almonds contain 6 grams of protein in a 1 ounce (28 gram) serving, which makes them a better source of protein than most nuts. They’re also high in magnesium, fiber, and heart-healthy monounsaturated fat, all whilst being low in digestible carbs.

Another general rule is you’ll probably want to achieve around a 3:1 ration of leaner protein to fatty protein. Choosing leaner meats can also boost the protein content of your meal, and often also make it lower in calories. 

The biggest takeaway from this? If you are hitting your protein goal, everything else will fall into place. You’ll control your insulin levels, be more satiated, be leaner, and be happier and healthier as you reach your body composition goals in 2022.

If you want further help in understanding protein and setting a body composition goal, get in touch with the ERA Fit team today.