If you’re looking to boost your workouts and improve your results, especially when building muscle, there really is no alternative to protein. Protein helps repair muscles that damage naturally during exercise, helping to promote growth. However, you don’t have to simply double your red meat intake throughout the week. Here are a few easy ways to add the extra protein that your diet needs.
Drink all you need before your workout
If you’ve seen people drinking thick milkshakes before work and you’re wondering why exactly they’re doing it, it’s because those shakes are full of protein. Whey protein powder shakes have been very popular in gyms for the past two decades now. They make it relatively easy to concoct a drink that gives you your day’s supply of protein, and others might contain additional nutrition, such as creatine. Furthermore, these shakes can help curb your appetite, which can help if you’re also trying to do a calorie-controlled diet, as well.
Make a couple of changes to your salads
For those who are conscious of their calorie counts, salads can be a great way to eat lunch without worrying too much about the impact of what you’re eating. However, there are a couple of changes you can make that may end up making them a little heavier but could also make them a lot more nutritionally valuable. Spinach, for instance, can make for a great salad ingredient and has almost as much protein as it does iron. Hard-boiled eggs are also great sources of protein, and slicing them up and putting them through the salad can add some much-needed flavor, too.
Even your treats can be helpful
Peanut butter might seem like just as much of an indulgence as something like chocolate. Peanut butter is indeed calorie-heavy, but most of those calories are protein content. It’s also full of healthy unsaturated fats and can help reduce appetite and even improve your metabolism, so you burn fat better. Aside from taking it with things like oatmeal, why not learn to bake things like peanut butter cookies. That way, even when you’re being “bad,” you’re really being good and helping get the protein content that your body needs to maximize its potential workout results.
Get fishy with it
If you’re getting tired of red meats then it may please you to know that there are other ways to get proteins in your meals, as well. Fish is another great source of protein and, thanks to the way that it’s preserved, even canned fish like tuna contains a lot of it. Even more delicious options like sweet chili salmon, mackerel, and sardines are also high in omega-3 fatty acids which have a whole host of health benefits, including improving your heart health.
With the tips above, getting your fill of protein should be no problem at all. A little change to how you do salads, the right treats, and a workout shake can get you going in no time.
