Are You Eating Enough Protein? #FitnessFriday

Are You Eating Enough Protein?

The recommended daily allowance for men 19 – 50 is 65 grams a day. For women, it’s 46 grams each day.

Here’s a way to visualize it: a McDonald’s quarter pounder with cheese has 31 grams of protein. So 65 grams of protein is two quarter pounders.

There are, quite obviously, healthier ways to get your protein. A quarter pounder also comes with 530 calories, 41 grams of carbohydrates, 27 grams of fat and 100 mg of cholesterol. That’s a lot of calories and carbs.

A 4 ounce piece of salmon has 25 grams of protein, 233 calories, 14 grams of fat, 71 grams of cholesterol and no carbs. Clearly a better choice.

For my part, I have a protein shake every morning with 30 grams of protein, 160 calories, 3 grams of fat and 5 carbohydrates. That gets me more than halfway there. All that protein tides me over in the space between breakfast and lunch and keeps me from late morning noshing.

If you’re not into counting your nutritional content, the MyFitnessPal Blog has a helpful blog post with helpful signs that you are not eating enough protein:

• Loss of muscle mass
• Stress fractures
• Bad Mood
• Frequent Illness
• Brittle nails and slow hair growth

For details on the symptoms, read the article at the link above.