16 Affordable and Healthy Sources of Protein in Your Diet

Sports nutrition is a major expense for gym goers, and protein powder is no exception. A proven option from a well-known brand will cost several thousand, but if you add casein and BCAA, then every month you will need a good ten. It turns out that sports nutrition for a year can cost much more than a gym membership, unless, of course, you lift golden dumbbells in Zhukovka.

Of course, you can make a compromise: buy concentrate instead of isolate, and prefer something from Eastern Europe to well-known brands. However, this option has a serious disadvantage: along with the savings, you sacrifice quality. Budget protein contains impurities (the same as maltodextrin), is poorly purified and will ultimately bring you less benefit. A good alternative without extra zeros in the price tag is regular products from the nearest hypermarket, which are not much inferior to a good protein powder. Today we decided to focus on the most budget-friendly of them.

How effective is this method of losing weight?

The protein-eating method of losing weight results in conditions that force the body to obtain glucose (carbohydrates) from fat and protein. In other words, you spend energy on glucose synthesis, using up fat reserves.

In addition, a person does not feel hungry at this time, as with other diets. The body takes from 4 to 9 hours to digest proteins . So, the time from breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks between them can be easily transferred without stress to the body.

Important to remember! Due to the consumption of large amounts of protein, muscle mass does not decrease, but if the body receives physical activity, it increases.
This has a positive effect on increasing the metabolism of the entire human body and increasing its immunity.

Fast squirrels

Fast proteins are very useful for athletes, as they quickly restore strength and energy, help you feel more energetic and promote muscle gain. The body needs only 60-80 minutes to absorb fast proteins. After this time, they break down into amino acids and go straight into the cells.

List of fast protein products in the table:

Who should use a protein diet?

Protein, unlike carbohydrates, nourishes muscles, which quickly help burn off the calories received. But you shouldn’t get carried away with such nutrition.

Excess protein leads to poor overall health

Protein is not able to be stored in the body for future use, as fats do this. For this reason, its excess leads to disruption of protein metabolism, decay products accumulate, which significantly reduces immunity and leads to the occurrence of malignant tumors .

Losing weight on proteins is best suited for people leading an active lifestyle. For example, athletes, young, energetic people, those who prefer to give up sweets in favor of meat.

An active lifestyle requires a lot of energy

The diet is not contraindicated for pregnant women and nursing mothers. But you shouldn’t get too carried away with your diet. It is better to alternate regular meals with protein fasting days.

People suffering from diseases of the liver, kidneys, or cardiovascular system, if they want to lose weight using a protein menu, need to consult a doctor.

What protein foods should you eat when losing weight?

Let's take a closer look at what needs to be included in the menu for the process to be successful. As we have already found out, protein products are very important. The weight loss table in our article has a list of the most useful of them.

Meat

The presence of muscles in the human body makes it possible to burn calories. To preserve muscles, protein is needed, which is present in meat.

But meat products are also rich in fats. Therefore, in the process of losing weight, it is necessary to use dietary meat in the diet , which has the lowest fat ratio. It could be a rabbit, chicken breast, skinless turkey.

We provide a summary table of the content of elements in 100 grams of products for ease of use.

When using meat products in your diet, you must remember that you cannot combine:

• protein and fatty foods
• two types of food containing protein
• proteins and carbohydrates

It is strictly forbidden to eat acidic and protein foods together.

For example, you need to eat meat and eggs without bread, potatoes and cereals. Cream, sour cream, cottage cheese, vegetable oil cannot be combined with cheeses, meat, eggs.

Do not use vegetable oil, lemon, or fats for preparing salads . Do not take sour apples, lemon, orange with protein foods.

Fish

There is a direct relationship between the calorie content of fish and its benefits for weight loss. The lower the fat content of the fish, the better it is for weight loss, given that fish dishes are steamed or baked in the oven.

Fish is rich in the minerals phosphorus, iodine, zinc and potassium.

Protein from fish has the property of normalizing blood pressure and supporting processes occurring in the brain.

Fish meat is rich in vitamins A, D, B12, B2, B1. It is recommended to consume 200 to 300 grams of fish per day.

Do not forget that when losing weight and burning fat, fish is the most useful protein product only if steamed .

Low-fat sea fish containing iodine and Omega 3 fatty amino acids are more beneficial for dietary nutrition, which is reflected in the list in the table. When consuming fish that live in northern, cold, watery expanses, hormonal levels and the functioning of the thyroid gland and heart are normalized.

Eggs

Poultry waste products (chicken, quail, ducks, geese) must be included in the diet using a protein diet. Because protein, which is instantly absorbed in the human stomach, has only 40 kilocalories per 100 grams.

Just two eggs will help keep you full until lunch

The yolk is higher in calories and contains 350 kilocalories per 100 grams of product.

The yolk contains vitamins A, E, B and beneficial substances lecithin, choline, biotin, which are necessary to maintain human immunity. An egg can keep you full for a long time.

The best time to consume them is breakfast, no more than 1 or 2 eggs at a time. It is important to remember that all beneficial substances are preserved when eggs are boiled for no more than 5 minutes .

When losing weight, you can regulate your calorie intake by eating more whites and fewer yolks.

We continue to further analyze the problem of which protein products according to the list of the weight loss table are most beneficial to the human body.

Cottage cheese, kefir

Fermented milk, low-fat products restore the body's intestinal flora and have a positive effect on the digestive system.

Kefir and cottage cheese can be made at home

The protein of low-fat cottage cheese is easily digestible and does not allow you to go hungry for a long time. The content of calcium, phosphorus, iron, sulfur, fluorine, and almost all types of vitamins helps strengthen teeth, hair, and bones. All of the listed properties also apply to 1% kefir.

Consumption of dairy products can improve the functioning of the genitourinary system, gastrointestinal tract, and stabilize sugar levels.

It is recommended to eat up to 250 grams of low-fat cottage cheese per day. You can drink 1-2 glasses of kefir per day. The best time to take dairy products is in the morning and evening.

It is worth carefully selecting dairy products produced in production. In factories, starch is added to many dairy products. Therefore, in order to really get a good result for your body, it is better to prepare food yourself using fermented milk fungi.

Which protein foods are most beneficial for weight loss?

Next, we will analyze individual protein products using tables and lists of the most useful for losing weight.

The main condition for protein weight loss is adherence to the basic principles of the diet: consistency and moderation in food intake .

• Be sure to drink half a glass of water at regular intervals throughout the day, bringing the amount drunk to 2 liters. This approach to losing weight will allow the body to switch to a protein diet without any problems.
• Eat 4 meals a day with two snacks. For example, between breakfast and lunch you can eat cottage cheese, and before bed, after dinner, drink a glass of low-fat kefir. Be sure to add vegetables or cereals to any of the protein foods you take.
• Before lunch, it is better to consume difficult-to-digest carbohydrates, for example, buckwheat porridge (4 to 6 tablespoons). After lunch, it is better to combine protein foods with vegetables (tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, cabbage, especially broccoli).
• Limit your intake of fruits and fats.
• If you want to lose excess weight, you need to take care of building muscle.

The benefits of delicious nuts

Nuts are a huge source of energy and contain a large number of calories. Therefore, you should not abuse them, especially for people who are overweight and want to lose it.

Nuts are healthy, but quite high in calories

But, on the other hand, nuts have a lot of natural substances that are beneficial to the body, control appetite, and prevent indigestion.

It is preferable to eat nuts raw, without adding sugar, glazing, or salt .

During the day you can eat them during snacks, add them to salads, yoghurts, and cereals. As a snack, nuts easily replace sweets. Some of them contain fiber, which the body needs to quickly digest food.

Eggs

The cheapest sources of protein are ordinary chicken eggs.
One egg contains 6 g of protein, 2 of which are in the yolk. The amino acid composition of eggs is an excellent contribution to the construction of muscle tissue. Egg whites contain all 8 essential amino acids that are not produced by the body. It is best to boil eggs hard for no more than 10 minutes, but eating them raw is not recommended due to the risk of salmonellosis.

Sources of fiber

For proper intestinal function, it is simply necessary to consume foods containing fiber along with protein-rich foods. Once in the stomach, fiber slows down the release of insulin , thereby preventing sugar from being stored in fat.

The source of those same fiber fibers are fruits, nuts, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains.

For example, breakfast may consist of chopped vegetables (half a glass - 4 grams of fiber), 2 eggs (12 grams of protein), and a dessert spoon of berries (8 grams of fiber).

For lunch - 100 grams of poultry breast, a whole grain bun, a piece of cheese, for dessert an apple and 100 grams of cottage cheese. The entire meal will provide 20 grams of fiber and 20 grams of protein.

For dinner, it is advisable to cook chicken breast with boiled broccoli and eat it with two pieces of bread.

A light and nutritious dinner will keep you in shape, ensuring you are full until the morning

When planning to go on a protein diet, it is necessary to maintain a balance and combination of foods for the entire period of weight loss.

You should not overload on protein foods, because excess protein in the body will lead to changes in metabolism, weakening of bones and other diseases.

It is necessary to carefully study the tables, lists of protein products, think in advance and create your diet when losing weight.

What protein products can be consumed during a diet and how not to make a mistake in choosing? Video story by Doctor of Biological Sciences:

Are you interested in dishes for a protein diet? Video tips will help you create a menu for the day:

How to lose weight on a protein diet? Menu for the week in the current video review:

Cottage cheese

Contains complete protein with all essential amino acids. It is absorbed better than meat, but takes quite a long time. This is due to the fact that the protein in cottage cheese is mainly represented by casein. This makes it a good source of protein for the body before bed, but isn't a great one to take right after a workout. Instead, foods with quickly digestible protein, such as eggs or chicken breasts, are suitable for these purposes.