Although most famous for building lean muscle mass, protein is so much more than that! Protein is also crucial for wound healing and supporting your overall wellbeing. It’s also the only macronutrient with a minimum daily requirement for health - and even this amount is widely debated as too little or not enough for some. 

What is protein?

Protein is an essential macronutrient - in other words, a compound in food that provides calories and other nutritional benefits.

As the builder macro, protein helps grow, shape, repair, and maintain every single cell in your body - even your blood cells and DNA.

During a weight loss diet protein becomes even more important, as the goal would be to lose body fat while maintaining or even building new muscle tissue. As muscle tissue assists with burning fat and calories.

The minimum recommended daily allowance of protein is typically 1g of protein per kilogram of body weight. Some studies have shown that a more optimal level would be up to 2g of protein per kilogram of body weight. Especially important when combined with resistance training and eating in a calorie deficit.

So, how much protein should you eat everyday?

Let’s look at this example, if you were a woman who weighs 60 kilograms and want to lose weight while exercising, your minimum recommended daily protein intake should be 60g of protein, and could even go as high as 120g daily.

Remember, the minimum is what you need to meet basic nutritional requirements. So this equates to 20-40g of protein per meal when consuming 3 meals a day.
It's no coincidence our Classic Meals average about 35g of protein per meal.

Keep in mind the amount of protein needed to build muscle or maintain shape is varied depending on each physical body and the quality of your calories also matters.

Protein is found in a number of foods, both nutritious and “less healthy” options. Diets loaded with high-fat animal foods (like processed red meat and cheese), might be high protein, but they can also pack large amounts of saturated fat that may contribute to increased risk factors for heart disease.

If you are looking to increase your intake, opt for quality high protein foods that improve your nutrition overall.

Getting the best high protein meal plan can take a bit of work and a little bit of strategy and planning. But with a few key steps, you should be able to get started and increase your chance of seeing the results you want more quickly. Here are a few key steps to consider as you start planning:

• Use the MyFitnessPal app to calculate how many calories you need to eat each day to lose weight
• Learn how to count calories and macros
• Get started with meal prep and discover your favorite recipes

Want to make life even easier and ensure your meals are always on point and full of quality protein? Or at least cut down on meal prep and cooking? Consider trying our Classic Meal Box delivery.