Protein!

Hey everyone!

I had a friend reach out to me recently asking about protein substitutes for whey and soy as she's allergic to both and I thought this would be great info to share on le blog. It's a great question and I'm sure a lot of people have the same problem so I wanted to share my response... I hope it helps!

First and foremost, protein consumption is extremely important when you're trying to lose weight, lean out, or build/maintain muscle. It's not something to be skipped! Post-workout, your muscles are extremely hungry and depleted of energy so it's important to try and "feed" them as soon as possible. This will help shorten your recovery time, minimize muscle soreness, and contribute to muscle gain. And muscle gain ultimately leads to greater calorie burn when you are and are NOT working out! Yay!

They say there's about a 30-minute window for your muscles to regain and recover so you should try to eat as soon as possible after you finish spin class (or any other activity for that matter.) Whey protein is typically the protein of choice for this because it's a fast-acting protein meaning it travels to your muscles and starts repairing them very quickly. However, I've read some articles saying that as long as you have some combination of protein and complex carbohydrates, this more than suffices to give your body what it needs. And I completely agree because there shouldn't be many things better than natural ingredients...aka. not protein powders.

SO! What can you use for protein??? If you like having shakes and want to stick to that, I would recommend using Greek yogurt or cottage cheese in your shake. I have both in my fridge right now and 1 cup of cottage cheese has 28g of protein (56% DV) and 1 cup of Greek yogurt has 22g (44% DV). They're also both fat free and the calories will vary depending on which brand you get. I would recommend staying away from any with artificial sweeteners and jams in them. If you want to add some sweetness, it's better to use natural honey, agave, or Stevia as a sweetener. :) I've also heard of smoothies that incorporate egg whites which I think is amazing but I've never done that myself. 

Another thing I used to do when I was working in the city was to boil some eggs ahead of time. I woke up early to get a workout in and then would be hustling to shower, get dressed, and catch the train so I didn't have time to make a protein-rich post-workout meal. Either the night before or as soon as I got up, I would boil a couple of eggs so I could just grab them and eat as soon as I finished my workout.

You could also have wheat toast with natural almond butter. Yum. Trader Joe's has some premade chicken breasts that you can just heat up within seconds and eat. Super quick and easy. You can also buy some ground turkey meat, beans, nuts to snack on... all great protein options. :)