How to Get 30-40 g Protein in Your Breakfast (and why it’s crucial for your health)
Photo by Chris Ralston on Unsplash
We should all be eating about 30-40 grams of protein in our breakfast!
That may seem like a tall order, but it is critical to your health.
Your first meal of the day determines how your body uses the protein that you consume and whether your body is breaking down muscle or repairing and growing.
And this applies to everyone, whether you're trying to build muscle, maintain the strength you have, or reduce your risk of fractures as you age.
Here's a quick explanation of how this works. The body naturally goes through cycles that are anabolic (building) and catabolic (breaking down). At night, your muscles are catabolic. Your liver makes necessary proteins while you're sleeping, and it gets the amino acids it needs by breaking down your muscles.
Until you have a meal that triggers protein synthesis and muscle growth, your muscles will stay catabolic.
And how do you do this? By eating around 30 grams of protein in one meal. This tells your body to start building rather than breaking down muscle.
Unfortunately, most people have their biggest portion of protein with their dinner. That means they might not be triggering muscle growth until nighttime, and will spend some 20 hours in a catabolic state losing muscle mass.
So it's super important to eat at least 30 grams of protein in your first meal of the day.
Here are a few examples of breakfasts with 30-40 grams of protein:
Whey protein smoothie with chia seeds, peanut butter, and banana (35 g)
Yogurt and cottage cheese bowl with flax seeds, almonds, pumpkin seeds, and fruit (33 g)
3 scrambled eggs with 1/2 c quinoa, 1/2 c black beans, and 1 c spinach (31 g)
2 eggs and smoked salmon with cream cheese on whole grain toast (31 g)
2 eggs with roasted turkey and avocado toast (38 g)
1 c greek yogurt with sliced almonds, flax seeds, and fruit (30 g)
Tofu scramble with black beans, brown rice, avocado, spinach, and nutritional yeast (32 g)
References
https://www.merakilane.com/6-breakfasts-with-30-grams-of-protein-to-kickstart-your-day/
https://mikeroussell.com/5-ways-to-get-30-grams-of-protein-at-breakfast/
https://www.timberlinenutrition.com/recipes/healthy-breakfast-bowl