Are you a busy professional that’s guilty of not leaving your desk throughout the day with back-to-back zoom meetings?
As a busy professional, it can be hard to eat enough protein during the day. You may even find yourself skipping meals or grabbing a coffee from the break room while pushing to meet a deadline.
However, if you want to be the most productive version of yourself, you’ll want to make sure you properly fuel your body.
This is why we are sharing 5 ways you can start eating more protein as a busy professional.
How Much Protein Should You be Striving For on a Daily Basis?
Are you curious how much protein is enough? For a healthy individual, the recommended dietary allowance is currently 0.8 grams/kg of body weight.
Although this recommendation may be sufficient, research suggests that trained individuals can benefit from a protein intake of 1.4-2.0 grams/kg (1,2).
This means that depending on your lifestyle and goals if you weighed 160 pounds, your recommended protein amount would range from 58 grams to 145 grams of protein daily.
If you have any medical conditions it’s important to consult with a physician or dietitian prior to making changes to your diet.
How Much Protein Are You Consuming Right Now?
It can seem overwhelming when you aren’t sure where you stand right now and it certainly makes meeting a new goal seem nearly impossible.
With the help of an easy tool, like a food tracking app or meeting with a nutrition expert, you’ll be able to obtain an estimation of how much protein you are currently consuming (4).
Tracking your food will also allow you to become familiar with common sources and portion sizes of high protein options like chicken, beef, fish, beans, quinoa, protein shakes, eggs, and more!
5 Ways to Incorporate Protein as a Busy Professional
You may be wondering how you are going to meet your daily protein goals as a busy professional.
Eating more protein doesn’t differ much from other goals you may have in life, the true key to success is having a plan and properly preparing. You will want to make sure that whichever options you choose to incorporate are going to be sustainable for your lifestyle.
- Make a Protein-Packed Smoothie
No fork required, smoothies are a great option if you find yourself in zoom meetings or conference rooms. Prepare smoothie packs ahead of time or purchase frozen fruit blends.
You can quickly blend your choice of milk or a non-dairy alternative, greek yogurt, and frozen fruit for a quick option!
- Drink a Protein Shake After Your Workout
Are you working out before or after work? Pack a scoop of protein inside of your shaker bottle for a post-workout drink that provides 25 grams of protein!
Be sure to use a high-quality product like this grass-fed whey protein from Naked Nutrition. Naked Whey only has one ingredient and is free from additives and any artificial sweeteners
- Prepare Lunches In Advance
This is a great solution if you are guilty of skipping meals due to a lack of time.
Purchase glass meal prep containers and prepare lunches in advance for the week. You can quickly search meal prep lunches and decide if you’d like cold or hot meals and what specific ingredients you’d prefer.
- Block Off Time on Your Calendar
With countless meetings, it can be hard to set aside time for a meal. Give yourself permission and prioritize your health by blocking off 30 minutes during your day to enjoy a balanced meal that provides protein.
- Have a High Protein Snack at Your Desk
It’s no secret that as a busy professional there are days that you don’t leave your desk. The solution to this dilemma is to keep high-protein snacks at your desk and in your mini-fridge. Some of these options could be protein bars, roasted edamame, and beef or turkey jerky.
Summary
- Eating enough protein is vital for our bodies’ tissues and cells which impact our overall health and wellbeing. Protein is beneficial whether you are looking to improve your recovery after a workout, increase lean mass, prevent muscle loss, or manage your weight (1,5,6).
- You should feel motivated to incorporate these tips after learning what your ideal protein range should be and figuring out how much you are currently eating.
- In order to maintain your level of performance in and outside of work, you must always prioritize your health. So, take the next step to eat protein, whether that’s finding meal prep containers, protein powder, or ingredients to make your lunches this upcoming week.
- Campbell, Bill & Kreider, Richard & Ziegenfuss, Tim & Bounty, Paul & Roberts, Michael & Burke, Darren & Landis, Jamie & Lopez, MD, CSCS, FAAPMR, Hector & Antonio, Jose. (2007). International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Protein and Exercise. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. 4. 8. 10.1186/1550-2783-4-8.
- Stuart M. Phillips, Stéphanie Chevalier, and Heather J. Leidy. Protein “requirements” beyond the RDA: implications for optimizing health. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism. 41(5): 565-572. https://doi.org/10.1139/apnm-2015-0550
- Wu G. Dietary protein intake and human health. Food Funct. 2016 Mar;7(3):1251-65. doi: 10.1039/c5fo01530h. PMID: 26797090.
- Ferrara G, Kim J, Lin S, Hua J, Seto E. A Focused Review of Smartphone Diet-Tracking Apps: Usability, Functionality, Coherence With Behavior Change Theory, and Comparative Validity of Nutrient Intake and Energy Estimates. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2019 May 17;7(5):e9232. doi: 10.2196/mhealth.9232. PMID: 31102369; PMCID: PMC6543803.
- Beasley, J. M., Shikany, J. M., & Thomson, C. A. (2013). The role of dietary protein intake in the prevention of sarcopenia of aging. Nutrition in clinical practice : official publication of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, 28(6), 684–690. https://doi.org/10.1177/0884533613507607
- Heather J Leidy, Peter M Clifton, Arne Astrup, Thomas P Wycherley, Margriet S Westerterp-Plantenga, Natalie D Luscombe-Marsh, Stephen C Woods, Richard D Mattes, The role of protein in weight loss and maintenance, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Volume 101, Issue 6, June 2015, Pages 1320S–1329S, https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.114.084038
