Ep #110: Boost Your Protein on Any Diet

This is the Strong Is a Mindset podcast, Episode #110. If you’re looking to increase the protein in your diet, let’s talk about how to do it.

This is the Strong Is a Mindset podcast, where you’ll learn how to build both a strong body and a strong mind by eating, moving, and thinking. I’m your host Physician, Personal Trainer, Certified Health Coach and Certified Life Coach, Carrie Holland.

Hey, how are you? What’s new, what’s good? So, what’s good here, we are going to talk about protein today. Of all the macros that I get asked about, protein definitely comes up most often, and I want to demystify this for you.

I am part of all kinds of groups, and inevitably, it comes up every few weeks. Someone will share that she’s trying to increase her protein, but she doesn’t know what to do. Or someone will share her protein goal and declare that it’s too high and therefore impossible to reach.

But I’m going to help you see that getting in enough protein is actually not that hard. I’m going to give you a number of tips to help you increase your protein intake. And we’re also going to talk about what to do if you are vegetarian or vegan.

Many of you have shared that you find it hard to get in a solid amount of protein when you follow a vegan or plant-based diet. But I’m going to help you get past that. It does not have to be hard to get adequate protein, no matter what type of diet you follow, okay? You can absolutely get in solid protein with a vegetarian or even a vegan diet.

And if you need a reminder as to why this matters, and why science and the health and fitness community is making such a big deal about protein, let me share why getting more protein in your diet would be a good idea.

So, first and foremost, protein is essential for building muscle. After you hit the weights and create all of those microtears in your muscles during your workout, your body then uses protein to rebuild and repair your muscles to make them come back bigger and stronger.

If your goal is to look muscular and have a muscular physique, it’s going to be important to have a regimen of legit strength training and adequate protein. So, both of these have to come together in order for you to build the muscular physique that you’re looking for. Another thing to note is that increasing your protein intake can also help you recover faster from injury.

This makes sense because protein is an essential component of your muscles, tissues, and organs. So, when you give your body an adequate supply of protein, you’re fueling your body’s recovery process. Okay, now from a weight perspective, protein has a number of benefits there too. The first thing to know is that protein keeps you fuller longer than the other macronutrients. And this matters because if you feel fuller for longer, theoretically, you would be reaching for food less often because you’re not as hungry.

This happens because eating protein helps regulate your hunger hormones. It reduces the hormone that tells you you’re hungry, and it increases one of the hormones that tells you you’re full.

Another benefit, protein takes the most energy to digest of all the macros. Remember, it takes calories to digest your food. So that fancy science term is “the thermic effect of food”. Protein has the highest thermic effect. And what that means is that 20-35% of the calories that you consume from protein are used to digest it. And so, for comparison, the thermic effect of carbohydrates is 5-15%, and the thermic effect of fat is anywhere from 0-5%.

Proteins also been shown to decrease food cravings and decrease nighttime snacking. And that’s also pretty cool. Science has found that protein reduces the activity in parts of your brain that control cravings and food reward value. There is a study that gets cited often because it showed that increasing protein intake to a minimum of 25% of daily calories can reduce food cravings by 60% and reduce nighttime snacking by half.

So, increasing protein intake in and of itself has been shown to help maintain weight loss over the long term. And this is thought to be due to the cumulative impact of protein on your digestion, reduction in overall calorie intake, and decrease in food cravings. So not only can it help you lose weight, but it can also help you keep the weight off once you do lose it.

There are a number of reasons to pay attention to the amount of protein you’re eating. I know I’ve mentioned the benefits of protein numerous times, but I think it’s important to know why. I want you to know why I make such a big deal about protein.

Okay, so the next question is, how much protein do you need? And this is where I would love to give you a definitive answer, but I don’t know that science has one to offer. So, what I’m telling you are ranges that come up most commonly in sports medicine literature. I don’t know that science will ever agree on one magic number, and that’s fine. That just reaffirms to me that there is no one right answer here, and there may never be.

So, let’s talk about what we do know. If you go by the RDA standard, the recommended daily intake of protein is 0.8gm/kg of body weight, and that amounts to 0.36gm of protein per pound of body weight. But remember, this is the minimum daily requirement you need to prevent you from being nutritionally deficient. So, when I think of that number, I think of the absolute bare minimum that you need to prevent deficiency.

But I’m guessing that you want to do more than prevent deficiency, right? You want to build muscle. You want to curb cravings and stop feeling hungry. You want to maintain a stable weight. You want to optimize body composition.

With those goals in mind, the RDA standard is just not going to cut it. And thankfully, science is starting to catch on to this, and we’re seeing more and more authorities recommending a higher protein intake. With this in mind, I would suggest aiming for 20-30% of your daily calories from protein. Literature supports this range for building muscle and for keeping weight off when you lose it. And if you don’t want to do the math, you can make it even easier. So, to keep it very simple, aim for 100gm of protein per day. And if you’re wondering where that 100gm recommendation comes from, it’s all math.

I did this math already, and if you eat anywhere from 1,333 calories to 2,000 calories in a day, then eating 100 gm of protein per day will land you at 20-30% of your daily calories from protein. So, that’s where the 100gm of protein in a day comes from.

And if you’re thinking to yourself, there is no way you can get 100 gm of protein in a day, let’s talk about that. Because it is absolutely possible for you to get that much, if not more, protein in your day. It will likely require some planning and intentionality behind it, but I want to reassure you that you can absolutely get in at least 100 gm of protein in a day.

Let’s talk about how you can actually do this. What are some easy ways to get more protein in your diet? First, one of the simplest things you can do is take a larger portion of protein than what you typically would. I’ve mentioned this before, but I think of meals as a sum of their parts. Or you can even think of your meal represented by a pie chart. And what you’re doing is increasing the portion of the pie chart that represents protein.

So, if you take about a 3 oz portion of protein, like chicken breast, which is about the size of your palm, which has about 26gm of protein in it. Instead, you take a 4oz portion and get 34gm of protein. And you can do this for all of your proteins, like beef, turkey, eggs, fish, tofu. You just take a larger portion and aim for 4oz instead of the typical 3oz. Or if you typically eat 4oz, aim for 5oz. You get the idea here.

And to be clear, when you increase your proportion of protein, you’re decreasing the proportion of something else, like your carbs. So, you’re not reinventing the wheel here and coming up with an entirely new meal. You’re just taking a little more of what you would normally take for protein. You’re shifting the pieces of the pie so that protein’s slice is bigger. We’re keeping it simple here.

Okay. Another thing you can do is get choosy about the types of proteins that you eat. And all I mean by this is that you focus on choosing lean proteins so that you’re getting more protein and less fat from the protein that you choose. That would mean choosing a leaner cut of beef, for example. So, one that has less white marbling and more red.

And when you’re at the grocery store, you look for cuts that have the words “round” or “loin” in them. Those are going to be leaner cuts of beef, in general, with less fat. Beyond beef, you can also look at the cut you choose. Chicken breasts tend to be the leanest cuts of chicken compared to the thigh or wing. So, if you normally choose chicken thighs, which will have a higher fat content, instead you can choose chicken breast, which will have a higher protein and a lower fat content.

For your ground meats, look at the percentages. If you normally get 85-15 ground meats, consider 93-7 or 90-10. And again, the idea is to get more bang for your buck by increasing the lean-to-fat ratio. For comparison, 4 oz of 93-7 ground turkey is 170 calories, 8gm of fat, and 22gm of protein. Compare that to 4 oz of 85-15 ground turkey, which will run about 220 calories, 17g of fat, and 19 gm of protein. Okay?

Let’s also talk about eggs. So, if you love eggs like I do, eat them. But if you want to increase the protein that you get from eggs, consider supplementing with egg whites. A single whole egg will get you about 6gm of protein. But if you add a half a cup of egg whites to that one egg, you’ll be adding anywhere from 11-13gm of additional protein and about 50-60 calories.

So, that is a pretty solid way to bump up your protein content. Next, another way to get more protein in your life is by starting your day with a protein-filled breakfast. That means the days of a plain bagel and coffee for breakfast, those days are over. Okay? This is not to say don’t have a bagel. Let me make that clear. But my challenge to you will be to use that bagel as a vessel to get your protein in.

So, put your eggs on it. Have a turkey burger on it. Or if you’re like my son, you just have a turkey burger on a bun for breakfast. Or put your smoked salmon on it, or your tofu scramble. I don’t care. My point here is that there’s nothing wrong with eating carbs for breakfast, but I would only encourage you to have the carbs as a supplement to whatever protein you’re having.

Make your breakfast protein-centred. So, something like Greek yogurt, eggs, chicken, tofu, chickpeas, whatever it is. Choose your protein and make that the focus of your breakfast. If you can get in at least 20, but more like 30 gm of protein at your breakfast, then you are already well on your way to hitting 100 gm of protein in a day.

Not only that, but eating a protein-centered breakfast can keep you full throughout the morning and it can help with your overall cravings and evening snacking. There is another study from 2013 that gets cited all the time. It looked at the impact of a high-protein breakfast on adolescent girls. And it found that having a high-protein breakfast improves overall hunger and fullness and can lead to decreased nighttime snacking.

So, there are a number of reasons to pay attention to your breakfast and make it centered around protein. Similar to making sure that your breakfasts are protein-centered, I would also encourage you to take the same approach with your snacks.

That means instead of a bag of pretzels, you first choose something with a moderate amount of protein in it. Things like Greek yogurt or edamame, string cheese, cottage cheese, jerky, tofu bites. And then you add your carbs to that.

Why? Why is it that you would want to combine your carbs with your protein? So, a few things. First, if you’re eating a highly processed carb snack, something like a bag of pretzels, all by itself, here’s what’s going to happen. Your blood sugar will spike and then it will crash. And that crash is going to leave you hungry and leave you looking for more food ASAP.

And usually when that happens, you’re not looking for carrots or berries. Those crashes most often leave you looking for other carb-loaded, highly palatable, less nutrient-dense snacks. But if you combine your carbs with your protein, and ideally we’re talking about combining whole, unprocessed carbs with your protein, what you’ll see instead is a slow and steady rise in your blood sugar without the crash.

Remember that protein takes longer to digest than carbs. So, you’ll see this impact by a slower rise in your blood sugar, which is going to feel a lot better and will also eliminate the crash and keep you from looking for more carb-heavy foods as a result. Okay?

This is why I make such a big stink about ensuring that your snacks, if you have them, are protein-centered. I want all of your meals and your snacks to be protein-centered so that you walk away feeling satisfied.

Have you ever really paid attention to how you feel after you eat a snack bag of pretzels when you’re super hungry? I’m going to bet a nickel that that bag of pretzels didn’t really do it for you. I don’t know about you, but a handful of pretzels when I am legitimately hungry, that doesn’t cut it for me.

And what often happens is it leads me to look for more food. So, those pretzels may lead to chips or cookies or a granola bar, and your snack can become a slippery slope where it gets really easy to overdo it and eat way more than you intended.

Instead, if you’re going to snack, start with your protein and add carbs to it. This will make your snacks so much more satisfying, and it will also keep your snack from turning into more snacks to the point that you end up consuming a meal made of snacks.

And here’s something I want to point out. There is overlap here between the foods that you eat for your main meals and what you eat for snacks. What I mean by this is chicken can be a snack. Eggs can also be a snack. Beans and rice, also a snack. And while you may be raising an eyebrow at me, I want to introduce this idea to you. The same foods that you eat for lunch and dinner can be your snacks, okay?

It may mean going against the grain and not having a bag of something from the vending machine for a snack, but that’s okay. If you’ve got a goal, and if you are really serious about amping up the protein in your diet, then I would offer that what you consider to be an acceptable snack may need to change.

And I bring this up because in our current culture, snacks tend to be more processed at baseline. So, think of the middle of the grocery store, things like pretzels, chips, snack cakes, cookies, or granola bars. That’s where most of your traditional snacks are going to be, and they’re going to be carb and fat heavy.

But what if you decided that your snacks are not going to come from a foil wrapper anymore? What would happen if you decided that your snacks are going to be real, whole food based and centered around protein? Well, what would happen is that you would walk away from your snack more satisfied, you’d be increasing your overall protein intake, and you’d be likely to snack less as a result. And I think these are all wins here.

Again, if you want to get in more protein, I would look at your snacks and see how you can make them more protein centered.

Another way you can get in more protein is by looking at the grains and carbs that you eat. If you want to increase your protein intake, consider getting choosy about the carbs you have. This could be a somewhat easy way to amp up the protein that you get in your diet.

Let me give you some examples here. For starters, let’s consider rice. So, let me be clear. I have nothing against white rice, okay? But for comparison’s sake, a cup of cooked white rice will give you 4gm of protein and a little over .5gm of fiber. A cup of cooked quinoa on the other hand, will get you 8gm of protein. So, that’s double, and you’ll get 5gm of fiber.

Or bread, let’s talk about bread. Most commercial white breads will get you about 2gm of protein per slice. There is certainly variation here, but based on what I looked up, the average came out to be 2gm and less than 1 gm of fiber.

Whole grain bread, like Ezekiel bread for example, will get you 5gm of protein per slice, and you’ll be walking away with 3gm of fiber.

Let’s also talk about pasta. Two ounces of cooked traditional pasta will land you at about 40 gm of carbs, 7gm of protein, and about 2gm of fiber. So, let’s compare that to Banza pasta, where you walk away with 32gm of carbs, 14gm of protein, and about 8gm of fiber. Again, there’s going to be variation here depending on the brand and the type of pasta, but the larger point is that making a simple switch like this can double your protein intake.

And it’s subtle. In fact, all of these examples are subtle. We’re just taking foods that you already eat, like bread or rice or pasta, and we’re looking for alternatives that are more nutrient dense.

We’re finding ways for you to get more protein and even more fiber from the types of foods that you’re already eating. And so, that’s another win.

All right, one more thing I’m going to add here. If you want to get in more protein, practice prioritizing eating your protein first at your meals and snacks. I know that may sound totally basic, but

I want to put it out there. If you know that protein is the most satiating of the three macronutrients, and if you know that it causes less of a blood sugar spike than your carbs, and if you know that protein keeps you fuller for longer, let’s use that information.

Let’s use what we know about protein and make it work to our advantage and prioritize eating it first. That means filling up on your chicken breast or tofu before you load up on pasta, or eating your fish before you move on to your salad and potatoes. To be clear, I’m not saying that you have to eat one thing at a time and eat your entire load of protein before you have any bites of anything else.

Instead, what I would offer is to focus on eating your protein. Make it a point that if you’re going to finish something on your plate, finish the protein. Okay? This is simple, but I want to put it out there for you to consider. It’s already on your plate. Now you’re just working on making it a priority.

All right, to review, we just talked through a number of ways to increase your protein intake. You can practice taking larger portions of protein than what you already do and decrease the proportion of other things on your plate. Again, that’s shifting the pieces of the pie chart to make proteins piece bigger.

You can choose leaner proteins to get more protein and less fat per unit of food. You can add egg whites to your eggs too.

You can start your day with a protein forward breakfast. So, instead of oatmeal alone, how about oatmeal and eggs as an example?

If you snack, you can make your snacks protein centered. So, something like string cheese or edamame paired with a carb, if you want it.

You can get choosy about the carbs and grains you do have and choose whole grains, pastas, and breads, all with a higher protein content.

And you can practice eating your protein first from your plate in order to take advantage of protein’s impact on your hunger hormones and satiety.

These are all simple and they are simple by design. I do not want this to be complicated. Okay? Eating adequate protein should not be complicated. So, you can implement one or more of these concepts at home and see what the impact is. See what happens when you pay closer attention to your protein intake.

I think you will see a difference. I think you’ll see a difference in your hunger and fullness. And I think you may see the impact that it has on your physique goals, whether that’s weight loss or building muscle.

So now that we’ve talked about that, let’s talk about something else that comes up all the time. And that is, what do you do if you’re plant-based? What do you do if you’re vegetarian or vegan? How do you still get protein in large enough quantities and still lose weight or build muscle?

I want to make something clear. You can still get adequate protein if you’re following a vegetarian or vegan diet. You can get 100 gm of protein in a day. And you can do that the same way an omnivore does, by paying attention. Just because you’re cutting out animal products, it does not mean that you forget about hitting your protein goals.

If you want an idea of where to look for high protein plant-based foods, here are some ideas. You can get protein from legumes like lentils, chickpeas, black beans, soybeans, peas, mung beans. There are many more examples, but those are some of the more common legume sources.

As an example, 1c. of cooked lentils will land you at about 18gm of protein. That is quite a bit. Or 1c. of cooked black beans will land you at 15gm of protein. Or edamame, that’s 17gm of protein per cup. And that’s quite a bit. You can also get protein from soy sources like tofu, which has 10 gm of protein per half cup, depending on the brand and the firmness. Or tempeh, which will get you 15 or so grams of protein. Or if you prefer soy milk, 1c. of that will get you 8gm of protein. So, there are plenty of options.

Nuts and nut butters, those are another source of protein. You can get 6gm of protein in 1 oz of almonds. You can get 8gm of protein in a serving of peanut butter, which is about 2 tbsp. And then, let me also talk about seitan. Seitan is another source of protein. It’s also known as “wheat meat” or “vital wheat gluten”, and it comes in at about 64gm of protein for one 3 oz serving. That is quite a bit of protein. And my point here by listing all of these out is to show you that you’ve got options. You most definitely have options if you follow a plant-based diet and still want to get adequate protein.

So, here is the other thing that I want to address. While I just gave you a bunch of different ideas for vegan and vegetarian sources of protein, there are not many pure protein sources for vegans. Let me explain what I mean by this. When I say pure protein, I’m talking about the macronutrient breakdown of the food.

Let me give you an example. Egg whites, chicken breast, and many white fish like tuna, tilapia, cod, and also shrimp, are all examples of essentially pure protein. They have very little to no carbs and very little to no fat in them. If you go and look at the nutrition labels for these foods, you’ll see that the large majority of their macronutrient breakdown is protein.

And that’s what I mean by pure protein. There are not as many pure proteins that are vegan. Seitan would be the closest as it has low to no fat and still just a little bit of carbs in it. And beyond that, there are vegan protein powders. But otherwise, most vegan sources of protein will come with other macronutrients.

Let me give you a comparison here. If you want to get 30 gm of protein from boneless, skinless chicken breast, that’s going to be about 4oz. And that will be anywhere from 130 to about 180-ish calories with zero grams of carbs and one to five-ish grams of fat, depending on how lean the chicken breast is.

Now, if you want to get 30 gm of protein from tofu, that’s going to look a little different. So, 30gm of protein from extra firm tofu is going to be 10 oz of tofu, which is about three quarters of a package. So, if you think of those bricks, it’s about three quarters of a brick of tofu. That will come in at about 300 calories, 15gm of fat, 10 gm of carbs, and 3gm of fiber. Okay?

Now, say you want to get your protein from nuts. Let’s say you want to make almonds your snack. In order to get about 12gm of protein, you’d be eating 2 oz of nuts, which is two servings. And that amounts to about 46 almonds, which would be 328 calories, 12gm of carbs, 7gm of fiber, and 28 gm of fat to get you to that 12gm of protein.

So, here is my point in bringing all of this up and listing out all of these foods. You can most definitely get protein from non-meat and from non-animal-based sources. That is not a problem at all. But based on what we know about food and the limited pure vegan proteins available, it simply means that you would need to be mindful about the other macronutrients that you’re taking in when you’re taking in your plant-based protein.

Most vegan protein sources are going to come with protein plus another macronutrient, like carbs or fat. So, beans, lentils, soy, and grains, they’re going to give you protein, but they’re also going to add carbs. Nuts and nut butters, they’re going to give you protein, but you’re also going to get fat.

Again, there is nothing wrong with any of this, okay? I’m simply pointing out that you can absolutely get adequate protein following a vegan or vegetarian diet, but it can get tricky if you’re trying to hit a certain calorie target or come in at a caloric deficit.

But tricky does not mean impossible. It just means you have to pay attention and be mindful of what you’re doing so that you bump up your protein without taking in more calories than your body needs. So, from a practical standpoint, what the heck do you do? Well, what I would suggest is that you pay attention to the rest of the food that you put on your plate. Meaning, if you’re going to choose lentils as a key source of protein, do it. But pairing lentils with a cup of white rice is probably going to land you at a higher carb intake than what you want. And it’s probably going to land you at a higher caloric intake.

Instead of more starch and grains on your plate, go for veggies. And when I say veggies, I would prioritize above-ground veggies. That would be things like cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower, snap peas, peppers, lettuce.

And if you’re wondering why I’m specifically recommending above-ground veggies, it’s because they’re largely water-based and don’t pack as many calories or carbs, for the most part, as their below-ground counterparts. You’ll still get loads of vitamins and minerals, and the fiber will keep you full, but you won’t be adding in loads of extra carbs.

The idea here is to balance the carbs that you’re getting from your plant-based protein with largely water-based veggies that are not as carb-dense.

In my brain, I lump whole grains and below-ground vegetables together. So, things like quinoa, farro, lentils, rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, beets, other root vegetables, I put them all together as a group when I consider the makeup of my plate. And the reason I lump below-ground vegetables and grains together is that they both tend to be heavier in carbs than above-ground vegetables that have a higher concentration of water.

When I put together a meal, I will choose a whole grain or a below-ground starchy veggie, and then fill the rest of my plate with above-ground veggies. And that’s because if I’m aiming for a certain size meal from a calorie, carbohydrate, and protein standpoint. I want to pay attention. The total bottom line is going to look very different if I pair a cup of lentils with a cup of white rice versus if I pair that cup of lentils with a cup of broccoli.

So, if I add a cup of white rice, I’m adding 200 calories and 44gm of carbs. If I add a cup of cooked broccoli, I’m adding about 34 calories and 11gm of carbs. That is a big difference.

The idea here is that you can absolutely get plenty of protein following a plant-based or vegan or vegetarian diet. If you are concerned about your caloric intake, or if one of your goals is to lose weight, then I would only add that it’s important to pay attention to what you’re adding to your plate in addition to your plant-based protein so that you’re not taking in more calories that you need. And that’s where things like above-ground veggies and fruit can make a big difference.

Now, I know I spent a lot of time talking about vegan protein. What if you’re not vegan, but instead vegetarian? Well, depending on what kind of vegetarian you are, then of course you’re going to be giving yourself more options. You’ve got eggs and dairy. If you’re pescetarian, then you’ve got fish options.

All of those, eggs, fish, and dairy, plus all of the other plant-based protein sources that we talked about, those will most definitely give you plenty of sources to take in adequate protein. I’ve really wanted to hone in on plant-based proteins for the purposes of today because it’s come up so often and I wanted to hit it head-on.

All right, one last thing I want to bring up. As you start to learn more about protein, or if you go and look this up, you may come across the terms “complete” and “incomplete” proteins. I want to clarify what this means. So, we’re getting a little nerdy here and we’re going back to protein chemistry and amino acids.

To keep this very simple, there are 20 amino acids that you need in order to make all of the protein found in your body. Your body can make 11 of those amino acids on its own, and those are the nonessential amino acids. The remaining nine amino acids need to be acquired from what you eat, and those are considered essential amino acids.

So, a complete protein just means that it contains all nine essential amino acids that your body can’t make on its own. An incomplete protein does not contain all nine essential amino acids. Animal-based protein sources like meat, fish, eggs, and dairy, have high levels of the nine essential amino acids and are considered complete proteins. Most plant-based protein sources are considered incomplete proteins, but there are exceptions. So, things like soy, quinoa, nutritional yeast, seitan, and buckwheat, those are considered complete proteins.

And I bring this up because there is a misconception that by following a vegetarian or vegan diet, you’re not going to get enough of the essential amino acids. But this is not true. As long as you incorporate a varied diet and you avoid eating nothing but potatoes, you’re going to be fine.

So, things like beans plus rice. Although again, you want to be mindful of your portions here so that you’re not taking in more calories and carbs than what you intended. Or peanut butter on whole grain bread, almonds on your oatmeal, or hummus with whole grain pita.

Those are all examples of combining incomplete proteins to ensure that you’re getting all of the essential amino acids, so you do not have to worry that you’re going to be nutritionally deficient, and you don’t have to worry that you’re missing out on anything by not eating animal-based proteins, okay?

By combining complete and incomplete proteins in your diet, you are going to get what you need. You are not missing out on anything, okay? So, there it is. We pulled apart a lot about protein today. I hope you walk away with some ideas for how to increase your protein intake.

And if you’re wondering at all about incorporating plant-based proteins in your diet, I hope this helps. At the end of the day, my hope is that you walk away understanding that no matter how you choose to eat, whether you’re an omnivore, vegan, pescatarian, lacto-ovo-vegetarian, or whatever title you give yourself, you can most definitely hit your protein goals.

It really does not have to be hard. You do not have to reinvent the wheel. You don’t have to start all over. You don’t have to find loads of new recipes. Instead, you can make subtle tweaks to what you’re already doing. You can pay attention, you can read labels, and you can take a gradual approach. And you will most definitely see the benefit. All right?

And if you want help with this, let’s go. When you coach with me, I will brainstorm with you how to get more protein in your diet, but we’ll do a lot more. We’re going to decide on a way of eating that makes sense for you so that it can become your lifestyle.

Check out my website. Head to www.CarrieHollandMD.com/contact schedule a consultation. And let’s talk about how coaching will help you change your habits including how you eat.

All right, thank you again for hanging out with me, and I’ll catch you again next week.

Hey, if you’re looking for your next great read, I’ve got you covered. Head over to CarrieHollandMD.com/books and download my list of most favorite reads. I’ve got two collections waiting for you. One is all about work-life balance. The other is a collection of books that have changed my life. I’ve referenced many of these books in the podcast, and now you can access those titles all in one place.

Again, that’s CarrieHollandMD.com/books. Check it out and find your next great read. Thank you for listening to the Strong Is a Mindset podcast. If you want to learn more about how to build both a strong mind and a strong body by eating, moving, and most importantly, thinking, check out CarrieHollandMD.com.