Does Protein Matter in Your Diet?
For my first nearly two years of intermittent fasting I literally paid no attention to protein. Even when I was doing my keto trial and Counting how many grams of carbs I ate in a day I did not track the grams of protein. However, I like to learn for my audience as much as I enjoy sharing my experiences. One thing I have heard over and over again is that I need to pay more attention to my protein intake.
Over the course of three weeks I was very intentional and making sure I open my eating window with protein. I decided not to count because that became too cumbersome and I wasn’t sure exactly the right way to do it. However, I began to see significant improvements in certain areas because I focused on opening my eating window with protein everyday.
While these trials have taught me something, I would be lying if I said I made sure every single eating window began with a big pile of protein and some variety. however, I have taken to Heart the lessons I learned and made small changes to my diet as a result. As a reminder, I have no medical or nutrition background and I am sharing with you as someone who is experiencing changes in my day-to-day life. I want to be your fasting and BFF.
My Changes
My first and favorite change is a change in what I started to Crave for eating. While not considering the amount of protein I ate I would often crave carbs or sugar in my eating window. since I am more intentional about eating a significant portion of protein daily I have noticed that I am craving more protein instead of more sugars.
This does not mean that I limit sugar, or that I exclude it from my diet. this just means it’s easier to not indulge in when it is not a craving within my eating window.
My favorite protein snacks
-cottage cheese with pepitas on top and cracked pepper or everything but the bagel seasoning (SO Good!!)
-homemade trailmix of chili roasted pistachios, pepitas and anything else you prefer!
-scrambled eggs mixed with cottage cheese (pictured below) – SO delicious! I saw this first on TikTok and love it
-In quick pinches, I do enjoy purchasing Premier Protein shakes and mixing with unsweetened vanilla almond milk. I personally have enjoyed caramel or banana cream (my favorite, but hard to find!)
-Cheese slices, chunks or sticks. If it’s cheese – it’s good IMO 🙂
-Iced coffee made with vital proteins collagen peptides. I do coffee (mix with the peptides hot, then let cool), torani syrup of choice and heavy cream. Pour over ice and enjoy!
There are many ways you can get more protein in your diet. The ones I discussed are my personal favorites simply based on taste and availability. Please remember, my point of view is from an individual fasting enthusiast. I have no medical nor nutrition training/education. Everything I share is based on what I like and works well for me. I want to inspire YOU to explore and see what works best for you.
