September 18, 2024 • 21 mins
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Want to uncover the secret to a leaner, healthier physique? Tune in to this episode of the Simplicity of Wellness podcast, where I reveal how mastering the art of reading nutrition labels can transform your diet and support your weight loss goals. We'll break down the protein-to-energy ratio, showing you how to easily identify genuinely protein-rich foods and steer clear of high-energy traps. Using real-life examples like protein bars and sausages, I’ll guide you through my quick, three-pass process for evaluating food labels, ensuring you make smarter choices that promote muscle maintenance and fat loss.
Discover how optimizing your protein intake can be a game-changer, especially if you’re over 40. We delve into the world of sausages, dissecting the nutritional content of typical pork and beef options, and presenting healthier alternatives like chicken sausages with better protein-to-fat ratios. I’ll share insights from my daily food intake, demonstrating how a balanced, protein-rich diet can be both satisfying and effective for sustainable weight loss. So, join me on this journey to becoming leaner, stronger, and healthier, all while enjoying the foods you love!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Simplicity of Wellness podcast.
I'm your host, board-certifiedholistic nutritionist and
professional life coach, amyWhite.
The purpose of this podcast isto share information that you
can use to become leaner,stronger and healthier by losing
weight, shedding inches,maintaining muscle and managing
(00:21):
your mind, all while living yournormal busy life in this modern
, sugar-filled world.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Hello, simplifiers, let's talk about nutrition
labels what to look for and then, based on your body and health
goals, how to use that nutritioninformation to evaluate if you
want to buy or put back whateverit is you're considering.
I'm going to walk you throughmy process how I read a food
label and why this informationis so helpful when it comes to
keeping my appetite satisfiedand my body in balance.
(00:53):
When I'm at the grocery store,I'm on a mission.
I want to go in and get out asfast as possible, which means
most of the time I don't lingerover nutrition labels.
I look at a nutrition label inthree passes.
My first pass is two seconds.
If what I see at first glancelooks good, then I'll stop and
give it a closer look.
That first two second glance isfor the protein and fat.
(01:15):
I look at everything through aprotein to energy ratio.
Calories are energy.
Energy calories come from fatsand carbohydrates.
Those are our body's dietaryenergy sources fats and sugars.
I want to make this very clearwhen I say energy, I mean
calories.
Saying a food is a high energyfood doesn't mean yippee.
(01:36):
If I eat this thing, I'll havetons of energy and be bouncing
around all day.
It just means a greater percentof the calories in that food
are coming from either fats orcarbs, not protein.
Most Americans eat a lot of highenergy foods, meaning they get
most of their calories from fatsand carbs.
Overeating this type of foodcauses the average, mostly
(01:58):
sedentary person to gain weight.
Most of us are sedentary.
I exercise regularly, but mostof my day is still just sitting.
Even with regular dailyexercise, I still fall into the
category of a mostly sedentaryperson.
Keep that in mind whenconsidering how active you
really are.
Protein to energy ratio is a wayto evaluate whether a
(02:20):
particular food or meal willhelp you burn body fat or put
more fat on your body.
This is exactly why I read anutrition label the way I do,
starting with how much proteinand then looking at the amount
of fat.
Is the food high protein orhigh energy?
Will it help me get and staylean or will it cause me to pack
on extra body fat?
(02:41):
Okay, let's get back to thenutrition label.
As I said, I scan for grams ofprotein and if that looks good,
then I glance up to compare thegrams of fat.
My first, two second glance isevaluating whether or not what
I'm holding is a good proteinsource, meaning a high percent
of the calories are going to becoming from protein.
(03:02):
Just because you're looking atsomething that appears to be, or
even says on the label thatit's a good protein source,
doesn't mean it is.
Even if the nutrition labelshows a decent amount of protein
let's say 12 grams of proteinor more per serving if it has
more fat per serving thanprotein, it will be an expensive
protein source, meaning you'llbe getting a lot of calories
(03:24):
from fat to get those grams ofprotein.
When looking at this throughthe protein to energy lens, it
may not be the best source ofprotein.
Depending on your body andhealth goals.
If you're trying to shift yourbody composition so that you
have less body fat, a leanersource of protein will be more
helpful.
A leaner source of protein willbe something that has more
(03:45):
grams of protein per servingthan fat per serving.
Becoming leaner means shiftingyour fat to muscle ratio.
You want less fat compared tothe muscle on your body.
If you've been on social mediaand seeing all the posts about
eating protein and buildingmuscle, don't get discouraged.
Building muscle is great.
We should all aspire to buildmore muscle, but don't forget
(04:07):
you already have muscle.
The muscle you have just needsto be uncovered.
Excess fat hides muscle.
When you eat food that has moreprotein than fat, you're
helping your body burn offexcess body fat, and that's how
you'll get leaner and reveal themuscle you already have.
Increasing the amount ofprotein-rich foods is one of the
(04:28):
easiest and best ways to revealyour muscle mass.
Protein-rich foods help youfeel full so that you eat less
without even trying.
Eating less allows your body todig in and burn off stored body
fat.
As you burn off stored body fat, you improve your muscle to fat
ratio simply by reducing fat.
(04:48):
Being able to read a nutritionlabel so that you can identify
foods that are a good source ofprotein versus foods that are
actually high energy and onlymasquerading as high protein is
key to managing your fat tomuscle ratio.
One of the easy ways to checkthis out is the next time you're
at the grocery store, look atthe nutrition labels on protein
bars.
(05:08):
See if you can figure out whichones are really protein bars
and which ones are just highenergy candy bars in disguise.
Today, I'm going to use sausageas my protein to energy example
.
My family loves sausage, butmost traditional sausages are
made with pork or beef.
I love these types of sausagesbecause they're fatty.
(05:28):
Now, this isn't true for allpork and beef sausages.
There are leaner types ofsausage.
So take your time and readnutrition labels.
Most typical pork and beefsausage that you find at a
regular grocery store do tend tohave more fat than protein,
meaning most of the caloriesyou're eating will come from fat
, not protein.
(05:49):
If you're trying to reduce theamount of fat on your body,
eating protein foods that arecalorically dense with fat won't
help you.
In fact, this could easily beone of the things that makes you
feel like you're doing it right, but that it's not working.
I did a quick search for typicalsausages that you find at a
normal grocery store.
Jimmy Dean's popped up as oneof the brands, and then another
(06:11):
brand called Jones Dairy FarmSausage.
All-natural mild pork sausagelinks was another.
A quick glance at the sausagelinks showed me 7 grams of
protein.
That alone would have melooking at the fat, because 7
grams seemed low for a meatproduct.
So of course, I'd wonder well,what could the fat be?
One serving is seven grams ofprotein and 24 grams of fat.
(06:32):
This is a high fat foodmasquerading as protein.
It's a food that will make youfatter, not leaner.
I did mention that my familyloves sausage, so I wasn't going
to give up on sausage.
I spent a lot of time readinglabels, looking for high protein
, lower fat sausage, and I'mhappy to tell you I was
successful.
We have a local grocery storehere that carries their own
(06:54):
brand of chicken sausage.
They have a bunch of differentflavors, but here's the
nutrition information for theirtomato, basil and mozzarella
chicken sausage.
One link and this is a dinnersize link, not a mini link 13
grams of protein, three grams offat.
Another brand that I reallylike is Sabatino smoked
mozzarella with artichoke andgarlic chicken sausage.
We get these at Costco.
(07:15):
Again, this is a full sizesausage link, not a mini link.
There are 16 grams of proteinand nine grams of fat, which
makes this a high qualityprotein source, with 40% of
calories coming from protein.
I've seen proteinrecommendations that say you
should be getting 5 to 35% ofyour daily calories from protein
If you eat a 2000 calorie diet,that is, 50 to 170 grams of
(07:40):
protein per day.
You may not like this, but I'mgoing to tell you that 50 grams
of protein per day is not enoughto prevent muscle loss as you
age.
At the very least, all womenover 40 should be getting no
less than 100 grams of protein aday and, quite frankly, if
you're over five feet tall, youshould be shooting for a minimum
of 125 grams of protein a day.
(08:01):
More if you're active, let'slook at this with a 1500 calorie
diet If you're shooting for 100to 150 grams of protein a day
more.
If you're active, let's look atthis with a 1500 calorie diet.
If you're shooting for 100 to150 grams of protein a day, that
means 400 to 700 of those 1500calories are coming from protein
.
If you want to do the math, eachgram of protein is
approximately four calories, thesame for carbohydrates.
(08:22):
Each gram of carbohydrate isfour calories four calories, the
same for carbohydrates.
Each gram of carbohydrate isfour calories.
Fats are different.
For each gram of fat, you getnine calories.
This is why, when you eat foodsthat are high in fat, you also
get a lot of calories.
The fat calories add up fasterthan the protein or carb
calories.
If you're eating 100 to 150grams of protein a day, that
(08:42):
means 400 to 700 of your 1500calories are coming from protein
.
The remainder of your calorieswill be from fats and carbs.
100 to 150 grams of protein on a1500 calorie diet means the
percent of calories coming fromprotein will be between 27% to
(09:03):
40%.
I'm torturing you with thismath to help you understand what
you're looking for on thatnutrition label.
The easy protein math is lookat the grams of protein,
multiply that number by 10.
If that new number the proteingrams with that added zero on
the end is equal to the caloriesper serving, you know you're
(09:25):
getting 40% of your caloriesfrom protein.
Super easy.
If the protein times 10 is morethan the calories per serving,
then you're getting more than40% of your calories from
protein.
If it's less than the caloriesper serving, then you're getting
less than 40% of your caloriesfrom protein.
So let's take a closer look atthose Jones dairy sausage links
(09:46):
that I mentioned earlier.
A serving is 250 calories.
Each serving has 7 grams ofprotein and 24 grams of fat.
7 times 10 is 70, which is awhole lot less than 250 calories
.
So we know the percent ofcalories coming from protein is
way less than 40%.
So just for fun, let's figurethis out.
(10:07):
There are 4 calories per gramof protein.
Seven grams of protein timesfour equals 28 calories.
If you divide 28 by thecalories per serving, 250, you
get 11%.
Only 11% of the calories you'reeating are coming from protein.
As a woman over 40 who's tryingto get a minimum of 100 grams of
(10:28):
protein a day, you need atleast 27% of your calories
coming from protein.
These sausage links just don'tcut it.
They aren't helping you reachany kind of healthy body goal.
Does this mean you should putdown anything that doesn't add
up to 40% of calories fromprotein?
No, on average, over the courseof a day, if you can keep your
(10:49):
percent of calories from proteinbetween 27 and 40 percent,
you're doing a lot to help yourbody regain metabolic balance
and burn off excess body fat.
The best part you shouldn'tfeel hungry.
If you're getting 27 to 40percent of your calories from
protein, you will feel full andsatisfied.
This range gives you theability to eat a variety of
(11:11):
foods, including foods that arehigher in fats and carbs.
When your body gets thenutrients and minerals it needs
from your food, it stops askingfor more.
The food noise in your headquiets down.
Losing fat so that you getleaner, stronger and healthier
should start to feel easier,because it doesn't require
superhuman willpower or constantself-judgment.
(11:33):
One of my favorite types ofsausage is kielbasa.
It's fatty and greasy andthat's why I love it.
A serving of the kielbasa thatI like is 120 calories.
There are nine grams of proteinand nine grams of fat per
serving.
It's a one-to-one ratio of fatto protein.
When I multiply the grams ofprotein and 9 grams of fat per
serving, it's a 1 to 1 ratio offat to protein.
When I multiply the grams ofprotein by 10, I get 90.
(11:54):
That's less than 120, which isthe calories per serving, but
it's not a lot less.
I know this is still within theprotein percent range that I'm
comfortable with, but to be sure, let's check the numbers.
9 grams of protein times 4tells me that I'm getting with,
but to be sure, let's check thenumbers.
9 grams of protein times 4tells me that I'm getting 36
calories from protein.
When I divide 36 by 120, I get30%.
(12:19):
This means 30% of those 120calories are coming from protein
.
30% fits within that healthyrange of 27 to 40% of calories
coming from protein.
If your protein grams don'tequal 40% of calories, don't
just give the food a quick pass.
Is the protein about equal toor greater than, the fat?
(12:39):
If so, give it a closer look,you may be pleased to discover
that it fits within that 27 to40% range.
Most of the nutrition labels Ilook at are because I'm shopping
for good protein sources.
This means that the carbs andsugars are naturally low because
most of the calories are comingfrom protein and fat.
There are mixed foods that I dobuy, for example, kevin's paleo
(13:02):
meals.
I love to keep some of these inmy fridge and freezer for quick
meal options when I know we'regoing to be busy.
When I'm looking at somethinglike this, I do the whole
protein to fat thing, but I alsolook at the carbs and sugars.
Remember carbs and the sugarsthat fall under carbs are
calories the body will eitherburn or store as fat.
When we eat too many of ourcalories from fats and carbs, we
(13:23):
can end up storing a lot ofthose calories as body fat.
This is why you want to shootfor that 27 to 40 percent range
of calories coming from protein.
If you're eating that amount ofcalories as protein, the fat
and carb calories will be at alevel your body can effectively
burn without a lot of excessthat will need to be stored as
fat.
(13:44):
Let's compare a couple of theKevin Paleo meals.
The sirloin steak tips withgravy is one of our favorites
160 calories per serving, 22grams of protein, 7 grams of fat
, 2 carbs, 0 sugars.
22 times 10 is 220.
More than 40% of the caloriesare coming from protein.
In fact, 55% of the calories inthis meal are coming from
(14:06):
protein.
This means the protein toenergy ratio is very high.
This is a high protein, bodyfat burning meal.
The second meal I looked at wasthe Thai style coconut chicken
180 calories, 23 grams ofprotein, 7 fats, 5 carbs, 3
added sugars.
23 times 10 is 230.
51% of calories in this mealare coming from protein.
(14:29):
This is low fat, low carb, so ahigh protein to calorie ratio
and another fat burning meal.
If the food you're choosing tobuy and eat is giving you 27 to
40% of the calories per servingfrom protein, then you can feel
confident that it's a food thatwill help you burn body fat and
get leaner without feelingconstantly hungry.
(14:50):
Let's talk about the other partsof that nutrition label carbs,
sugars and fiber.
If there's one thing on a labelthat will have me putting
something back without a secondglance, it's added sugars.
If a product has eight or moreadded sugars, I generally just
put it back.
Does this mean I never, ever,buy anything with a little added
sugar?
No, I do and have, but it'srare I have bought and eaten
(15:13):
that Kevin's Paleo Thai-stylecoconut chicken meal.
It's good but, given the choice, I generally choose meals that
don't have any added sugar.
Realistically, 3 grams is nobig deal.
In fact, my rule of thumb withsugars in general is no more
than six to eight grams of sugarper serving.
This is different from addedsugars, but in most cases, if a
food has eight grams of sugar orless, there's probably very few
(15:36):
or no added sugars.
Sometimes you'll see somethingthat has seven sugars and all of
those sugars are added.
I'll usually put this backAgain.
It's not that big a deal, butit's just one of my things.
Everyone will have their ownline.
They draw in the sand when itcomes to nutrition labels and
ingredients.
Added sugars are just one of mythings.
As for fiber, the more fiberthe better.
(15:58):
What I've just outlined is mytwo pass look at a nutrition
label.
Pass number one check theprotein.
Compare the fat, evaluate thepercent of calories from protein
.
I don't look at calories forcalories sake.
I don't really care aboutcalories.
I want to know if, when I eatthis thing, will I feel full and
satisfied.
The percent of calories fromprotein and the amount of fat
will help me determine if thefood will satisfy my body and
(16:20):
turn down my appetite.
Protein that's very lean,meaning it has very little to no
fat, doesn't satisfy me.
White fish, whey protein, eggwhites and plain chicken breast
leave me feeling hungry.
I need some fat to fullysatisfy my appetite.
Shooting for 125 to 170 grams ofprotein a day, which is the
range that I tend to go for,gives me the flexibility to
(16:44):
enjoy fats with my protein.
Sometimes the fats are higherand sometimes they're lower, but
on average I'm typically withinthe 27 to 40% range of my daily
calories coming from protein.
So pass number one is theproteins and the fats.
Pass number two I look at thecarbs, sugars and the fiber.
I do have a third pass, andthat is the ingredient list.
I mostly scan for wheat and orother gluten containing grains
(17:08):
and seed oils.
Wheat and or gluten is ashowstopper.
I won't buy things that includewheat or gluten because people
in my family are very intolerantto gluten, so it's just
something that we totally avoid.
Seed oils are something I tryto avoid, but when buying
convenience foods, there's atrade-off.
Most of the time, these foodswill have seed oils because
(17:28):
those are inexpensive oils.
Okay, that was a lot and I didget into the weeds a bit with
the math, but I think it'simportant for you to understand
what high protein really is.
The good news is you don't needto do the math.
You can use any food trackerand it'll break down all of this
for you.
You don't want to look at foodindividually.
What's important is what a dayor a week of food looks like.
(17:51):
Did you hit 100 to 150 grams ofprotein over the course of the
day?
What about your weekly average?
Are you hitting that sweet spotof 27 to 40% or more of your
calories coming from protein?
That's what's important.
Are you, on average, eatingfood that has a high protein to
energy ratio?
Are you mostly eating foodthat's helping your body use and
(18:13):
burn fat so that you're livinglean, strong and healthy?
As I've mentioned in the past,I like carb manager for my food
tracker, but any online foodtracker will show you your daily
breakdown of protein, carbs,fats and fiber.
A minute ago, I mentioned that Ilike fat and in order to keep
my appetite happy, I need toinclude fat in my diet.
Eating super lean protein isn'tfun or sustainable for me.
(18:38):
This is one of those bigmistakes that I see people make
all the time.
They try to eat super lean,high protein, but it's very
difficult to sustain that.
Your appetite doesn't calm down, your cravings kick up and you
end up binging on those carbsand fats that you've been
avoiding.
So, yes, protein is good, eatprotein, but understand that
(19:00):
fats and carbs aren't evil.
When managed properly, theyhelp you feel good as you get
leaner, stronger and healthier.
Here's a breakdown of what I ate.
A few days ago For breakfast, Ihad a breakfast pepper.
This is a bell pepper hollowedout and then stuffed with two
scrambled eggs, cheese, ham anda quarter cup of cottage cheese,
and then it's baked in the oven.
(19:21):
I also had three pieces ofbacon.
I had one ounce of tri-tip,which is lean roast beef, mostly
because it was taking foreverfor the breakfast pepper to cook
and I was hungry.
Then for lunch, I had my minilunch, which is one and a half
cups of cottage cheese with 100grams of chopped pineapple.
For dinner, I had a big pieceof my high protein lasagna with
(19:41):
my simple green salad that hadhalf a cup of cottage cheese,
balsamic vinegar and half anavocado mixed in.
Overall, my day worked out tobe 1528 calories, 139 grams of
protein, 75 grams of fat, 82total carbs and 15 grams of
fiber.
37% of my calories came fromprotein, 45 percent came from
(20:04):
fat and 18 percent came fromcarbs.
This is just one day.
Those numbers and the percentsshift from day to day, but on
average, the amount of caloriesI get from protein daily fall
within that 27 to 40 percentrange.
I'm going to leave you with onetip when it comes to making
changes with your current dietdon't focus on what you think
you should take away or stopyour current diet.
Don't focus on what you thinkyou should take away or stop
(20:27):
eating.
Instead, don't worry about whatyou're currently eating.
What I want you to do is thinkabout what you're going to add.
How will you increase yourprotein?
Adding more protein-rich foods.
This one simple, small thingwill cause you to eat less of
your normal everyday carby fattyfoods without even trying.
(20:48):
And that's the goal A healthyapproach to lasting weight loss,
because what you're doing issensible, practical and
sustainable.
Okay, go out this week and checkout the nutrition labels.
See what you find.
See if you're surprised byanything you read.
I will be back in the nextepisode.
(21:09):
Do you like the idea of eatingfor the body you want?
Is there a piece of you that'seager to learn how to become
leaner, stronger and healthierwithout having to overhaul your
entire life?
If this is you, then you're inluck, because this is what I do.
I can help you reconnect andwork with your body so that you
(21:30):
can enjoy the body, comfort andconfidence you deserve, eating
foods you love.
Click the free consult link inthe show notes.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
Let's talk about where you are what you want and
how you can get there.
Welcome to the Simplicity of Wellness podcast.
I'm your host, board-certifiedholistic nutritionist and
professional life coach, amyWhite.
The purpose of this podcast isto share information that you
can use to become leaner,stronger and healthier by losing
weight, shedding inches,maintaining muscle and managing
(00:21):
your mind, all while living yournormal busy life in this modern
, sugar-filled world.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Hello, simplifiers, let's talk about nutrition
labels what to look for and then, based on your body and health
goals, how to use that nutritioninformation to evaluate if you
want to buy or put back whateverit is you're considering.
I'm going to walk you throughmy process how I read a food
label and why this informationis so helpful when it comes to
keeping my appetite satisfiedand my body in balance.
(00:53):
When I'm at the grocery store,I'm on a mission.
I want to go in and get out asfast as possible, which means
most of the time I don't lingerover nutrition labels.
I look at a nutrition label inthree passes.
My first pass is two seconds.
If what I see at first glancelooks good, then I'll stop and
give it a closer look.
That first two second glance isfor the protein and fat.
(01:15):
I look at everything through aprotein to energy ratio.
Calories are energy.
Energy calories come from fatsand carbohydrates.
Those are our body's dietaryenergy sources fats and sugars.
I want to make this very clearwhen I say energy, I mean
calories.
Saying a food is a high energyfood doesn't mean yippee.
(01:36):
If I eat this thing, I'll havetons of energy and be bouncing
around all day.
It just means a greater percentof the calories in that food
are coming from either fats orcarbs, not protein.
Most Americans eat a lot of highenergy foods, meaning they get
most of their calories from fatsand carbs.
Overeating this type of foodcauses the average, mostly
(01:58):
sedentary person to gain weight.
Most of us are sedentary.
I exercise regularly, but mostof my day is still just sitting.
Even with regular dailyexercise, I still fall into the
category of a mostly sedentaryperson.
Keep that in mind whenconsidering how active you
really are.
Protein to energy ratio is a wayto evaluate whether a
(02:20):
particular food or meal willhelp you burn body fat or put
more fat on your body.
This is exactly why I read anutrition label the way I do,
starting with how much proteinand then looking at the amount
of fat.
Is the food high protein orhigh energy?
Will it help me get and staylean or will it cause me to pack
on extra body fat?
(02:41):
Okay, let's get back to thenutrition label.
As I said, I scan for grams ofprotein and if that looks good,
then I glance up to compare thegrams of fat.
My first, two second glance isevaluating whether or not what
I'm holding is a good proteinsource, meaning a high percent
of the calories are going to becoming from protein.
(03:02):
Just because you're looking atsomething that appears to be, or
even says on the label thatit's a good protein source,
doesn't mean it is.
Even if the nutrition labelshows a decent amount of protein
let's say 12 grams of proteinor more per serving if it has
more fat per serving thanprotein, it will be an expensive
protein source, meaning you'llbe getting a lot of calories
(03:24):
from fat to get those grams ofprotein.
When looking at this throughthe protein to energy lens, it
may not be the best source ofprotein.
Depending on your body andhealth goals.
If you're trying to shift yourbody composition so that you
have less body fat, a leanersource of protein will be more
helpful.
A leaner source of protein willbe something that has more
(03:45):
grams of protein per servingthan fat per serving.
Becoming leaner means shiftingyour fat to muscle ratio.
You want less fat compared tothe muscle on your body.
If you've been on social mediaand seeing all the posts about
eating protein and buildingmuscle, don't get discouraged.
Building muscle is great.
We should all aspire to buildmore muscle, but don't forget
(04:07):
you already have muscle.
The muscle you have just needsto be uncovered.
Excess fat hides muscle.
When you eat food that has moreprotein than fat, you're
helping your body burn offexcess body fat, and that's how
you'll get leaner and reveal themuscle you already have.
Increasing the amount ofprotein-rich foods is one of the
(04:28):
easiest and best ways to revealyour muscle mass.
Protein-rich foods help youfeel full so that you eat less
without even trying.
Eating less allows your body todig in and burn off stored body
fat.
As you burn off stored body fat, you improve your muscle to fat
ratio simply by reducing fat.
(04:48):
Being able to read a nutritionlabel so that you can identify
foods that are a good source ofprotein versus foods that are
actually high energy and onlymasquerading as high protein is
key to managing your fat tomuscle ratio.
One of the easy ways to checkthis out is the next time you're
at the grocery store, look atthe nutrition labels on protein
bars.
(05:08):
See if you can figure out whichones are really protein bars
and which ones are just highenergy candy bars in disguise.
Today, I'm going to use sausageas my protein to energy example
.
My family loves sausage, butmost traditional sausages are
made with pork or beef.
I love these types of sausagesbecause they're fatty.
(05:28):
Now, this isn't true for allpork and beef sausages.
There are leaner types ofsausage.
So take your time and readnutrition labels.
Most typical pork and beefsausage that you find at a
regular grocery store do tend tohave more fat than protein,
meaning most of the caloriesyou're eating will come from fat
, not protein.
(05:49):
If you're trying to reduce theamount of fat on your body,
eating protein foods that arecalorically dense with fat won't
help you.
In fact, this could easily beone of the things that makes you
feel like you're doing it right, but that it's not working.
I did a quick search for typicalsausages that you find at a
normal grocery store.
Jimmy Dean's popped up as oneof the brands, and then another
(06:11):
brand called Jones Dairy FarmSausage.
All-natural mild pork sausagelinks was another.
A quick glance at the sausagelinks showed me 7 grams of
protein.
That alone would have melooking at the fat, because 7
grams seemed low for a meatproduct.
So of course, I'd wonder well,what could the fat be?
One serving is seven grams ofprotein and 24 grams of fat.
(06:32):
This is a high fat foodmasquerading as protein.
It's a food that will make youfatter, not leaner.
I did mention that my familyloves sausage, so I wasn't going
to give up on sausage.
I spent a lot of time readinglabels, looking for high protein
, lower fat sausage, and I'mhappy to tell you I was
successful.
We have a local grocery storehere that carries their own
(06:54):
brand of chicken sausage.
They have a bunch of differentflavors, but here's the
nutrition information for theirtomato, basil and mozzarella
chicken sausage.
One link and this is a dinnersize link, not a mini link 13
grams of protein, three grams offat.
Another brand that I reallylike is Sabatino smoked
mozzarella with artichoke andgarlic chicken sausage.
We get these at Costco.
(07:15):
Again, this is a full sizesausage link, not a mini link.
There are 16 grams of proteinand nine grams of fat, which
makes this a high qualityprotein source, with 40% of
calories coming from protein.
I've seen proteinrecommendations that say you
should be getting 5 to 35% ofyour daily calories from protein
If you eat a 2000 calorie diet,that is, 50 to 170 grams of
(07:40):
protein per day.
You may not like this, but I'mgoing to tell you that 50 grams
of protein per day is not enoughto prevent muscle loss as you
age.
At the very least, all womenover 40 should be getting no
less than 100 grams of protein aday and, quite frankly, if
you're over five feet tall, youshould be shooting for a minimum
of 125 grams of protein a day.
(08:01):
More if you're active, let'slook at this with a 1500 calorie
diet If you're shooting for 100to 150 grams of protein a day
more.
If you're active, let's look atthis with a 1500 calorie diet.
If you're shooting for 100 to150 grams of protein a day, that
means 400 to 700 of those 1500calories are coming from protein
.
If you want to do the math, eachgram of protein is
approximately four calories, thesame for carbohydrates.
(08:22):
Each gram of carbohydrate isfour calories four calories, the
same for carbohydrates.
Each gram of carbohydrate isfour calories.
Fats are different.
For each gram of fat, you getnine calories.
This is why, when you eat foodsthat are high in fat, you also
get a lot of calories.
The fat calories add up fasterthan the protein or carb
calories.
If you're eating 100 to 150grams of protein a day, that
(08:42):
means 400 to 700 of your 1500calories are coming from protein
.
The remainder of your calorieswill be from fats and carbs.
100 to 150 grams of protein on a1500 calorie diet means the
percent of calories coming fromprotein will be between 27% to
(09:03):
40%.
I'm torturing you with thismath to help you understand what
you're looking for on thatnutrition label.
The easy protein math is lookat the grams of protein,
multiply that number by 10.
If that new number the proteingrams with that added zero on
the end is equal to the caloriesper serving, you know you're
(09:25):
getting 40% of your caloriesfrom protein.
Super easy.
If the protein times 10 is morethan the calories per serving,
then you're getting more than40% of your calories from
protein.
If it's less than the caloriesper serving, then you're getting
less than 40% of your caloriesfrom protein.
So let's take a closer look atthose Jones dairy sausage links
(09:46):
that I mentioned earlier.
A serving is 250 calories.
Each serving has 7 grams ofprotein and 24 grams of fat.
7 times 10 is 70, which is awhole lot less than 250 calories
.
So we know the percent ofcalories coming from protein is
way less than 40%.
So just for fun, let's figurethis out.
(10:07):
There are 4 calories per gramof protein.
Seven grams of protein timesfour equals 28 calories.
If you divide 28 by thecalories per serving, 250, you
get 11%.
Only 11% of the calories you'reeating are coming from protein.
As a woman over 40 who's tryingto get a minimum of 100 grams of
(10:28):
protein a day, you need atleast 27% of your calories
coming from protein.
These sausage links just don'tcut it.
They aren't helping you reachany kind of healthy body goal.
Does this mean you should putdown anything that doesn't add
up to 40% of calories fromprotein?
No, on average, over the courseof a day, if you can keep your
(10:49):
percent of calories from proteinbetween 27 and 40 percent,
you're doing a lot to help yourbody regain metabolic balance
and burn off excess body fat.
The best part you shouldn'tfeel hungry.
If you're getting 27 to 40percent of your calories from
protein, you will feel full andsatisfied.
This range gives you theability to eat a variety of
(11:11):
foods, including foods that arehigher in fats and carbs.
When your body gets thenutrients and minerals it needs
from your food, it stops askingfor more.
The food noise in your headquiets down.
Losing fat so that you getleaner, stronger and healthier
should start to feel easier,because it doesn't require
superhuman willpower or constantself-judgment.
(11:33):
One of my favorite types ofsausage is kielbasa.
It's fatty and greasy andthat's why I love it.
A serving of the kielbasa thatI like is 120 calories.
There are nine grams of proteinand nine grams of fat per
serving.
It's a one-to-one ratio of fatto protein.
When I multiply the grams ofprotein and 9 grams of fat per
serving, it's a 1 to 1 ratio offat to protein.
When I multiply the grams ofprotein by 10, I get 90.
(11:54):
That's less than 120, which isthe calories per serving, but
it's not a lot less.
I know this is still within theprotein percent range that I'm
comfortable with, but to be sure, let's check the numbers.
9 grams of protein times 4tells me that I'm getting with,
but to be sure, let's check thenumbers.
9 grams of protein times 4tells me that I'm getting 36
calories from protein.
When I divide 36 by 120, I get30%.
(12:19):
This means 30% of those 120calories are coming from protein
.
30% fits within that healthyrange of 27 to 40% of calories
coming from protein.
If your protein grams don'tequal 40% of calories, don't
just give the food a quick pass.
Is the protein about equal toor greater than, the fat?
(12:39):
If so, give it a closer look,you may be pleased to discover
that it fits within that 27 to40% range.
Most of the nutrition labels Ilook at are because I'm shopping
for good protein sources.
This means that the carbs andsugars are naturally low because
most of the calories are comingfrom protein and fat.
There are mixed foods that I dobuy, for example, kevin's paleo
(13:02):
meals.
I love to keep some of these inmy fridge and freezer for quick
meal options when I know we'regoing to be busy.
When I'm looking at somethinglike this, I do the whole
protein to fat thing, but I alsolook at the carbs and sugars.
Remember carbs and the sugarsthat fall under carbs are
calories the body will eitherburn or store as fat.
When we eat too many of ourcalories from fats and carbs, we
(13:23):
can end up storing a lot ofthose calories as body fat.
This is why you want to shootfor that 27 to 40 percent range
of calories coming from protein.
If you're eating that amount ofcalories as protein, the fat
and carb calories will be at alevel your body can effectively
burn without a lot of excessthat will need to be stored as
fat.
(13:44):
Let's compare a couple of theKevin Paleo meals.
The sirloin steak tips withgravy is one of our favorites
160 calories per serving, 22grams of protein, 7 grams of fat
, 2 carbs, 0 sugars.
22 times 10 is 220.
More than 40% of the caloriesare coming from protein.
In fact, 55% of the calories inthis meal are coming from
(14:06):
protein.
This means the protein toenergy ratio is very high.
This is a high protein, bodyfat burning meal.
The second meal I looked at wasthe Thai style coconut chicken
180 calories, 23 grams ofprotein, 7 fats, 5 carbs, 3
added sugars.
23 times 10 is 230.
51% of calories in this mealare coming from protein.
(14:29):
This is low fat, low carb, so ahigh protein to calorie ratio
and another fat burning meal.
If the food you're choosing tobuy and eat is giving you 27 to
40% of the calories per servingfrom protein, then you can feel
confident that it's a food thatwill help you burn body fat and
get leaner without feelingconstantly hungry.
(14:50):
Let's talk about the other partsof that nutrition label carbs,
sugars and fiber.
If there's one thing on a labelthat will have me putting
something back without a secondglance, it's added sugars.
If a product has eight or moreadded sugars, I generally just
put it back.
Does this mean I never, ever,buy anything with a little added
sugar?
No, I do and have, but it'srare I have bought and eaten
(15:13):
that Kevin's Paleo Thai-stylecoconut chicken meal.
It's good but, given the choice, I generally choose meals that
don't have any added sugar.
Realistically, 3 grams is nobig deal.
In fact, my rule of thumb withsugars in general is no more
than six to eight grams of sugarper serving.
This is different from addedsugars, but in most cases, if a
food has eight grams of sugar orless, there's probably very few
(15:36):
or no added sugars.
Sometimes you'll see somethingthat has seven sugars and all of
those sugars are added.
I'll usually put this backAgain.
It's not that big a deal, butit's just one of my things.
Everyone will have their ownline.
They draw in the sand when itcomes to nutrition labels and
ingredients.
Added sugars are just one of mythings.
As for fiber, the more fiberthe better.
(15:58):
What I've just outlined is mytwo pass look at a nutrition
label.
Pass number one check theprotein.
Compare the fat, evaluate thepercent of calories from protein
.
I don't look at calories forcalories sake.
I don't really care aboutcalories.
I want to know if, when I eatthis thing, will I feel full and
satisfied.
The percent of calories fromprotein and the amount of fat
will help me determine if thefood will satisfy my body and
(16:20):
turn down my appetite.
Protein that's very lean,meaning it has very little to no
fat, doesn't satisfy me.
White fish, whey protein, eggwhites and plain chicken breast
leave me feeling hungry.
I need some fat to fullysatisfy my appetite.
Shooting for 125 to 170 grams ofprotein a day, which is the
range that I tend to go for,gives me the flexibility to
(16:44):
enjoy fats with my protein.
Sometimes the fats are higherand sometimes they're lower, but
on average I'm typically withinthe 27 to 40% range of my daily
calories coming from protein.
So pass number one is theproteins and the fats.
Pass number two I look at thecarbs, sugars and the fiber.
I do have a third pass, andthat is the ingredient list.
I mostly scan for wheat and orother gluten containing grains
(17:08):
and seed oils.
Wheat and or gluten is ashowstopper.
I won't buy things that includewheat or gluten because people
in my family are very intolerantto gluten, so it's just
something that we totally avoid.
Seed oils are something I tryto avoid, but when buying
convenience foods, there's atrade-off.
Most of the time, these foodswill have seed oils because
(17:28):
those are inexpensive oils.
Okay, that was a lot and I didget into the weeds a bit with
the math, but I think it'simportant for you to understand
what high protein really is.
The good news is you don't needto do the math.
You can use any food trackerand it'll break down all of this
for you.
You don't want to look at foodindividually.
What's important is what a dayor a week of food looks like.
(17:51):
Did you hit 100 to 150 grams ofprotein over the course of the
day?
What about your weekly average?
Are you hitting that sweet spotof 27 to 40% or more of your
calories coming from protein?
That's what's important.
Are you, on average, eatingfood that has a high protein to
energy ratio?
Are you mostly eating foodthat's helping your body use and
(18:13):
burn fat so that you're livinglean, strong and healthy?
As I've mentioned in the past,I like carb manager for my food
tracker, but any online foodtracker will show you your daily
breakdown of protein, carbs,fats and fiber.
A minute ago, I mentioned that Ilike fat and in order to keep
my appetite happy, I need toinclude fat in my diet.
Eating super lean protein isn'tfun or sustainable for me.
(18:38):
This is one of those bigmistakes that I see people make
all the time.
They try to eat super lean,high protein, but it's very
difficult to sustain that.
Your appetite doesn't calm down, your cravings kick up and you
end up binging on those carbsand fats that you've been
avoiding.
So, yes, protein is good, eatprotein, but understand that
(19:00):
fats and carbs aren't evil.
When managed properly, theyhelp you feel good as you get
leaner, stronger and healthier.
Here's a breakdown of what I ate.
A few days ago For breakfast, Ihad a breakfast pepper.
This is a bell pepper hollowedout and then stuffed with two
scrambled eggs, cheese, ham anda quarter cup of cottage cheese,
and then it's baked in the oven.
(19:21):
I also had three pieces ofbacon.
I had one ounce of tri-tip,which is lean roast beef, mostly
because it was taking foreverfor the breakfast pepper to cook
and I was hungry.
Then for lunch, I had my minilunch, which is one and a half
cups of cottage cheese with 100grams of chopped pineapple.
For dinner, I had a big pieceof my high protein lasagna with
(19:41):
my simple green salad that hadhalf a cup of cottage cheese,
balsamic vinegar and half anavocado mixed in.
Overall, my day worked out tobe 1528 calories, 139 grams of
protein, 75 grams of fat, 82total carbs and 15 grams of
fiber.
37% of my calories came fromprotein, 45 percent came from
(20:04):
fat and 18 percent came fromcarbs.
This is just one day.
Those numbers and the percentsshift from day to day, but on
average, the amount of caloriesI get from protein daily fall
within that 27 to 40 percentrange.
I'm going to leave you with onetip when it comes to making
changes with your current dietdon't focus on what you think
you should take away or stopyour current diet.
Don't focus on what you thinkyou should take away or stop
(20:27):
eating.
Instead, don't worry about whatyou're currently eating.
What I want you to do is thinkabout what you're going to add.
How will you increase yourprotein?
Adding more protein-rich foods.
This one simple, small thingwill cause you to eat less of
your normal everyday carby fattyfoods without even trying.
(20:48):
And that's the goal A healthyapproach to lasting weight loss,
because what you're doing issensible, practical and
sustainable.
Okay, go out this week and checkout the nutrition labels.
See what you find.
See if you're surprised byanything you read.
I will be back in the nextepisode.
(21:09):
Do you like the idea of eatingfor the body you want?
Is there a piece of you that'seager to learn how to become
leaner, stronger and healthierwithout having to overhaul your
entire life?
If this is you, then you're inluck, because this is what I do.
I can help you reconnect andwork with your body so that you
(21:30):
can enjoy the body, comfort andconfidence you deserve, eating
foods you love.
Click the free consult link inthe show notes.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
Let's talk about where you are what you want and
how you can get there.
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