Are your friends and family ruining your diet?

You're probably great at sticking to your diet when you're alone in your own home. But do you notice that you eat more when you're with others? If so, you're not alone.  Many dieters struggle to stick to a healthy eating plan when they are in social situations, particularly if those situations are stressful. But that doesn't mean you can't take control. With a little bit of planning, it's possible to eat less around family and friends.

How Family and Friends Can Ruin Your Diet

A simple family dinner or a night out with friends might not seem like a big deal, but researchers have found that it can have a significant impact on your calorie intake. In one study, researchers looked at the way that we change our eating habits to match the eating habits of the people around us. They found that our friends and family are especially influential. We tend to change the amount of food we eat and the type of food we eat to match the choices made by our closest companions.

Of course, that can have good or bad consequences if you're a dieter. If you surround yourself with healthy moderate eaters, then they may influence you to eat a healthy moderate diet as well. But if you live in America, that may less likely to happen. One recent news report claims that Americans eat 3,770 calories per day on average, more than any other country.  Recent data from the USDA puts the number closer to 2,700 per day, but that calorie count is still way too high for most dieters. Someone trying to lose weight should keep their calorie intake below 2000 per day.

If you're trying to lose weight, you don't have to avoid all events with your family and friends in order to reach your goals. The best way to eat less in social situations is to make a plan in advance. Use these tips to develop a strategy that meets your specific needs.

• Always know your energy balance numbers. To lose weight successfully, you need to manage your energy balance every single day. So before you meet with friends or family, make sure you know how many calories you've consumed that day and how many you can afford to consume at the event. This way you can make informed choices as you socialize.
   
• Use a mobile app for weight loss. The most convenient way for most people to manage their energy balance is with a mobile app for weight loss.  These convenient smart phone tools go with you where ever you are, so you can always check in to see how your calorie balance looks in the moment.
   
• Make better drink choices. You'll probably eat less with family and friends if you learn how to drink less alcohol and drink more water.  Your energy balance number and your weight loss goals tend to matter less when you get tipsy.  Stay focused with better booze choices and less alcohol consumption overall.
   
• Acknowledge and manage stress. Many people manage family stress with a glass of wine.  But since that can interfere with good calorie control, find other ways to manage the stress that can come with social events.  Take short breaks if necessary to go for a walk or simply to recharge.
   
• Ask for support. One of the best ways to manage family stress is to ask for help. There are specific phrases you can use to get diet support from your family.  You can also get diet help from friends to help keep your weight loss plan on track. I know that sounds great; tell your family your on a diet and they won't cook for you. Sounds easy, right. It didn't work for me. I found the best way is to get support from Weight Watchers or your trainer or a Dietitian. I never told my friends or family until they brought up the subject. Take it from me, after you lose 20 pounds they'll be talking about you.
   
• Be clear about your goals. Believe it or not, the way you set your weight loss goals can have an impact on whether or not you reach them.  If you set a weight loss goal that is specific, relevant and measurable it becomes easier to follow your plan during challenging moments. You can even set a short-term goal for the evening and post it in a place where you see it periodically to keep yourself motivated, like on your refrigerator door.
   
• Don't allow yourself to be pressured. There will be times when your well-intentioned family members may push food on you or say offensive things that compromise your weight loss commitment. Don't give in to the pressure. Bolster your self-confidence by reminding yourself of your previous successes and stay committed to your plan.
   

Remember that it is normal to want to eat more in social situations. But if you can learn to eat less around family and friends, you'll lose weight faster and keep the weight off for good. Eat a snack before your go; like a banana or apple, and remember you can always eat something when you get home. When your on a diet you want to eat foods that you bought and prepared. That's the best way to lose weight.

Change Your Eating Habits and Lose Weight For Good.

You know you want to make a change. You want to see what life is like without extra weight on your body and on your mind. You're committed to making a change for the better. To make it happen, think of your habits like a road trip. Your next steps become clear, and you start to see your destination ahead.

Plan Out Your Route

You'll want to take time to think about how to create healthy habits to take you to your goal. Planning can also get you psyched up about new things to try or doing things you enjoy. Here are tips to help you plan your habits, your support, and your mind-set. I know it sounds like a lot of work. Creating new habits is simply planning better choices. I'm not going to stop for that latte before work. Or, make that Latte with Fat-Free milk, and no sweetener, please.  There's always a healthier way if you look for it. Okay, I know what your thinking, You don't like fat-free milk and you like sweet coffee. Listen closely, if you don't make sacrifices you won't lose weight and remember that you really are trying to lose body fat, the weight will be a bonus. If you lose the body fat you'll become a slimmer, trimmer person forever, no more diets. You only have to change what you eat. 

Prepare for each destination. Think about the things you eat, but shouldn't and how to substitute something else, so you'll still eat something but now the something won't make you add more fat. For instance, Do You eat chips at work? Bring some mixed, salted nuts from home, but only bring a handful, not the whole package. Eating more food from home is a good habit to start. Some apartment people almost never eat at home, because they don't really like spending time in the apartment. You can change that. For instance, what would your perfect, most motivating kitchen have? Cut-up colorful vegetables ready for you in the fridge? Apples in the fruit basket? Sheer curtains to let the light in?You might be thinking that guys don't care about how their place looks. But subconsciously you do. Make your place look like somewhere you want to be. When You get off work, why stop for a beer, I'll get one at home and turn on the game. 

Plan for the family and friends you'll see along the way. There will be people who are for you -- happy to support you in your weight loss effort. And there will be people who aren't so supportive. You may already know who they are. People that maybe should diet but don't think they have to. Others like my Mother who thinks people should have a little extra weight, so eat,eat.

You need to be prepared for both types.

Think of each person you spend time with in your daily life, and ask yourself these questions to set up a game plan:

• How much do you want to share with them about your efforts? Some people really don't need to know. After you lose the weight, they'll see how good you look and you can tell them you've been working out.
• What kinds of obstacles do you expect from them? What are a few ways you can respond to them? When I eat with the family, I always get the same thing. "Eat, eat, it's good for you." So I always just eat a little of everything and I do mean a little, and just say "I'm full, that was good." When it come to dessert, I eat fresh fruit. 

You can change the unhealthy foods for healthy foods and you will lose body fat, but it will take time. Extra activity can help you lose weight quicker. 

Why Do I Eat So Much After Dinner?

You stick to your diet all day and eat healthy well-balanced meals. Then the evening comes and you find yourself making repeated trips to the refrigerator or pantry to eat food that you don't really need. Sound familiar? If it does, you're not alone. Nighttime calories are a struggle for many dieters who find that they continue eating after dinner. If you're serious about losing weight, use these tips to stop eating so much at night.

You're normal if you like to snack and graze after eating dinner. But if you are trying to lose weight, the calories you consume from snacks in the evening could easily undo a day's worth of smart food choices. So the first step to eating less is to find out why you eat when you don't need to. 

I like this article, but I want to inject a couple of words. When a person is active all day and then sits down in the evening to unwind they normally watch TV. I don't really know why, there's not much on those 500 cable station I pay almost $220 a month to watch. Anyway, the reason, as I see it, unwinding takes time so as your trying to unwind your still antsy. I can't really sit still very long. I'm still wond-up. So the natural thing to do when the show isn't holding my interest is to get up and move around, and so I go to the kitchen.

For most of us, the reason we overeat is related to the fact that we are less busy at night and we are near food. We like to relax and enjoy more leisurely activities and food is a common source of comfort. Without the distraction of work or other daytime activities, it's easy to grab for snacks that are nearby. If you can find other ways to unwind, then you'll be likely to eat less at night. You can also use these strategies to curb nighttime eating.

How to Stop Eating After Dinner

The best way to curb your nighttime eating behavior for good is to use short term strategies to break the habit. If you can replace snacking with a healthier habit, then you won't feel the urge to overeat in the evening.

Use one of these tips (or all three) to change your night-time snack habit.

Move away from the food. You're more likely to eat too much at night if you are always around food. So after dinner, move away from the kitchen. This might mean that you postpone clean-up tasks so that you aren't tempted to eat leftovers. Or better yet, delegate the job to someone in your house who isn't on a diet.

Another great way to get away from food is to go for a walk after dinner. I walk the dog after dinner. I get-in extra activity to burn more calories. At the same time, I'm breaking the habit of snacking after dinner. But the real plus for me is I can sleep better. I'm not stuffed full and the walking has made me little tired. Even if your walk is just 15-20 minutes long, physical activity helps to break up the eating momentum. It also gives your body a chance to feel the sensation of fullness so the urge to eat is less strong. After I got use to walking at night, I stretched out my walk to 45 minutes.

Use a "meal-ender" to curb your appetite. Some dieters use mint-flavored gum to diminish the desire to eat after dinner. Most of us don't like the taste of food when we have a mint flavor in our mouths. Brushing your teeth after dinner provides this same benefit - along with a dental bonus. That's true but I still like mint flavored gum when ever I have a craving to eat something.

You can also use MealEnders to stop eating so much. These small candies reset your taste buds so that you don't feel the urge to eat. MealEnders contain no stimulants and are regulated as a food product so they have to follow strict guidelines of the Food and Drug Administration, unlike many diet and weight loss supplements. MealEnders are popular with seniors with dentures. I know it's hard to chow gum with dentures.

Be a smart television watcher. Most of us eat too much at night when we snack mindlessly in front of the television. Some researchers even believe that certain action shows make us eat too much food. Regardless of your show preference, however, you can create healthy eating habits in front of the television to eat less and lose weight.

One way to eat less is to keep your hands active. I do simple chores while I watch TV. Sometimes I read while I watch TV, my brother taught me that. And sometimes I stay on the internet at night and that keep my hands busy.

Remember, snacking isn't bad for your diet. But eating when you're not hungry is never a good plan. Learn to eat a healthy (not hardy) dinner and then create habits to stop eating  at night. You'll reach your goal weight faster and keep your weight off for good. Most diet gurus will tell you not to eat the 3 hours before bed. There's a good reason for that. Late night food won't have time to be properly digested and will end-up being stored as fat.

Think About Protein Supplements For Weight Lose

I've posted a lot lately about the importance of protein in the diet. In my last post I talked about getting 60 grams minimum and that if your working out regularly you should probably up that to 80 or 90 grams a day. It's also recommended by trainers that you get as much protein as possible from the food you eat. I'm also going to add that most restaurant food might contain protein, but animal protein at restaurants may not be the healthiest way to get protein. Be careful what type of meat or fish you get at a restaurant. Grilled meat or fish salted is the best and safest way to eat animal protein in restaurants.  The only reason I'm even mentioning restaurants is because most of us eat out everyday, even if it's only one meal. Eating out also means it may be very hard to calculate your protein intake. If that's a problem you might want to think about protein supplements.

You might be thinking, "How would I know if I was getting enough?" Okay, If your working out and you're not getting better or increasing your routine (walking fast than before), and it seems like your aways soar, then you might need more protein. Protein helps your muscles build back take after your last workout. What does that mean, you might ask? When you workout your tearing down muscle tissue and before you can work that same muscle the tissue has to rebuild. This process makes the muscle stronger and it's the protein in your diet that rebuilds the muscle. Your muscle should be good to go in about 48 hours. If you're not getting enough protein it take longer to rebuild the muscle. Seniors can have this problem. Ordinarily seniors will try not to eat much animal protein because of the cholesterol, so plant protein becomes very important and that harder to get with your normal diet. 

I like protein shakes, especially for breakfast. You can use protein powders in your shake along with yogurt and fruit to make a healthy breakfast and most of the prep work can be done the night before so you can just turn on the blender, pour it and go; 5 minutes and your out the door. Read this next article from WebMD if your interested in giving it a try.

When it comes to protein, some of us don’t need supplemental help and can easily meet our needs from a well-balanced diet, but if you have above-average protein needs and have a hard time getting enough from your diet, supplementation may be appropriate. You can sneak in additional protein with whole foods but, from a lifestyle perspective, there are a few reasons why protein supplements, in bar or powder form, may make sense:

1. CONVENIENCE: Protein powder and bars can provide a high-quality snack with approximately 20-30 grams of protein for refueling after a tough workout, or eating on the go.

2. COST: Depending on the protein supplement you buy, it may actually be more cost effective to use a supplement than purchase more pricey foods like meat and fish. Whey protein powder is about $10-15/pound but also has a longer shelf life than fresh, protein-rich foods.

3. FEASIBILITY: Vegan diets rely on plant sources to supply protein and require eating a variety of foods since plant sources rarely contain all of the essential amino acids. For vegans who exercise intensely or strength train, protein supplements may be a useful.

PROTEIN POWDER BASICS

When it comes to protein, quality matters. This is why scientists came up with the “protein digestibility corrected amino acid score” (PDCAAS)–yes, it’s a mouthful! This score tells you protein quality as measured by: 1) how “complete” the protein is and, 2) how easily digestible it is.

The PDCAAS scores protein sources from 0-1 with 1 being the highest. A score of 1 is assigned to egg white, which contains all 9 essential amino acids and is easily digested and absorbed. Ideally, your protein powder supplement should score as close to 1 as possible, but this depends on the source of protein it’s made from. Here are the 3 most common sources of protein that powers your powder:

1. Whey and casein (PDCAAS=1) are proteins extracted from milk that are “complete” proteins, easily absorbed by the body and relatively inexpensive. Plus, these milk proteins contain branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) to encourage muscle building during strength training. The downside is that this protein source is unsuitable for vegans and people with lactose intolerance or milk protein allergies.

2. Soy protein (PDCAAS= 1) is plant-based, contains all 9 essential amino acids and is inexpensive. Soy protein powder is a great alternative for vegans who can’t take whey or casein, but wouldn’t be ideal for those with soy allergies.

3. Other plant-based proteins: Pea (PDCAAS=0.69), rice (PDCAAS=0.47) and hemp (PDCAAS= 0.46) proteins score low on the PDCAAS because they don’t provide all 9 essential amino acids when taken as a stand-alone source, and the rice and hemp proteins are not readily digestible. For this reason, they are usually found together in a plant-based protein powder supplement mix. While these mixes can be hypoallergenic, we’d still suggest whey, casein and soy if you can stomach them.

3 Tips for Fueling with Protein Powder

1. Choose whey when possible. If you’re considering a protein supplement to increase muscle size and strength, whey is the way to go–as long as you don’t have milk intolerance. It’s an inexpensive, high-quality protein that is quickly usable by your muscles.

2. Log your protein supplements. Don’t forget that supplements (and the milk you mix it with) have calories, too, and can contribute to excess weight gain if you aren’t mindful.

3. Supplement with exercise in mind. Consuming protein powder alone won’t get you a lean, mean physique–you’ll still need to shape up with some push-up, squatting, and burpie fun.

Tip2

PROTEIN BAR BASICS

Like protein powder, bar supplements use the same sources listed above to add protein into a portable snack. Unlike powder, bars generally contain more calories, carbs, fat, and sodium for any given amount of protein. However, this is because you’re expected to mix powder supplements with milk to add in more of the other macros.! Bars provide a quick,mindless, no-mix way of getting post-workout nutrition. This table will help you visualize the basic nutritional differences (but really read the label):

Cal Pro(g) Carb(g) Sugar(g) Fat(g)
Bars 200-300 15-30 15-40 5-20 5-10
Powder* 80-200 15-30 <10 1-5 <5
*Before mixing with milk.

3 Tips for Fueling with Protein Bars

1. Read the ingredients. This is usually not a pretty place, but if you’re going to eat it, then read it. Protein bars can hide processed fibers, sugar alcohols and artificial sweeteners. Make sure you’re okay with these before biting.

2. Log your bar supplements. Some bars are meant to replace a whole meal, and they have the calories to do it. Logging bars helps you stay the course for your calorie goals.

3. Supplement with exercise in mind. Bars vary widely in the amount of carbs they contain. Choose higher-carb bars (20+ grams per serving) when you engaged in vigorous aerobic activities (running, swimming, biking), and lower-carb bars (<20 grams per serving) for non-aerobic activities.

No matter what source you choose to meet your protein goals, remember these 3 tips to help you get the most out of protein:

1. Spread protein out over all your meals. Protein-rich foods don’t come cheap, but you can maximize your body’s ability to digest, absorb and use protein by distributing it evenly throughout your meals and snacks. Just take the total grams of protein you need daily and divide it into the total number of meals and snacks you eat daily.

2. Eat protein immediately after a bout of exercise. Having a high-protein snack soon after exercise (ideally before the 1-hour mark) is best because this is when muscles are sensitive to nutrients that it can use to repair and grow.

3. Pair protein with carbs. This is especially important when you’re refueling after aerobic exercise (like running) since protein is needed for muscle repair and carbs are needed to restock your muscles’ energy stores. Remember, the macros like to work together.

Losing body fat should be your goal. Read up on weight loss and losing body fat. It doesn’t cost money to lose weightier fat. The internet is full of free information. But the quickest way and cheapest way is to buy an ebook online and get everything you need in one short read. I have two ebooks on Amazon:

How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight

Getting To A Healthy Weight

Check out one of them, I think you can find all the info you need and plenty of tips on how I lost my body fat. 

The Benefits of Losing Weight

I write posts about weight lose because so many people want to lose weight. Mostly because they want to look better and feel better. As a senior I want to tell you that until you’re over 50 your don’t realize how that extra weight affects you.

I lost most of my body fat after 50, but for a lot of people that’s almost to late. Today I have knee pain because I waited too long to lose weight. The damage was done. I had one operation on my left knee, but the truth about any joint surgery is that you never totally get rid of the pain. Oh, sure after the surgery you’ll feel great but as time goes by you start to feel the pain again. And after any joint damage you always end up with Arthritis. 

If I would have exercised  and watched my diet more and lost the weight before I had joint pain, maybe this won’t have happened. For most of us, gaining weight is no biggy. "Everyone gains weight when they get older, don’t they?”  No, the truth is that as you get older, life gets more complicated. We have less time and we spend less time taking care of ourselves. Hence, the older you get the more you go to the doctor. We are causing our own health problems. 

What you put on your plate might affect what you see in the mirror. But a few tweaks to your dining habits can go a long way to keeping your skin youthful and your body healthy.

The key approach? Eat better. "Poor-quality foods, like trans fats, cause inflammation -- and aging is basically a chronic inflammatory state," says Timothy Harlan, MD. 

And because of our busy lifestyle, we have less time to stay active. If you already have the extra pounds you need to change what you eat. That’s for sure, but you also need to add more activity to your daily schedule. Okay, I know we all don’t have time for the gym, but that’s not really necessary. Walking can provide the extra activity you need. I grew up with my parents and grandparents. During the 1940’s and 1950’s life was different. People didn’t have a lot of money and most people lived in apartments. If you wanted to own your own home or your parents didn’t have enough money to live alone, then families would go together and buy a home. 

The sandwich generation is nothing new. Families have had to do this for several generations. Anyway getting to the point, my grandparents never real watched TV. Oh sure, at night they would sit in-front of the TV with the rest of us, but they usually would fall asleep. What I do remember is that after dinner my grandparents would take a walk. My walked for about an hour and then usually when to bed. 

So what I’m getting at is that they were healthier people then my parents and my parents were probably healthier then people in my generation. Why, you might ask? When we were all living under the same roof our diets were all about the same. We all ate the same food, some ate more then others, but the food was all nutritious and we were all healthy. My dad was the heaviest, he had more body fat and he was less active. He had an office job, stayed at his desk and stayed on the phone most of the day. I would say it was probably his diet and his love of Golf that helped keep him healthy, in those days you walked the Golf Course.

Today life is much different. The average family eats out three or four times a day. Restaurant food will put weight on you. Most low price restaurant food has little nutrition and is basically comfort food that adds weight almost immediately. Plus the fact we are not as active as past generations, so it’s a combination of the food we eat today and the lack of exercise which is producing a generation of people with serious health problems. 

You can do something to break the cycle your in, by doing things today to take better care of yourself. To eat better, more quality food. and to get more exercise even if that means walking the dog. 

How Much Protein Do I Need? Part II

This is a follow-up of the article I posted yesterday. This was posted originally on "MyFitnessPal.com" and will explain the importance of protein in the diet and how much you need everyday. When I read between the lines I can see clearly how a person who is not getting enough protein in their diet, is continually letting their body go downhill. They're losing muscle mass and gaining body fat and losing energy, which will cause you to be less active, and losing their health in general. All of this happen over many years, so the average person doesn't realize what's taking place. But as you can see in this example, poor health began with a poor diet. Your body needs nutrition to lose body fat and just cutting back on your food might cut some calories but can you really get all the nutrition you need from the food your eating.

Our body changes every day as cells grow, divide and die—these processes depend on protein to supply vital building blocks to our cells. Because of this, you need to eat enough protein to maintain lean muscle mass and support other important body functions, which most people neglect to do. The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) predicts how much protein you should eat daily to guard against lean muscle loss. The RDA for protein is 0.8 gram/kilogram of body weight, but this is a minimum for the average sedentary adult, a.k.a. “weekend warrior.” MyFitnessPal calculates protein intake to be 20% of your daily calories, which is likely more than enough to maintain muscle mass. If you want to check, here’s how to calculate the minimum amount of protein you should be eating:

Step 1: Divide your weight in pounds by 2.2 to get your weight in kilograms.
Step 2: Multiply your weight in kilograms X 0.8 to get the amount (in grams) of protein you should be eating to maintain muscle mass.

Does this match your protein goal in the app? What they're talking about is the free phone App they offer on their website. There are dozens of Diet Apps on the internet that help you calculate calories, carbs and even grams of protein. If you're not using an App calculating and tracking your diet plan can be very complex.

hi-tech tip

If you exercise regularly—particularly if you log 1 hour or more of moderate to vigorous exercise several days per week—the International Society of Sports Nutrition recommends more protein. Their recommendation for an active person is to eat 1.2 to 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight on the days that you exercise. You can use the same steps above to calculate the amount of protein (in grams) you’d need on the days when you exercise.

For endurance activities (think swimming, biking, running), stick to 1.2 to 1.4 gram/kilogram.

For strength activities (think weight lifting), go with 1.4 to 2 grams/kilogram.

I'll simplify the calculating a little by telling you that I weight 165 pounds and I should be eating 60 grams of protein a day to maintain my muscle mass. But on the days I workout and I either run, swim or bike, I should be consuming about 80 grams of protein. Now if you are a beginner  at exercise then I would stick to the 60 grams. When you feel that your muscles are sore for more than one day, then you need to increase the protein.

GETTING PROTEIN FROM WHOLE FOODS

If you’d rather reach for real food to meet your protein needs, we’re right there with you! Getting all your protein from food is super realistic. A sedentary woman weighing 127 pounds only needs a daily dose of about 46 grams of protein, which she can meet by eating 3 ounces of chicken breast, one large egg, a handful of almonds and a stick of string cheese.

You’re probably saying, “I can eat that!” For most people, this amount of food daily is no biggie. Your own needs might be different, of course, but to help you plan your protein, here’s a quick list of protein-rich foods you can reach for:

If you're having a problem understanding the list and what the numbers mean, I'll explain.

3 ounces of skinless chicken has 141 calories and 28 grams of protein. 1/2 cup of Pinto Beans has 197 calories and 11 grams of protein etc. When your eating foods on this list you don't have to worry about calories, eat all you want, just be careful how you prepare your food. That's how we add all the extra calories.

ANIMAL SOURCES PLANT SOURCES
Food (serving) Cal Pro (g) Food (serving) Cal Pro (g)
Skinless chicken (3 ounces) 141 28 Pinto beans (½ cup) 197 11
Steak (3 oz) 158 26 Lentils (½ cup) 101 9
Roasted turkey (3 oz) 135 25 Black beans (½ cup) 114 8
Lamb (3 oz) 172 23 Chickpeas (½ cup) 134 7
Pork (3 oz) 122 22 Black eyed peas (½ cup) 100 7
Salmon (3 oz) 155 22 Quinoa (½ cup) 111 4
Tuna (3 oz) 99 22 Green peas (½ cup) 59 4
Shrimp (3 oz) 101 20
Lobster (3 oz) 76 16
Scallops (3 oz) 75 14

EGG & DAIRY NUTS & SEEDS
Food (serving) Cal Pro (g) Food (serving) Cal Pro (g)
Greek yogurt (6 oz) 100 18 Peanuts (1 oz) 166 7
Cottage cheese, 1% fat (4 oz) 81 14 Peanut butter (1 oz) 188 7
Regular yogurt, nonfat (1 cup) 100 11 Almonds (1 oz) 163 6
Skim milk (1 cup) 86 8 Flax seeds (1 oz) 140 6
Mozzarella (1 oz) 72 7 Chia seeds (1 oz) 138 5
String cheese, non-fat (1 piece) 50 6 Walnuts (1 oz) 185 4
Large egg (1) 71 6

I wrote about this yesterday, that adults get too much of their protein from animals and that raises your cholesterol. Only 15 or 20 % of your protein should be animal protein and the rest plant protein. Now if you look through the list above you'll see many examples of plant protein and fish protein which I don't include in the animal protein class.

I think there's plenty of choices to get your protein without eating animal protein, but if you're still having trouble getting all your protein grams we'll address protein supplements next.

How Much Protein Do I Need?

"Too much animal protein tied to higher diabetes risk". That's a true statement. Doctors and Scientists have known for some time that Americans over-dose on animal protein, hence the over-weight population. One out of four over-weight seniors have diabetes. The problem with animal protein is that you have to take everything that goes with it. The animal protein in dairy has hormones and chemicals like fertilizer and pesticides from the grass. Animal protein from red meat has traces of the same chemicals and growth hormones and animal fat which your body can't process and will immediately turn it into fat around your waist, hips and thighs. Read this article from Reuters about the damaging effects of animal fat and what they recommend as a proper amount of protein.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who eat the most protein, especially from animal sources, are more likely to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, according to a study of European adults.

The new study did not randomly assign participants to eat different amounts of protein, which would have yielded the strongest evidence. Instead, it compared the diets of people who went on to develop diabetes and those who did not get the disease.
But the findings do align with other studies.
"Several previous studies have found that higher intake of total protein, especially animal protein, are associated with long-term risk of developing diabetes," said Dr. Frank Hu, from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston. Hu, who was not involved in the new study, researches prevention of diabetes through diet and lifestyle.
"Substantial amounts of animal protein come from red meat and processed meat, which have been consistently associated with increased risk of diabetes," he told Reuters Health in an email.
For the new report, researchers examined data from a large previous study of adults in eight European countries spanning 12 years. The study collected data on participants' diet, physical activity, height, weight and waist circumference, then followed them to see who developed diabetes.
A team of researchers led by Monique van Nielen of Wageningen University in the Netherlands selected 11,000 people who developed type 2 diabetes from the data and 15,000 people without diabetes for comparison.
Overall, the adults in the study commonly ate about 90 grams of protein per day. Those who ate more tended to have a higher weight-to-height ratio and to eat more fiber and cholesterol than people who ate less protein.
After accounting for other diabetes risk factors, every additional 10 grams of protein people consumed each day was tied to a six percent higher chance that they would develop diabetes.
Dividing participants into five groups based on how much protein they ate, the researchers found those who ate the most, or around 111 grams per day, were 17 percent more likely to develop diabetes than those who ate the least, or around 72 grams per day.
Specifically, those who ate the most animal protein, or 78 grams per day, were 22 percent more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes than those who ate the least, around 36 grams per day, according to results published in Diabetes Care.
That's only a modest increase on an individual level, Hu said.
People who ate the most protein got about 15 percent of their calories from red meat, processed meat, poultry, fish and dairy, which appears to be too much, Hu said.
"More importantly, higher intake of animal protein often comes along with other undesirable nutrients such as saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium," he said.
The association between animal protein and diabetes risk appeared to be strongest among obese women.
Plant protein, on the other hand, was not linked to diabetes.
"In other studies, plant protein sources such as nuts, legumes and whole grains have been associated with lower risk of diabetes," Hu said. "Therefore, replacing red meat and processed meat with plant sources of protein is important for diabetes prevention."
Generally people associate high-fat and high-carbohydrate diets with diabetes risk, but this study underscores that protein is an important nutrient to consider as well, Paolo Magni said. Magni, from the Institute of Endocrinology at the University of Milan in Italy, was not involved in the new study.
"As a general rule, I would suggest to eat normal portions of red meat not more than two times per week, poultry and fish three to four times per week, skimmed milk or yogurt maybe not every day," Magni told Reuters Health in an email.
Cheese, preserved meats and cold cuts should be minimized, he said.
"Pay attention to both quantity and food sources of protein," Hu said. It's probably a good idea for people with a family history of diabetes to replace at least some red meat with nuts, legumes or whole grains, he said.

In general, a high-protein diet is good for weight loss, but most of your daily protein should be plant protein. If you have wondered why these protein powers have become so popular it's because most of them use plant protein like soy. Protein powers are the main ingredient in protein shakes which seems to be the new breakfast meal. If your serious about losing weight, I suggest you read up on plant protein and the sources. I'm not suggesting you become vegan or vegetarian but plant protein has no health downside.