ANNIE DEADMAN IS HERE TO HELP YOU, THE EASY WAY!
Could going meat-free help you lose fat?
If you’re a regular to this column, you’ll be aware of the Deadman drill when it comes to losing fat – that it’s more to do with food than exercise.
There are two key factors here. Firstly, you must be in a calorie deficit (ie, you must eat less than your body needs so it taps into your fat stores – see my tip below) and, secondly, around 35-40% of your daily calories should come from protein because it fills you up and feeds your muscles.
While meat is very high in protein and has good bioavailability (an indicator of how well the protein from a specific food source can be used by the body), not everyone wants to eat meat all the time. I know I don’t. And besides, it’s important for the health of our body to have a varied diet.
So what are the other options? Cottage cheese is still great (despite reminding us of 1,000 calorie days back in the 1970s). High-protein yogurt is also one to try (Fage Total is a good brand so watch out for supermarket deals to make a saving – 200g of 0% Fage Total is 108 calories and 18g protein). Cheese is a fine source, although with some you won’t get much protein for your calorie buck. A 30g portion of mature Cheddar ‘costs’ 125 calories and yields only 7.5g protein. Beans and pulses are also good sources (and marvellous for your gut microbiome), but again provide less protein. A 100g portion of chickpeas is around 120 calories with 7g protein. Then there’s eggs. One egg alone provides 6g protein – but it’s actually the egg white that is important. Egg white is one of the most bioavailable sources of protein you can eat.
Still want to eat fish? Cod has around 100 calories for 100g and 21g protein, while
