Good quality protein is an important mechanism for creating a fat burning hormonal response in your body. If you’re looking to lose weight then you need this in your diet. My personal favorite is free range chicken breast.
I find that chicken breast is the nicest tasting cut of chicken, and I love the versatility it offers up. From soups, to wraps, salads and curries; cold or warm, chicken has it covered!
Why Is Good Quality Protein So Important?
Protein intake is important to promote good health as well as a fat burning environment in your body.
Just check out this list of benefits to a moderate to high protein intake:
1. Facilitate weight loss (fat loss). 2. Increase lean muscle mass. 3. Better muscle to fat ratio (body composition). 4. Maintain weight after significant weight loss.
As long as your protein intake is balanced, it will also help you to maintain optimum blood sugar levels, preventing insulin spikes, and keeping you in a fat burning mode at all times.
Not to mention it keeps you feeling full for longer, and with no insulin response it will help you control junk food cravings and that annoying ‘post meal tiredness’.
The Health Benefits Of Free Range Chicken
Do we care about the conditions our chickens are raised in? We sure do. Gone are the days that we didn’t care if our poultry was brought up in a battery farm. Now it is all about putting food on our plate that lived a healthy, happy life.
But choosing free-range is about more than just the welfare of our food; it is actually a much healthier choice for us too.
You Eat What They Eat
As you probably know, battery farmed chickens are forced to live in cramped conditions without any chance of exercise. And their diet isn’t much better either. They are fed grain that is full of hormones and antibiotics, with the sole purpose of fattening them up as quickly as possible.
Unfortunately for us this means our meat is full of bad fats, hormones, toxins and it’s poor tasting.
However, free range chickens live in their natural environment. They have the chance to eat natural foliage, bugs and worms. They have exposure to sunlight and a place to exercise. In general they are able to live a relatively stress free life.
Being brought up in its natural environment means that free-range chicken is much higher quality. It is one of the best sources of bio-available protein, making it easier to digest and use in the body. It also contains the right ratio of good to bad fats (omega 3 to omega 6).
Omega 3 fatty acids are important because they help to maintain your metabolic rate (weight-gain is a symptom of omega-3 deficiency), and preventing fatty deposits in your heart and other internal organs.
The good news is that free range chicken is easy to find. You can pick it up at almost every grocery store. The downside is that it is a little more expensive than battery farmed poultry. But I think the health benefits outweigh the financial implications.
How Much Should I Eat?
RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance) suggests a protein intake of 0.8g of protein per kg of body weight, per day. If you’re currently looking to lose weight, or just improve your general nutrition, then it is probably worth at least meeting the RDA. You should notice all of the benefits I mentioned earlier.
However, everybody is different, and there is no secret formula. And of course the quality of the protein you eat as well as the other foods in your diet will have a huge impact.
As a general rule, 20-30 grams of protein per meal, and eating 5-6 small meals per day is all that a normal sized person will need. However, many fitness models and athletes will go for an even higher protein intake.
Here are some of my favorite chicken dishes:
1. Chicken, mushroom, pepper, courgette and onion skewers. 2. Chicken in (home made) tomato sauce with kidney beans, onion, pepper served over a jacket potato. 3. Pastryless chicken, onion and tomato flan.
Enjoy this article? Discover the full List Of Fat Burning Foods for more delicious nutritional ideas. For more information about Weight Loss Recipes and how they can help you get rid of unwanted pounds, check out David Thorpe’s blog.