Every glossy magazine for the next few months will contain diet and weight loss tips, celebrities will be putting their name to a diet plan that they just can’t live without, all with the purpose of getting you in shape for Christmas. All of these meal tips contain one key solution ‘drum roll please!’ – protein.

Protein is a vital tool for keeping us in shape and in most instances we do not eat enough of it on a daily basis. Protein in the form of meat, poultry, fish, eggs, pulses, nuts and seeds is very important within our diet because if whole grains and carbohydrates are our energy/fuel givers, proteins are for structure and repair. Structure and repair is vital on a daily basis to rebuild the body which is constantly being damaged as a result of stress, exercise, pollution and daily activities. This is why protein is just so vital for how we look as it is required for the health, repair and maintenance of our skin, hair and nails.

Protein included at each meal and snacks in between not only supports our external appearance; it is also a great way to support a weight loss programme. By combining good levels of protein with complex/wholegrain carbohydrates it does a clever trick by keeping us fuller for longer. Try it for yourself and see if it works – one morning have a bowl of blueberry porridge and the next have the same bowl with some nuts and seeds on top! By keeping you fuller for longer, we eat a little less and if we eat more protein we can as a result eat less carbohydrates. Bear in mind that excess carbs are stored as fat!

How do we include it in our diet? Well at breakfast consider including an egg, natural yogurt, nuts and seeds – for lunch have soup containing chicken or lentils and for dinner a nice fillet of fish. At each meal ensure your plate is balanced between protein, fruit/vegetables and a small portion of complex carbohydrate (brown rice, sweet potato, brown bread). By including and increasing your protein levels this will ensure you are getting your daily requirement, keeping you full and allowing you to reduce your carbohydrate levels.

If a client comes to see me for weight loss the first tip is to increase fruit and vegetables and increase protein level hence ensuring the carbohydrates get reduced – give it a try and not only with your hair and skin glow you should be totally glamorous in time for Christmas!

Total Nutrition’s top tips:

• Include protein within every meal especially breakfast.
• Eat protein alongside complex carbohydrates.
• Have a protein snack like nuts and seeds instead of a biscuit, you will feel much better as a result as you won’t get a sugar rush leaving you craving more sugar.

By Andrea Murray of Total Nutrition, BSc (Hons) Nutrition Therapy