protein

Whey is a milk protein that is a popular ingredient in fitness drink mixes. If you use whey protein in concert with a healthy diet and fitness regimen, you will have a better chance of developing lean muscles and lose weight. That’s because whey supports fat burning and gaining lean muscle mass when consumed before exercise.

Where Whey Comes From

Whey protein is a by-product of the process of turning cow’s milk into cheese. There are two types of milk proteins: casein and whey protein. Within the whey category, there are three major forms that are used for weight loss and fitness purposes: whey protein concentrate, whey protein isolate, and whey protein hydrolysate.

“How much protein should I eat?” Have you found yourself asking this question? Well, the recommended daily value for protein is 50 grams. For those of us that exercise and push the body to the extreme, we need a few more grams per day. If you are exercising at a moderate to high intensity level, I recommend consuming 0.8 grams of protein for every pound of your body weight.

For example: if you weigh 150 pounds, then you should be consuming 150 x 0.8, which is 120 grams of protein per day. Be careful and don’t over-do it though; protein is broken down into amino acids and excess amino acids are converted to fats and sugars and then stored in the body. Below are a few examples of the best sources of protein!

For some, cottage cheese is an abhorred diet food. But to others like myself, I go through cottage cheese like water. For me, it’s a near perfect food – low-fat, low-carb and filled with satiating protein and bone-strengthening calcium.

Therefore, when on a recent trip to Whole Foods, I discovered Rachel’s Wickedly Delicious single-servings of cottage cheese, I knew I had found a gem of a food find.

That is why, this week, We Love Rachel’s Cottage Cheese.

The dairy lovers at Rachel’s took plain ole cottage cheese and jazzed it up with sun-dried tomatoes, cranberries, dill, cucumbers and all sort of other tantalizing seasonings, including fruits and veggies. So rather than you adding a bit of this and a bit of that to your cottage cheese, Rachel’s does it for you. Trust us food-lovers, here at DietsInReview, this is no ordinary cottage cheese; This is as gourmet as cottage cheese can get.

Still think you can’t afford to eat healthy? Think again! Hands down one of my greatest pet peeves is when people say they can’t afford to eat healthy. Whether it’s choosing a $1 candy bar in lieu of a 17 cent banana or buying a $3 coffee instead of a 50 cent low fat yogurt, people make food choices every day that don’t make nutrition a priority. But would you ever think that salmon, which is rich in omega-3 healthy fats to promote heart health and brain health, would be cheaper than hot dogs made with who knows what?

Check out this table that cost-compares sources of protein. Salmon comes out well above hot dogs, ground beef and ham for “cost per pound.”

I recently had the incredible opportunity to interview Elizabeth Ward, a registered dietitian and author of Expect the Best: Your Guide to Healthy Eating Before, During and After Pregnancy. She was gracious and knowledgeable and consented to a brief interview during BlogHer ‘09, where she shared her tips and hints for living a healthy lifestyle.