Protein is the nutrient I end up talking about most, and almost always for the same reason: people are getting enough across the day but almost none of it before lunchtime.
What it does
Protein provides the amino acids your body uses to build and repair almost everything — muscle, skin, hair, enzymes, hormones, immune cells. Unlike fat and carbohydrate, your body has no real storage depot for it, so intake through the day matters more than with the others.
It's also the most satiating of the three macronutrients. A meal with enough protein tends to hold you until the next one.
How much
The official minimum for adults sits around 0.8g per kilogram of body weight per day — but that figure is the amount needed to prevent deficiency, not the amount associated with doing well. Most of the research on maintaining muscle, particularly in older adults and in people who train, points considerably higher: roughly 1.2 to 1.6g per kilogram.
For a 70kg person that's somewhere between 85 and 110g a day. In food terms:
| Food | Roughly |
|---|---|
| 2 eggs | 12g |
| Palm-sized chicken breast | 30g |
| Tin of salmon or tuna | 25g |
| Cup of Greek yoghurt | 20g |
| Cup of cooked lentils | 18g |
| Block of firm tofu (150g) | 17g |
| Half a cup of cottage cheese | 14g |
The one thing worth changing
Spread it out. Most people eat 5g at breakfast, 20g at lunch and 50g at dinner. Moving some of that dinner protein to the morning changes how the whole day feels — the 11am hunt for something sweet tends to stop, and lunch becomes a decision rather than an emergency.
Aim for 25–30g at breakfast. Eggs, Greek yoghurt, cottage cheese, leftover dinner, beans on toast.
Plant protein
Perfectly adequate, with two adjustments. Plant sources are generally less concentrated, so portions need to be bigger. And they have different amino acid profiles, so variety across the day matters — beans with grains, lentils with rice. The old advice to combine them at every single meal has been superseded; across the day is fine.
Powders
Useful in specific situations: genuinely poor appetite, heavy training loads, some recovery after surgery, or where food simply isn't going in. For most people they're an expensive way to buy something already in the fridge.
If your protein intake is low, the fix is almost always structural — a protein at breakfast, a protein at lunch — rather than a tub of powder.
When to see a doctor
If you have kidney disease, protein intake is a medical question and the answer may be different. Talk to your physician rather than following general advice, including mine.
This is general nutrition education, not medical advice, and it isn't intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any condition. If you're pregnant or breastfeeding, taking medication, or managing a diagnosed condition, talk to your doctor or pharmacist before making changes.
Written by Mellissa Wallace, Registered Holistic Nutritionist, Okanagan BC.
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