Thanks to everyone that replied last week to let me know about the new carb sources they have been adding to their diet and to those that weighed their suggested serving of pasta-Carbs aren’t the devil we just find it too easy to over eat them!

On to this week, we move on to Protein. When I say Protein most people picture meat heads at the gym downing shakes but protein is found in many everyday foods.

Protein is vital for repair of the body, not just repair from injury or after heavy exercise but also the day to day constant regeneration of organ tissue, muscles, tendons and ligaments; and every other part of your body down to hair, skin and nails.

As equestrians the daily dealing with horses means we generally take a bit of a battering. Whether that is mucking out, carrying feed, riding or being dragged through mud by a wayward horse we are usually subject to some manual labour and some general pushing and shoving-all the unexplained bruises????

So, in short we need protein, and if you do lead a fairly active lifestyle then you need a little more protein to enable your body to adequately recover.

I’m going to talk more in detail about how of each macro nutrient we require in a few emails time so don’t worry about that too much for now. However I do want you to be more mindful of how much or how little protein you do eat.

Protein is found in

• Meat
• Dairy
• Eggs
• Fish/Seafood
• Meat alternatives and Soya products
• Legumes – beans, peanuts (this includes peanut butter-yay!)
• Lentils
• Seeds

To make sure you are eating enough aim to have a serving at every meal. Maybe if you switched to porridge at breakfast you would be adding milk (plant based milks have a little less but Soy is your best option of you are Vegan/Vegetarian). Or perhaps you could have eggs for breakfast? If you do  rush out the door without eating why not make a protein shake (you can buy any brand it doesn’t have to be over priced with “magic” properties) and add some milk, a banana or other fruit, a spoonful of peanut butter and maybe even some cacao powder.

Lunch and Dinner time the options are many and varied; add Meat or Fish/Seafood to salads and veg, make a bean or lentil chilli, casserole etc. It’s really easy to get some decent protein into your lunch and evening meal.

If you think you might need a bit more, then having yoghurt, cottage cheese or boiled eggs as snacks work well, as do aforementioned protein shakes.

So, we nailed carbs last week, this week I want you to start looking at your protein intake. Do you eat a serving at every meal? Make it your mission this week to start now.