High-protein meals are most effective for weight loss and weight maintenance when combined with a high-fiber dietary plan. When this sensible, well-balanced meal plan is combined with regular, consistent exercise on most days of the week, it can help you to lose fat, boost metabolism, build muscle all while squelching annoying hunger and craving signals that get in the way of successfully reaching a heathy body weight.

First, high-protein means you are consuming between 25-30 grams of protein at each meal (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) while taking in between 15-20 grams at any snacks.  This helps spread out protein intake throughout the day making amino acids – the building blocks of protein – available to the muscles when they need it. 

Secondly, high-fiber is taking in at least 25 or up to 35 grams of dietary fiber each day.  Best sources of fiber will include plenty of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, seeds, beans, and lentils.

The high-protein, high-fiber grocery list

To get started, you need to have at least the following necessary foods available:

·      Fresh/frozen vegetables

·      Fresh/frozen berries

·      Other fresh fruit (bananas, grapefruit, apples, pears, etc.)

·      Plain Greek yogurt (at least 12 grams of protein per cup)

·      High-protein (at least 8 grams of protein), high-fiber (at least 3 grams of fiber) breakfast cereals (such as Kellogg’s Special K protein cereal or Kashi GoLean cereal)

·      High-protein, high-fiber frozen waffles

·      Peanut butter

·      Eggs

·      Low-fat cheese

·      Low-fat/fat-free milk

·      High-fiber (at least 2 grams per slice) and high-protein (at least 3 grams per slice) whole-grain bread and whole-grain tortillas

·      Skinless chicken breast

·      Lean skirt, top sirloin, round steak, eye of round steak, bottom round steak, tenderloin steak

·      Lean deli meat such as turkey or roast beef

·      Ground lean hamburger (at least 90/10) and/or ground lean turkey breast

·      Canned or fresh tuna/salmon

·      Canned or dry beans (black, pinto, kidney, etc.)

·      Lentils

·      Butternut or spaghetti squash

·      Sweet potato

·      Avocado

·      Nuts – almond, walnut, pistachios, cashews

·      Seeds – pumpkin and sunflower

3-day high-protein, high-fiber meal plan

Once you have your ingredients bought, you are ready to roll on reaching your goal of achieving a healthy body weight for you.  This is just a sampling of a 3-day meal plan that meets the intended requirements of what defines a high-protein, high-fiber meal plan.  This is a dietary plan that can be followed for life.  In order to make it work, stick to three meals a day, with one to two snacks and finish eating for the day by 8 pm.  Skipping meals will only slow down your metabolism and set you up for overeating later on in the day.

Don’t forget to schedule in exercise of ideally up to 60 minutes but for sure at least 30 minutes on most days of the week. 

Day One

Breakfast – Egg and veggie scramble with whole wheat toast

·      2 eggs + 2 egg whites

·      Chopped green and red pepper, mushrooms, spinach, onion

·      2 tbsp. low-fat feta cheese

·      2 slices whole wheat toast with 1 tsp. butter

·      Salt and pepper to taste

Lunch – Turkey tortilla

·      1 whole grain tortilla

·      3 oz. turkey

·      1 slice of low-fat cheddar cheese

·      Light mayonnaise

·      1 apple or other fruit of your choice

Dinner

·      3-4 oz. beef steak

·      1 small to medium baked sweet potato with 2 tbsp. Greek yogurt

·      Roasted broccoli with lemon and parmesan

Day Two

Breakfast – Peanut butter and banana sandwich

·      One high-fiber whole-wheat English muffin

·      2 tbsp. peanut butter

·      ½ sliced banana

·      1 tsp. drizzle of honey

Lunch

·      Skinny tuna cakes

·      Minestrone soup

Dinner

·      Lemon chicken

·      Spinach salad with dried cranberries, walnuts, pomegranate vinaigrette

·       ½ cup of whole grain rice

Day Three

Breakfast – Berry parfait

·      ½ cup low fat plain Greek yogurt + ¼ cup low fat vanilla Greek yogurt

·      ½ cup blueberries

·      ½ cup blackberries

·      ¾ cup high-fiber cereal such as Go Lean Vanilla Almond Crunch

Lunch – Roast beef and Swiss on whole-grain bread

·      3 oz. lean roast beef

·      1 slice low-fat Swiss cheese

·      ½ cup grilled green peppers and onions

·      1 tbsp. low-fat creamy Italian dressing

·      2 slices whole-grain bread

·      Raw carrots, celery, broccoli served with 2 tbsp. low-fat ranch dressing

Dinner

·      Dr. Samadi’s Mediterranean Salmon – 3-4 oz portion size

·      Quinoa with mushrooms, kale, and sweet potatoes 

Examples of high protein snacks

·      String cheese, ¼ cup of nuts and fruit

·      ½ cup nuts with fruit

·      ½ cup Greek yogurt with frozen fruit

·      Hard-boiled egg with cut up veggies

·      Peanut butter with apple slices

·      Greek yogurt with granola

·      High-protein snack bar

·      Trail mix

·      Chocolate milk