High Protein Foods for Weight Loss & Muscle Building
Protein is an important part of the diet.
It makes up the building blocks of your body and is used to maintain and repair tissues including muscle. This makes it particularly important for anyone regularly working out to change their body.
This means whether you’re trying to lose fat and maintain muscle or gain weight and build it, protein is an important part of your diet.
Protein also helps with feelings of satiety which means you feel fuller for longer after eating meals that include protein, which can help maintain a calorie deficit and keep hunger at bay when dieting.
The daily recommended intake for protein is about 0.34 – 0.36g per lb of bodyweight for the general population (1, 2). If this seems low compared to what you’re used to seeing for muscle maintenance or growth, that’s because it is (2, 3, 4).
Research consistently shows that for anyone lifting weights to change their body intake of 0.7 – 1.1g per lb of body weight is needed. (5, 6, 7)
As you can see protein is somewhat of a sliding scale with a recommendation of between 0.7 – 1.1g per lb of bodyweight. This is for a few reasons:
- Goal Specific: if you’re trying to maintain muscle in a calorie deficit then you will want to get closer to the top end of the scale i.e. about 1g per lb of bodyweight. However, if you’re trying to build muscle in a calorie surplus then your protein needs are not as great, and you can eat as little as 0.7g per lb of bodyweight.
- Flexibility: having a bracketed protein goal instead of one absolute number means your protein intake can fluctuate a little day to day without you worrying about ‘missing’ your protein goal or messing things up. This gives you an extra layer of dietary flexibility.
Knowing all of this you can then figure out how much protein you need to eat based on your weight. For example, if you are trying to maintain muscle in a calorie deficit you might eat 1.1g per lb of bodyweight:
- 200lb person = 220 grams of protein daily
- 180lb person = 198 grams of protein daily
- 160lb person = 176 grams of protein daily
- 140lb person = 154 grams of protein daily
- 120lb person = 132 grams of protein daily
Alternatively, if you’re trying to build muscle in a calorie surplus you might eat 0.7g per lb of bodyweight:
- 200lb person = 140 grams of protein daily
- 180lb person = 126 grams of protein daily
- 160lb person = 112 grams of protein daily
- 140lb person = 98 grams of protein daily
- 120lb person = 84 grams of protein daily
As you can see the amount of protein you eat will vary based both on your weight and your goal. You will need to figure out what works best for you and your situation and set your protein accordingly.
Once you’ve done this it then becomes a question of where you get your protein from, and this will vary depending on:
- What diet you follow
- Whether you eat meat
- If you’re vegan or vegetarian
- Your access to supplements
- And more
In the rest of this article, we’re going to look at the best high protein foods sources. I have tried to break it down into categories so you can find and browse the section most relevant to your situation.
All protein gram values are as accurate as possible but may vary based on brand, cut and preparation method.
High Protein Meat Sources
- Beef Jerky: 30 – 40g per 100g depending on the brand
- Turkey Breast: 30g per 100g
- Turkey Bacon: 30g per 100g
- Chicken Breast: 26g per 100g
- Bacon: 25g per 100g
- Chicken Thigh: 24g per 100g
- Turkey Mince: 23g per 100g
- Rump Steak: 22g per 100g
- Lean Beef Mince: 21g per 100g
- Pork Sausage: 20g per 100g
- Pork Chop: 20g per 100g
- Lamb: 20g per 100g
High Protein Carbohydrates
- Couscous: 12g per 100g
- Oats: 10g per 100g
- Pitta Bread: 9g per 100g
- Pasta: 9g per 100g
- Wraps: 7g per 100g
- Quinoa: 5g per 100g cooked
- Noodles: 4.5g per 100g
- White Rice: 3g per 100g
- Potatoes: 2g per 100g
High Protein Supplements
- Whey Protein: 90g per 100g
- Soy Protein: 90g per 100g
- Casein Protein: 88g per 100g
- Vegan Blend Protein: 80g per 100g
- Hemp Protein: 54g per 100g
High Protein Snacks
- Pumpkin Seeds: 30g per 100g
- Almonds: 21g per 100g
- Edamame: 13g per 100g
- Cottage Cheese: 10g per 100g
- Greek Yogurt: 10g per 100g
- Eggs: 6.5g per whole egg
High Protein Seafood
- Tuna Steak: 32g per 100g
- Canned Tuna: 25g per 100g
- Salmon: 24g per 100g
- Sardines: 21g per 100g
- Cod: 20g per 100g
- Mackerel: 20g per 100g
- Octopus: 20g per 100g
- Mussels: 18g per 100g
- Squid: 18g per 100g
- Prawns: 15g per 100g
- Oysters: 9g per 100g
High Protein Vegan & Vegetarian-Friendly Foods
- Soy Bean: 36g per 100g
- Seitan: 25g per 100g
- Tempeh: 20g per 100g
- Chia Seeds: 17g per 100g
- Quorn Mince: 14.5g per 100g
- Edamame: 13g per 100g
- Tofu: 12g per 100g
- Oats: 10g per 100g
- Hempseed: 10g per 100g
- Ezekiel Bread: 9g per 100g
- Lentils: 8g per 100g
- Chickpeas: 7g per 100g
- Quinoa: 5g per 100g cooked
- Amaranth: 4g per 100g
High Protein Cheeses
- Parmesan: 32g per 100g
- Cheddar: 25g per 100g
- Stilton: 24g per 100g
- Brie: 21g per 100g
- Halloumi: 20g per 100g
- Camembert: 20g per 100g
- Mozzarella: 18g per 100g
- Feta: 14g per 100g
High Nuts & Seeds
- Peanuts: 25g per 100g
- Almonds: 21g per 100g
- Walnuts: 16g per 100g
- Brazil Nuts: 14g per 100g
- Chia Seeds: 17g per 100g
- Cashew Nuts: 18g per 100g
- Pistachios: 20g per 100g
- Pumpkin Seeds: 30g per 100g
Summing Up
Protein is an important part of the diet.
It helps with feelings of fullness after eating as well as the maintenance and growth of muscle mass when combined with regular strength training.
The total amount of protein you need each day will be between 0.7 – 1.1g per lb of bodyweight depending on your goal and weight.
Once you know how much this is, you then need to work out where to get it from. There are lots of different protein sources available and you will need to choose what works best with your diet, lifestyle and fitness goals.
