We are going to cover 5 low calorie yet high protein foods you can eat to help you build muscle and reach your protein goal easier without the need for supplements!
When building muscle try to aim for 0.7 to 1g of protein to 1lb of body weight
1. Egg Whites/Eggs
Personally I add A LOT of egg whites to many of my meals, its super simple and easy now because eggs whites are now sold in carton form, rather than creating waste by cracking open an egg and physically separating the yolk. Egg whites are super low calorie and also can be voluminous to help bulk out your meals to make them more filling.
Based on 1 large egg the nutritional value is as follows
Whole Egg – 72 Calories – 6.3g Protein – 4.55g Fat
Egg Yolk – 55 Calories – 2.7g Protein – 4.5g Fat
Egg White – 17 Calories – 3.6g Protein – 0.05g Fat
Also please note, there’s nothing wrong with having a whole egg, the yolk has a good level of healthy fats and aminos in it, but when trying to have more lower calorie filling/voluminous foods egg whites would be best.
You can buy egg whites from majority supermarkets or online, I get mine from MuscleFood.com. To save money you can use my discount code TJGAINS at the checkout. Click on the link to get your discount and save some money! Muscle Food Online Food Delivery
2. Bacon Medallions
One of my favourites is also bacon medallions, Many people in UK love bacon but often tend to go for the really high calorie and fat versions such as streaky bacon. However, bacon medallions have more of the fat trimmed off but still maintains the great bacon taste! If you don’t eat pork, there are alternatives like cooked chicken slices, turkey bacon or turkey rashers but they have slightly less protein.
Based on its raw weight a 100g of bacon medallions (4 slices) comes out to
123 Calories – 4g Fat – 21g Protein
The macros differ slightly based on the brand you purchase.
3. Chicken Breast
The one we all know and love! Chicken breast, it wouldn’t be a great top 5 without it.
Chicken breast is a high protein food which is also fairly low calorie. For 130g of chicken breast is roughly 113 Calories and 25g of protein!
My personal favourite thing to have when I’m short on time and don’t have time to cook, is to opt for the pre-cooked ‘Spicy Marinated Chicken Sticks‘ from Musclefood.com because 1 chicken stick is 85 calories and 18g of protein! I usually have 2 of these in one sitting which is much more filling that having a protein shake.
4. Fish/Prawns
In terms of low calorie fishes Cod is probably the lowest, with 1 Cod average sized fillet being around 80 calories and 18g of protein.
Be sure to season it well as Cod is very bland fish without it.
Seabass is also another option, it’s not as low as cod but it’s pretty decent as 1 Seabass fillet is roughly 109 calories and 13g protein, if you remove the skin is can lessen the calories slightly.
It’s the one I have the most at the moment as I found it was good medium to have. I was often having Salmon constantly which is on the higher calorie end of the scale, with 1 fillet being 197 calories and 23g protein. Switching from Salmon to Seabass and Cod helped me lower my calorie intake quite a bit.
Either of these options are really good but of the 3 I would recommend opting for Cod (or even Prawns but they can be expensive based on the portion size).
5. Chicken Sausages
My final recommended low calorie, high protein food is chicken sausages, I have recently been introduced to the brand Heck and I was pleasantly surprised at how good they tasted.
For 2 grilled sausages is 76 Calories – 0.6g Fat – 13g Protein. I usually have 4 in one sitting.
Bonus Pick – Protein Shakes
The most affordable option gram for gram will be a protein shake but I wouldn’t recommend relying on soley protein shakes to reach your goal. REAL food will always be better and more filling!
I personally use the Myprotein Vanilla Whey Protein Powder to make protein smoothies.
My Smoothie Recipe:
- Vanilla MyProtein Impact Whey Protein in Vanilla
- 5 Frozen strawberries
- 1/3 frozen banana
- Ice
- Unsweetened Almond milk
- Raspberry Myprotein Flavour Drops – this is optional but it gives it a sweeter taste!
For a 35% discount off Myprotein products, you can use my link http://bit.ly/tjgains and discount code TJGAINS!
Like always, check out the video below for a more in detailed version!