those amino acids on its own, but the primary source of them is through food.
And when your body is under stress or development—think infancy and
childhood, pregnancy, any time you exercise intensely, or just a run-around day
—you especially need to replenish those building blocks.
Protein, which you will get plenty of in the 21-Day Plan, delivers the
compounds that repair, maintain, and strengthen your anatomical infrastructure.
It also plays a vital role in staving off weight gain and all the health problems
that come along with extra kilos.
Why? First, protein curbs hunger throughout the long time it takes your body
to process it. And protein helps to build up muscle tissues that make for a faster
metabolism. That’s because muscle tissue is metabolically more expensive than
fat—meaning that your body burns more calories to feed muscle than it does to
maintain fat. Protein is also inefficient to digest, so we spend more energy
converting it into calories compared to when we eat carbs and fats. That nets us,
in essence, a discount on the protein calories we consume.
SHOULD YOU EAT TURKEY OR VEGGIE
BURGERS?
Turkey burgers have been around since the 1930s, but they didn’t hit the
mainstream until the 1970s—as a way to address the “fat is making you
fat” mantra of the time. Are they a good substitute for red meat? Maybe.
Turkey comes in lower on calories and saturated fat, true, but it has less
protein than beef, which also has higher amounts of omega-3s. Ground
turkey breast is the best option, but ground turkey often includes dark meat
and skin, which bump the fat content to as much as 20 percent. So pay
attention to the label to make sure you’re getting only the light meat.
Bottom line: It can be a bit of a wash, because often turkey burgers are
plumped up with other ingredients to make them tastier. If you crave a beef
burger, go for it, but stick to once a week. As for veggie burgers, they do
have a nice name to make you think they’re healthier, but they, too, are
often overprocessed and filled with other ingredients to plump up their
taste. To get the healthiest version, make sure the first three ingredients are
vegetables. A bean burger is another great option because of the protein
and fibre it contains. See one that has just black beans, vegetables, and
spices as its ingredients? You’re good to go.