Creating a Meal Plan with Proteins & Carbohydrates: All You Need to Know

We cannot argue the fact that proteins and carbohydrates make up almost everything we eat. However, there are a lot of things to consider even with them when creating a meal plan. Your body uses the nutrients you give it in order to function, proteins and carbohydrates are just some of them. Whether you’re swapping out of or to another diet, understanding where you can take the healthiest nutrients from and how you can obtain the best with them will enable your organs to work exactly how you want them to.

Nevertheless, if you had little to no knowledge before getting here, you’re safe. This comprehensive article will provide you with everything you need to know about what happens after taking the first bite of your meal, focusing on two very common and essential nutrients; proteins and carbohydrates.

Table of Contents

Understanding Proteins and Creating a Meal Plan with Them

These are the nutrients responsible for the structural support of every cell in your body. A fascinating fact is that you don’t need a lot in your body for proper functioning, in fact, you need just 0.8 g of protein per kilogram of body weight. Thus, statistics suggest that most people easily achieve this target.

Moreover, the amount of protein foods you need to eat depends on your age, sex, height, weight, and level of physical activity. While for women, the amount can also depend on whether they are pregnant or breastfeeding. Test how much you know about proteins in this protein quiz. There are so many sources of protein, they include;

Plant Proteins

Legumes: Lentils, beans, peas, edamame/soybeans, products made from soy, and peanuts.
Nuts and Seeds: Almonds, cashews, walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, squash and pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds, and chia seeds.
Whole Grains: Wheat, quinoa, rice, millet, oats.
Some vegetables contain high protein quantities like; corn, broccoli, asparagus, brussels sprouts, and artichokes.

Animal Proteins

Poultry (chicken, turkey, duck).
Seafood (fish, crustaceans, molluscs).
Eggs.
Dairy foods: Yogurt, milk, cheese.
Red meat: Unprocessed beef, pork, lamb, veal, mutton, and goat meat.
Processed meats, such as bacon, hot dogs, sausages, and ham.

Benefits Of Proteins When Creating a Meal Plan

Proteins can be found all over your body. So when you are creating a meal plan, you need to make sure you are taking in enough protein. As a result, it is important to take protein because it helps in keeping your muscles, bones and tissues healthy. It is also a participant in many processes in the body including;

Maintenance of your body ph.
Production and regulation of your hormones.
Immune system responses
Production of enzymes that aid in food digestion.
Repair and speeding recovery of tissues
Growth and development of the system
Curbing hunger.

The Science of Proteins

In fact, think of protein as a string of beads where each bead is an “amino acid”. Protein is made up of long chains of twenty (20) amino acids.

In fact, proteins perform a lot of functions all at once and serve as catalysts for every reaction that goes on in the body. In addition, there are nine essential amino acids that the human body does not make, so these ones must come from your diet.

Generally, protein digestion starts from your stomach and is broken down into tiny bits of amino acids by enzymes and an acid found in your stomach and then, moved into your small intestine.

Consequently, these individual units of amino acids (proteins) are absorbed in the small intestine. After that, they are released into the bloodstream which takes them to cells in other parts of your body so they can start helping with building your muscles.

Misconceptions About Your Proteins

1. Protein’s main role is in muscle development: We’ve established the fact that protein is one of the macronutrients that performs a lot of functions. Protein is not only a component of your muscles but of your bones, joints, hair, antibodies, enzymes and so much more.

2. It’s impossible to eat too much protein and gain weight: You can take too much of anything and it almost always ends up badly. Having too much protein on your plate can mean there’s barely room for carbs. And if the protein meals you’re taking are high in fat, you could be consuming calories in excess, which leads to weight gain.

3. You can lose weight by cutting back on protein: Not taking enough protein can actually make it hard for you to lose weight. Protein keeps you full and helps boost your body’s metabolism. If you lose weight by cutting back on your protein, it’s most likely muscle loss and not fat loss.

4. You won’t get enough proteins from plants: Even if plant products are incomplete proteins (don’t have all the essential amino acids), it doesn’t imply that you can’t get an appropriate amount of protein content from them. If you eat a balanced diet, even if it’s plant-based, you’ll consume enough incomplete proteins that when combined will give your body its nine essential amino acids.

5. The more protein you eat, the better: Your body can only take in and use about 25 to 30 grams of protein at one time. And if you’re eating a balanced diet, you could easily be consuming up to double that amount. So, most of the time, the body doesn’t even need as much protein as you give it and taking too much can be totally unnecessary or cause some disorder.

Understanding Carbohydrates and Creating a Meal Plan with Them

To begin with, carbohydrates are one of the most confusing nutrients because we tend to mistake what it can and cannot do a lot of times. They include simple sugars (like glucose, fructose, and galactose), but also more complex molecules like starches and cellulose. Lastly, they are broken down in your body to glucose (sugar), which is the main source of energy for your body’s cells, tissues, and organs.

Sources Of Your Carbohydrates

You can find carbohydrates in foods you expect the least.

Table sugar.
Soda, syrup and candy.
Bread and grains, like wheat, barley, oats, farro, and more
Dairy products like milk, yoghurt, and cheese.
Beans, lentils, and legumes.
Vegetables with starch, like potatoes, corn, and peas.
Fruits.
Non-starchy vegetables, such as greens, tomatoes, carrots, peppers, and more.
Fibre.
Starch.

Benefits Of Carbohydrates In Your Diet

They help fuel your brain, kidneys, heart, muscles, and central nervous system.
Aids in digestion
Helps you feel full
Keeps blood cholesterol levels in check.
Your body stores excess carbs in your muscles and liver to use when you’re not getting enough carbohydrates in your diet.

The Science Of Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are a class of chemical compounds found in your body composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Therefore, they are the most widespread organic substances and play a vital role in all life. In fact, they could be simple (also referred to as sugars) or complex.

Digestion of carbohydrates starts when you begin chewing. Your saliva moistens your food as it is chewed with the help of an enzyme that breaks the carbohydrates down. As the food is swallowed, it reaches the stomach and is referred to as “chyme” and your stomach produces acid to kill bacteria in it.

The chyme heads from there to the small intestine and is broken down to its simplest form, single sugars.

Absorption of these sugars (carbohydrates) follows right after still in the small intestine. Once they’re absorbed, they are processed even more by your liver. Some are stored and the others move through the body by the bloodstream.

all you need to know about carbohydrates

Misconceptions About Your Carbohydrates

1. Carbs make you gain weight: Fat gain is more linked to excess calories. Studies show that calories overall matter more than the breakdown of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Carbohydrates are very important nutrients and therefore, part of a healthy diet. You gain weight not because of carbohydrates but from taking huge portions of any type of food. Limiting your intake would mean consuming more protein and fat which contain more calories so weight loss is best achieved by limiting overall calories.

2. All carbohydrates are unhealthy for you: Not all carbs are bad. Some carbohydrate-rich, whole foods are extremely healthy. Carbs are one of your body’s primary sources of energy, and depriving yourself of all carbs is an incredibly harmful approach to dieting.

3. Proteins are more important than carbohydrates: Protein is definitely essential, especially if you’re one that works out and trains your muscles but your carbohydrates can not be neglected.

4. Following a low-carb diet can help you lose weight: There is no evidence to show that following a low-carb diet is the best strategy for weight loss. You’ve gotten the wrong idea if you’re using diets like the trendy low-carb diet to lose weight even if they are used to burn fat. Avoiding carbs can have a negative impact on your health and weight loss here is a result of calorie restriction and loss of water weight and not from the decrease in the carbs themselves.

5. Carbohydrates do not contain fibre: This is on the contrary as they are a huge source of fibre. Fibre helps with digestion and keeps your body’s sugar levels stable. Fibre keeps you full and energized—otherwise, you won’t have enough gas in the tank for exercise, a key factor in maintaining a healthy weight.

All You Need To Know When Creating A Meal Plan

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to a healthy lifestyle. Eating plans need to consider the individual and the way the body responds to diet for the whole person.

According to dietitian Monica Reinagel, however, there’s no physiological reason to avoid a combination of both macronutrients. As a matter of fact, combining carbohydrates and protein could be beneficial. The main benefit of having an intake of protein and carbs together in a meal is that it can control blood sugar and help your hunger and satisfaction.

To get started, there are things you need to take note of including what to consume and what to avoid even while combining these nutrients in your diet. Since each of these macronutrients’ effects on blood sugar varies, it’s important to have balance in the food choices you make at meals and snacks.

Things To Note When Creating a Meal Plan

When creating a meal plan, there are a lot of things to note, some include;

Cutting down on refined carbohydrates like processed bread and grains. This would be a hard step to take but would yield amazing results.
Finding alternatives like vegetables.
Limiting your sugar intake.
Avoiding all packaged snacks.

What To Eat

Meat, fish, poultry, and eggs
Grains and starchy vegetables(potatoes & corn)
Non-starchy vegetables (cabbage, cucumber, onions, etc.)
Sour or low-sugar fruit(Avocado, watermelon, lemons and limes, etc.)

What Not To Eat

Sweet fruits like pineapples, grapes, and apples. (only consume in small amounts)
Refined sugar like brown sugar and caramel.
Processed foods like breakfast cereals and bread.

Basic Principles To Follow

Don’t eat proteins with starchy foods.
Consume starchy vegetables and other carb-heavy foods like grains and bread with cooked non-starchy vegetables such as leafy greens only (not proteins).
Keep in mind the portion size of the carbohydrate

For those in and around Abuja, there are so many restaurants that give the best healthy meals. We made a list of the best restaurants in Abuja and you can check it out here.

Conclusion on Creating a Meal Plan

Eating healthy can feel like a challenge especially when it comes to taking your carbohydrates and proteins. With so much information out there, it can be hard to choose which one is true or not.

These nutrients get a lot of bad heat and it is necessary to have an understanding of how your system works. All these tips would help you make better choices when creating a meal plan.