When my Dad was in the later stages of his life, I always reminded him to make sure to eat plenty of protein. His favorite meal was a 12″ Subway Sandwich loaded with chicken and as much spinach as they could get in there. Half for lunch and half for dinner.
He would also go to town several times a week to the diner so he would get a fresh salad and hearty meal with great proteins, especially his favorite, liver! gag! He added a high-protein nutritional shake daily too. It worked for him as he was healthy and doing great.
Fast forward a few years and he decided to move into an assisted living facility due to his mobility. I can say I was shocked at what they served the residents.
Loaded with carbs and never enough protein. In fact, some meals I don’t think even filled my Dad’s stomach! It was truly disturbing.
It made me wonder why we have “dietary guidelines” for institutions, adults, kids, you name it, but they completely fail the senior citizens of our country. Our seniors should be encouraged to be healthy, active, and thriving.
Visit a hospital and see what they serve patients and visitors in the dining areas. The cheapest junk foods that are destroying our health!
Yes, we know we are addicted to these chemical and sugar-laden products, but if we cannot even find healthy foods in an assisted living or hospital, we have to realize we have to take control of our own health!
Are You Eating Enough Protein for Your Midlife And Senior Health?
This brings me back to my protein rant. I read an article on MyFitnessPal about eating enough protein and want to share some insights from that article here.
Check out these quotes from the article:
Protein is essential for our bodies to work properly from head to toe. Getting the right amount of protein is important and depends on each individual.
You can think of protein as the worker bees of your body. The body doesn’t store protein at all. The proteins of your body — made up of individual components called amino acids — are acting as the manpower of movement, the hard-working immune system, and carriers of oxygen in your blood, just to name a few roles. Each protein has a job and is doing that job pretty much all the time. Protein rarely just sits around idle in your body, nor is muscle simply “stored” protein.
When it comes to muscle, dietary protein is essential for ensuring your body has the necessary building blocks (amino acids) to maintain and build lean body mass. Without a surplus of available amino acids, muscles will not grow in strength or size. Of course, protein in the body is not enough to build muscle; adding resistance exercise to your daily routine gets you on the fast track to muscle growth.
Soooo important to consume enough protein at all ages!! Let’s keep going.
Nine out of the 20 possible amino acids are essential, meaning the body cannot make them on its own; they must be ingested. Animal proteins are “complete” proteins because they contain all nine essential amino acids. Plant-based proteins (such as legumes) are not all complete proteins, but as long as you eat a varied diet with lots of sources of protein, you can meet your complete amino acid needs. The exception to this is tofu, which is a complete protein but can be paired together to easily meet your amino acid needs. For example, eating beans with brown rice would fit the bill, and tofu is another great plant-based complete protein.
I love mixing my proteins. I have shared many recipes with my readers that show different ways to add beans to your meals. So important and sad that many “experts” say no to legumes on certain diets.
You may have heard that you need 0.8-1g/kg of body weight for protein. This recommendation is based on the minimum amount of protein to preserve the muscle mass you already have during weight maintenance (bolding is mine). However, if you are active, trying to lose weight, or gaining muscle, you likely need more protein to reach your goals.
I cannot stress enough how important it is to figure out how much protein you should be eating according to your weight and then compare it to what you are actually eating on a daily basis. The MyFitnessPal article shares a guide on how to calculate yours.
There is also a chart that shows how much you should be eating based on activity and age. Here is what is recommended based on a 50 years old + adult –
Older adults over 50 1.0–1.5 g/kg of body weight
As you can see, you are probably not getting enough protein in your meals. I am right on the edge for my weight loss goal. I still need to up my intake.
Variety is Key
You do not have to assume protein is only meat. There are so many foods that contain proteins. Nuts, Cheeses, vegetables, legumes, and more!
Do some research and let’s make a pledge that we add more smart proteins to our meals so we can have a long and healthy life going into our senior years.
Let me know your thoughts below on this important topic.
Hi! I’m Chris! Just a Midlife Wife sharing about life’s journey; screaming and kicking through it while supposedly aging gracefully…
Focusing on healthy living, low carb & keto, things I am loving right now, and life in general.