When it comes to biohacks, there are thousands, but only few give you drastic life changing impacts. Out of every biohack I know, at the very top of my list is something that keeps me strong, lean, and mentally alert all at the same time. What is it you ask?… SHIT TONS OF PROTEIN!

Protein is a win-win thing. Eating high-protein meals is a cheat to lose weight and here is why. High-protein signals ghrelin, the hunger hormone and makes you feel full for longer than if you just had veggies and carbohydrates. In addition, protein has a high thermogenic effect(TEF). It actually requires a lot of energy from your body to break down protein into usable molecules. What does this mean for you? It is really hard for your body to convert protein to energy, much less store protein as fat. So what protein you do eat will keep you feeling full and because its low calorie, you can eat a ton of it!

Whether your goal is to get stronger, smarter, or leaner… upping your protein intake is probably the best answer. While the recommended daily amount is 40 grams of protein, most people do not understand that is the BARE MINIMUM to survive and function. If you are not getting at least 1 gram of protein in your diet each day per pound of body weight, you are simply not getting enough!

This means if you weigh 180lbs, you need to eat 180grams of protein each day. What does that look like? Well 1 egg white has 5 grams of protein. That means if eggs are your protein source of choice, you need to eat 36 egg whites a day MINIMUM. (180lbs/5grams per egg white = 36 egg whites) Holy crap, that’s a whole lot of eggs. I know! That is just the suggestion if you are sedentary. If you are active to any degree, you should eat 1.5g/lb and if you are trying to gain weight eat 2g/lb.

To really illustrate how eating protein helps you lose weight lets check out what 36 egg whites really looks like. 36 egg whites are 25 calories a piece. 36x25kcal = 900 calories. 900 calories is not that much considering how full you will feel after eating 36 egg whites. Then if you adjust the calorie count for the TEF effect of protein being only 3.2 kcal/gram, in reality you will only be getting 576 calories for 36 egg whites! So you can eat till your eyes bleed in protein with 3 cartons worth of eggs or you can opt for two donuts and feel completely unsatisfied for the same amount of calories.

The amino acids you get from dietary protein are used to support brain function, organ tissue, and skin health. Most importantly it plays a key role in protein synthesis through providing your body with essential amino acids. Some of the most important are called Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAA’s). L-leucine is the one you really need to make sure you get a decent dose of because it is responsible for signaling the bodies protein synthesis pathways. Without it, you don’t make new muscle. Understand, protein from wheat does not contain L-leucine so you cannot count it towards what you need. L-leucine is found most heavily in whey protein and eggs. Soy isolates also contain small amounts. If you eat wheat protein, your body simply does not respond, its as if you ate nothing but empty calories and protein synthesis does not activate.

I weigh 175 lbs. I am trying to put on muscle. This means I am trying to eat 2grams of protein per pound of body weight each day. 175×2 = 350 grams of protein per day. 70 eggs worth. Since there is no way I am going to eat 70 eggs, I have found a great cost effective option in whey protein. My favorite place is TrueProtein.com because they let me create my own custom mix of protein. Currently I have an amazing mix of hydrolyzed whey protein with mct oil, L-leucine, and citruline. The flavors they offer are crazy too like key lime pie. I am currently enjoying peanut butter and jelly. (The discount code BNK125 gets you 5% off any order.)

In summary if you are not eating 1g – 2grams of protein per pound of body weight you are messing up. Eat protein and get on it! Get lean, gain muscle, feel great.