Barbara Hessel, MD, FACOG

07/02/2025

03/18/2025

Let’s dive into my favorite macro - Protein!

You may have heard, “you’re not getting enough protein,” or “you need to figure out how much protein you’re eating to lose weight.” Where does it come from and how much do we need?

We get protein in our diet from food like beef, chicken, fish, eggs, yogurt, beans and tofu. Our bodies use the protein that we eat to make new proteins and build muscle.

How much protein do we need?

In general, when your diet contains the proper amount of protein, you will:

Feel satisfied after meals

Build lean mass and muscle

Maintain healthy body weight more easily.

However, eating too little protein may result in:

Not feeling satisfied after a meal.

Poor recovery from illness or exercise

An inability to build muscle

You should consume more protein as you get older, as well as if you are:

Training hard or have a heavy physical job

Recovering from injury, illness, or surgery

Trying to lose weight

There are certain conditions were eating less protein is recommended, such as:

Kidney disease

Certain inherited or metabolic disorders

Liver disease

Problems with stomach emptying

It might sound complicated, but there is a quick and effortless way to determine the right amount of protein to eat per meal. The answer is in the palm of your hand!

We need 1-2 palm size portions of high protein food per meal, which is about 20-30 gram or 3-4 ounces of cooked meat.

If you are eating 3-4 meals per day, most people do best with about 1-2 palms per meal.

Plant based eaters may need to review how much protein they are getting- try to include beans and legumes each day and consider a plant-based protein supplement.

Try to eat “real food first,” (i.e., minimally processed foods). It can be hard when we are busy, so you may want to include protein powders, bone broth, or essential amino acid (EAA) supplements.

Pay attention to how you feel. Do you feel too full and need to eat one of your portions as a snack between meals? Have you been been training hard, and you are still hungry?

Eat slowly, listen to your internal signals, and notice when you start to feel full.

03/18/2025

Let’s dive into my favorite macro - Protein!

You may have heard, “you’re not getting enough protein,” or “you need to figure out how much protein you’re eating to lose weight.” Where does it come from and how much do we need?

We get protein in our diet from food like beef, chicken, fish, eggs, yogurt, beans and tofu. Our bodies use the protein that we eat to make new proteins and build muscle.

How much protein do we need?

In general, when your diet contains the proper amount of protein, you will:

Feel satisfied after meals

Build lean mass and muscle

Maintain healthy body weight more easily.

However, eating too little protein may result in:

Not feeling satisfied after a meal.

Poor recovery from illness or exercise

An inability to build muscle

You should consume more protein as you get older, as well as if you are:

Training hard or have a heavy physical job

Recovering from injury, illness, or surgery

Trying to lose weight

There are certain conditions were eating less protein is recommended, such as:

Kidney disease

Certain inherited or metabolic disorders

Liver disease

Problems with stomach emptying

It might sound complicated, but there is a quick and effortless way to determine the right amount of protein to eat per meal. The answer is in the palm of your hand!

We need 1-2 palm size portions of high protein food per meal, which is about 20-30 gram or 3-4 ounces of cooked meat.

If you are eating 3-4 meals per day, most people do best with about 1-2 palms per meal.

Plant based eaters may need to review how much protein they are getting- try to include beans and legumes each day and consider a plant-based protein supplement.

Try to eat “real food first,” (i.e., minimally processed foods). It can be hard when we are busy, so you may want to include protein powders, bone broth, or essential amino acid (EAA) supplements.

Pay attention to how you feel. Do you feel too full and need to eat one of your portions as a snack between meals? Have you been been training hard, and you are still hungry?

Eat slowly, listen to your internal signals, and notice when you start to feel full.

Send a message to learn more

03/15/2025

You may have heard about “macros,” as in “I need to count my macros,” and “how many macros were in that meal?” What are macros, anyway?

Macros is short for macronutrients. They are the 3 categories of foods that you eat and provide your body with energy - protein, carbohydrates, and fat.

Most foods and beverages are made up of a combination of these three macronutrients.

But many foods have one dominant macronutrient that provides the majority of the calories.

For example:

Brown rice is mostly carbohydrate but also has a bit of protein and fat.

Cashews are mostly fat but also contain protein and a bit of carb.

Lean chicken breast is mostly protein but also contains some fat. It doesn’t contain any carbohydrates.

When we “count macros,” we are adding up how much of each that we’re eating.

Why count macros? To make sure that we’re getting the right balance of nutrients that’s best for our bodies and our health.

Do calories matter? Yes, they do, and tracking macros can help us keep track of our calories as well.

1 gram of protein is 4 calories

1 gram of carbs is 4 calories

1 gram of fat is 9 calories.

You can estimate the size of your portions, or you can weigh and measure your food.

There are calorie tracker apps that you can log what you ate to keep track, or you can do it with just a sheet of paper.

Try to eat whole and unprocessed food as much as possible to get healthy protein, carbs, and fats.

Consider tracking your macros if you need to lose weight, gain weight, or just make sure that you’re getting the right balance (for example, to control diabetes).

Need help with your macros or weight management? Let me know :)

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