For most of my ten years in tech, meal prep meant carbohydrates. I would batch cook rice or soups on Sunday afternoons and call it handled for the next few days. When I did not have time to cook, I would go to a nearby cafeteria and grab whatever was available, and honestly, not all of it was particularly healthy. I ate quickly too, rushing to make my next meeting, and washed it all down with endless cups of coffee. I genuinely believed I was taking care of myself, especially compared to colleagues who grabbed whatever was in the vending machine between meetings.
What I did not understand at the time was that almost none of what I was prepping had enough protein in it to carry me through a workday. By ten in the morning, I was hungry again. By three in the afternoon, I was reaching for whatever was closest, usually something sweet, and telling myself I simply had a sweet tooth I could not shake. I did have a sweet tooth, to be honest, though that was only part of the story.
It was not until I started studying nutrition through my functional medicine coursework that I understood what had been happening. A plate built mostly around carbohydrates digests quickly and does very little to signal to your brain that you are full. I also had no idea that on nights I slept poorly, a hunger hormone called ghrelin rises, making the next day’s cravings even harder to manage. Protein works differently, and once I started building my meals and snacks around it instead of around whatever was fastest, the three o’clock crash I had accepted as a personality trait mostly disappeared.
The science behind protein and fullness.
Protein is widely considered the most satiating macronutrient, meaning it does more per calorie to make you feel full than carbohydrates or fat. A comprehensive review published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition examined acute feeding studies on this question and confirmed the effect is real, though the review is careful about how large that effect is. Higher protein meals were consistently associated with greater perceived fullness and elevated levels of the hormones that signal satiety to the brain. The review notes, however, that this effect on immediate fullness does not always translate into people eating less at their very next meal. The bigger effect shows up over the course of a full day of eating rather than in any single sitting.
Source: Leidy, H.J., Clifton, P.M., Astrup, A., et al. (2015). The role of protein in weight loss and maintenance. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 101(6), 1320S-1329S. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25926512/
Snacks tell a similar story. A study out of the University of Missouri had healthy women eat one of three 160-calorie afternoon snacks on different days: a high-protein yogurt, high-fat crackers, or high-fat chocolate. The yogurt snack led to a significantly greater drop in afternoon hunger compared to the chocolate. The researchers did not find a significant difference in reported fullness between the snacks, which is a useful reminder that hunger and fullness are related but distinct experiences. Protein’s advantage tends to show up more clearly in how strong your cravings feel than in a single fullness score.
Source: Ortinau, L.C., Hoertel, H.A., Douglas, S.M., & Leidy, H.J. (2014). Effects of high-protein vs. high-fat snacks on appetite control, satiety, and eating initiation in healthy women. Nutrition Journal, 13, 97. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25266206/
What this looks like in a real week.
Meal prepping does not require a complicated system. By asking one question before you prep anything, “where is the protein?”, you are already on the path to a more satiating meal. A batch of rice works well as a base, but it needs something protein-rich alongside it to hold you, like shredded chicken, a few soft-boiled eggs, a container of Greek yogurt, or a portion of tofu or beans if you eat more plant-based. The same logic applies to snacks. A bag of pretzels or a granola bar might be convenient, but a hard-boiled egg, a small container of cottage cheese, a handful of edamame, or even a scoop of protein powder blended into something simple will do more to get you to your next meal without a crash. Protein deserves to be the anchor you build the rest of the plate around, rather than an afterthought you remember somewhere around dinner.
Your experiment. Your data. Your call.
I do not want this newsletter to just be ideas without action, so here is one small thing to try before the next issue. Pick one meal or snack this week, just one, and rebuild it around a clear protein source before you decide on anything else. Notice what changes: your energy an hour later, whether the three o’clock reach for something sweet shows up, and how you feel heading into your next meal. Think of this as a little experiment to gather your own data.
A visual reference, for when you are staring at a grocery list.
If you want a quick way to picture what this actually looks like on a plate or in a snack drawer, here are twenty options across a range of protein amounts. Some are full meals, some are grab-and-go, and none of them require a complicated recipe to make happen on a busy day
These are approximate values, shared for general education. They are not a personalized nutrition plan, and your own needs may look different depending on your body, your activity level, and your health history.
A quick note before you go further.
I am not a doctor, and nothing in this newsletter is medical advice or a diagnosis. This content is shared for educational purposes only, based on my own experience and ongoing training in functional medicine health coaching. Please consult your own healthcare provider before making significant changes to your diet, especially if you have an existing health condition.
What is coming next.
This is exactly the kind of practical shift I love working through with clients in coaching. We talk through your actual routine together, and you leave with a simple framework you can sustain during a busy week, built around what keeps your body steady rather than whatever is fastest to grab.
Before you go.
You do not need a perfect kitchen or an extra hour in your day to eat in a way that holds you. You mostly need to know what to reach for first, and protein is usually it.
More soon, Oksi