Challenging myself to stay healthy through the holiday season

urban_squirrel

Hi everyone!

I've been hearing about this app forever, and was finally motivated to download it after our work started a Wellness Challenge in November. Although we were not required to keep track of anything (it was the honour system), I downloaded it to keep myself honest and keep track of my progress.

I was hesitant at first because I'm pretty sure no one in this world likes counting calories, but I was surprised at the other information it gave me too, like macros, and goals for fat, carbs, sugar, protein, sodium, etc. And it actually isn't that hard to stay within my calorie goal if I keep myself active (which is something I was already doing well, just definitely need the help in eating healthier!). I originally had planned on only using it throughout the challenge, but I'm seeing some results (5 pounds down), so I've decided to keep at it.

One of the things I'm noticing is that I rarely meet my protein goal, which surprised me. I always thought that as long as you weren't vegan, it wasn't really something you had to pay attention to in order to get enough. While I'm definitely not vegetarian, I also am not one of those people that needs meat at every meal. I cook a lot of vegetarian meals (partially because I always heard nutritionists sing the praises of a plant-based diet, and partially for budgetary reasons-- meat is more expensive), and for a while I was following the "meatless Monday" trend. However, I'm finding that the only days I meet my protein goal are when I eat meat or eggs for at least 2 of the 3 meals a day, and eat dairy (e.g. cheese, Greek yoghurt) for snacks. Unfortunately, I have read that frequent consumption of red meat (especially cured meats, which are sadly my favourite) is linked to a higher risk of heart disease and some cancers. And many cheeses and egg dishes can be high in saturated fat. Since I'd quickly get bored with eating either skinless chicken or seafood every day (and again, those are the most expensive meats), what are some good ways to get enough protein into my diet? Do you guys use protein powders/supplements, or do you just snack on nuts, legumes and Greek Yoghurt?

Thanks, and good to be here!