In order to stay lean, I've been eating mainly fruit, salads and low-fat yoghurt. Am I getting enough protein and if not where can I get it from without introducing fat to my diet?

If you do not receive enough dietary protein, the body will break down its own tissues to supply its protein needs, relative to the stimulation of the hormonal mechanisms associated with recovery and growth. As most people wishing to 'stay lean' engage in regular exercise, in particular, weight training, the hormonal mechanisms stimulated by this exercise will cause the body to seek extra protein to fulfil the recovery needs.

 

While each person's needs will vary, you ought to be taking about 1.5 to 2g per kg body weight of protein each day, spread over 3 to 4 servings a day. The following chart shows what this means for various sized people:

 

 weight    daily protein    protein  per meal
 50kg       85g                25g
 60kg       105g              30g
 70kg       125g              35g
 80kg       140g              40g

 

While fruit and salads are good foods, they do not contribute to these protein requirements. The best protein sources that are low fat are: Whey Protein Concentrate and Soy Protein Isolate (as found in the Aussie Bodies protein powders), fish, turkey or chicken breast (without skin), egg whites, low fat yoghurt and lean cuts of red meat.

 

Keep in mind also that your body does not make use of the total protein content of most foods. To help account for this, the scientific community has developedscoring systems such as PDCAAS and Biological Values as a measure of a protein's useability in the body. As a general rule, useable protein (BV) is about 20% of the total weight of a flesh/fish meal while the BV of Whey Protein Concentrate (as found in the Aussie Bodies protein shakes) is about 30g per shake.