Sharing because I've been quietly proud of this for a fortnight.
My Fuel pillar was the lowest of my five for about two months — not because I was eating badly, but because protein was sitting at maybe 90g on an average day when I should have been at 140+. The honest reason: cost. Chicken breast every meal was killing the food budget.
What actually fixed it:
- Tinned mackerel on toast for lunch. 80p a tin, 20g of protein, takes 90 seconds. Don't knock it until you've tried it with a bit of lemon and black pepper.
- Cottage cheese as a snack with some honey or fruit. I know, I know. It's not as bad as you remember.
- Lentils in basically every stew and curry. Doubles the protein of the meal for about 40p.
- Whey but the unflavoured bulk kind, mixed into porridge or yoghurt rather than drunk on its own.
Fuel pillar has gone from low 60s to high 70s in three weeks. Eating better, spending less. Posting in case anyone else is quietly losing this fight.