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#133: How to stay full and support healthy digestion
685 Plays15 days ago
In this episode of the Kate Hamilton Health Podcast, I’m breaking down one of the most overlooked (but really important) combos for better digestion and lasting fullness - protein, fiber, and water. We always hear about the importance of protein, especially for muscle and metabolism, but without enough fiber and hydration, your digestion can easily get off track.
I’m sharing how to hit your protein goals without overdoing it, where to find the best sources of fibre, and why drinking enough water is the missing link for smoother digestion and balanced blood sugar. Plus, I’ll walk you through simple ways to tweak your diet without discomfort - no crash changes or extreme plans here. Whether you're trying to manage your weight, improve gut health, or just feel more energised, this episode will give you the tools to do it.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:
[0:00] - Why good digestion starts with the right balance
[1:20] - How protein supports muscle and metabolism
[4:52] - Why fibre is the perfect partner for protein
[12:03] - Water’s underrated role in digestion and satiety
[14:15] - My final thoughts on creating a digestion-friendly routine
Links & Resources:
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with friends who might benefit. For more health and fitness tips, follow me on Instagram and TikTok @katehamiltonhealth.
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Transcript
Introduction to Digestion and Fullness
00:00:07
Speaker
hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of the Kate Hamilton Health Podcast. So in today's episode, I want to talk around the whole topic of good digestion and how to feel full with good
Current Dietary Trends: Protein vs. Fiber
00:00:22
Speaker
digestion.
00:00:22
Speaker
Because I think, you know, we're in a world where everyone is constantly promoting you need to eat more protein, you need to eat more protein, which most of us do need to eat more protein. However, Then we start to kind of layer more and more protein into our diets without actually thinking about fiber and thinking about other macronutrients as well as protein.
00:00:42
Speaker
So I just want to kind of just dive into basically the magic trio, the magic trio for feeling full with good digestion.
Key Elements for Digestion: Protein, Fiber, Water
00:00:51
Speaker
So that is protein.
00:00:53
Speaker
it's fiber and water. Okay. So the three of these together play a huge part in helping you feel full so that you don't experience cravings so that you are not feeling like, you know, if you want to lose weight, that you're not constantly feeling starving the and that it's such an uphill challenge to actually be able to stick to your calories, stick to your diet.
00:01:15
Speaker
This is hugely important, but also for good health as well. So Let's dive into it a little bit. Okay.
Protein: Benefits and Recommendations
00:01:21
Speaker
So protein targets, they are so important for so many reasons. Okay. theyre They're important for keeping you fuller for longer, for stabilizing your blood sugar levels and reducing cravings, for muscle health and strength, for muscle recovery and injury prevention, for boosting metabolism and helping to lose fat more efficiently.
00:01:41
Speaker
for maintaining a healthy body weight and for maintaining the muscle that we do have as we age. So I just want to be very clear that as I'm talking a bit about fiber in this episode, that I'm really, really not down talking protein. Protein is extremely important. A lot of us have very carb heavy diets, a lot of beige, a lot of white going on.
00:02:02
Speaker
and usually not enough protein. And for all of those reasons I've just mentioned, it is so, so important to ensure that you are getting enough protein into your diet. i Obviously, it depends on your age, your weight, your height, your activity levels. Everything depends on you know how many calories you should be consuming and how much protein you should be eating. But as a general rule of thumb, as a female listening, males would be a little bit more.
00:02:25
Speaker
Always aim to get your protein levels above 100 grams per day. So that's not 100 grams of protein sources. That's actually the 100 grams of protein within your whole day of food, which you if you are tracking on MyFitnessPal and you scroll down to the bottom of your food diary, you'll see a nutrition section and you'll be able to check and see how many grams of protein you've eaten in a day.
00:02:47
Speaker
And it can be kind of shocking initially to see how low that can be. So the initial goal for anyone who has has quite a lot low protein diet will be to try and get that protein up over 100 grams. And then, you know, as you're working towards specific goals, we can get more specific with those protein targets further down the line.
00:03:04
Speaker
But once you're getting up over 100, you will be getting enough to cover you health wise for protein. Another way, if you're not actually tracking calories, and you're just kind of watching what you're eating or using the hand portion method, always aim for one to two palm sized portions of protein in every meal.
00:03:20
Speaker
So the palm being the palm of your hand. So, you know, a smaller female might only have one palm sized portion of protein with each meal, whereas like a male will more likely have two palm sized portions of protein with every meal.
00:03:33
Speaker
I'm kind of medium sized woman, so I would have somewhere between one to two palms. Like so I might have that two palm sized portions of protein with my breakfast because I've got Greek yogurt. and protein powder in both in my breakfast. and like That covers me for two.
00:03:47
Speaker
Whereas at lunchtime, you know, I might have two eggs, which will count for like one palm sized portion with my lunch. So, you know, it'll depend, but it is really, really important. So it's a palm of your hand is
Balancing Protein Intake with Fiber
00:03:56
Speaker
going to be in line with the size of a person that you are as well. So this is, this works really, really well.
00:04:02
Speaker
So please do aim for one to two palm sized portions of protein with every meal we're talking. You know, when you think about a palm sized, like I've just kind of mentioned there, two eggs, 100 grams of Greek yogurt, a scoop of protein powder, a chicken fillet, a salmon darn, you know, anything like that counts as a palm size. Like you don't need to actually physically put it into the palm your hand, but so you get a general i idea of the size of it.
00:04:22
Speaker
One to two of them, every single meal, it's going to make a huge difference for keeping you feeling fuller, stabilizing your blood sugar levels and for your muscle health. in general. Okay. It's going to help with your building a good metabolism.
00:04:36
Speaker
You will burn fat more efficiently, the more muscle that you have on your body. And in order to build a good, strong body, you need protein. So anyway, that's my protein lecture. But what often happens when we do start to nail our protein targets is that things get a little slow in the digestion department. And I see this all the time, you know, when clients come on board and they start increasing their protein and some people are really good. They'll go, they know how important protein is and they'll go hell for leather and they'll increase it from, you know, eating like 40 grams of protein per day to suddenly get 120 grams of protein per day.
00:05:06
Speaker
And what can often happen here is they end up backed up. They end up quite constipated. And that's because they've dramatically increased their protein from what it used to be. So what what I would always say is you need to do it gradually, like bring it up bit by bit, you know, and What's really important to remember as well, if you're looking to lose weight and you are in a calorie deficit and you're increasing your protein from 40 grams up to 120 grams immediately, those calories are coming from somewhere else and they're probably coming from your carbohydrates and your carbohydrates are where you're going to get your fiber.
00:05:43
Speaker
And that's what's causing the issue with digestion. Also, a lot of people will pump a lot of kind of processed protein products into them to get their to hit their protein goal. So being like, oh, I'm only at 90 grams of protein today. I better go eat this protein bar or better eat this protein mousse you know, that they're eating more processed foods. Whereas what I really want you to do when it comes to your protein is try and get it.
00:06:04
Speaker
You don't need protein snacks. ah There's another question I get a lot asked a lot. Like what protein snacks should I have? You don't need protein snacks. you You need protein in your meals. So you need to have three meals, like breakfast, lunch and dinner, if not four meals, breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper or breakfast, little lunch, big lunch and dinner, whatever way you want. You know, you might even want breakfast, little lunch, big lunch, dinner and supper. Like you might have five mini meals.
00:06:27
Speaker
It doesn't matter what way you break it up, but at least three meals per day, you should be hitting your protein targets within those meals. So that's why I'm like the one to two pounds of protein per meal. That means if you have calories left over,
00:06:39
Speaker
that you're snacking. you First of all, you won't need to snack because you will be full. You'll be really full. But if you want to snack, like I like to have a little chocolate bar with my cup of tea.
Sources of Protein: Real Foods vs. Supplements
00:06:50
Speaker
I don't want to have a protein pudding or some fake chocolate bar that I have to make with ah like, I'm like, no, I just want to have like a Cadbury Freddo or like one of those Cadbury little bars or two of them.
00:07:02
Speaker
and enjoy it. But knowing that I've had a healthy balanced diet all day and that's what's important. So like just think real foods, you know, think Greek yogurt, think about chicken, fish, think about things like chickpeas, lentils,
00:07:19
Speaker
eggs, egg whites, you know, even milk like is is a great source of protein. So there's so many ways that you can just get it in within your meals. So when people are like, you know, if if someone has a standard diet and they're need, Kate, I need to get my protein up.
00:07:35
Speaker
I eat more chicken. Like stop putting like a ton in your chicken sandwich at lunch, putting this tiny layer of chicken. You need the whole packet. Your dinner, you know, your chicken curry and you've got teeny tiny you amount of chicken because you're savoring your calories.
00:07:47
Speaker
You need, like if you're only having 80 grams of chicken with your dinner, you need 160 grams of chicken. Double it. Double the amount of meat you're having in your dinner. And obviously going track it if you're looking to lose weight.
00:07:57
Speaker
It's going to make a huge difference that it's coming from real foods. Protein powder can be a really, really good supplement to use. to help get your protein targets up. However, protein powder does not suit everybody.
00:08:09
Speaker
What I'll always say with protein powder is whey isolate is going to be the easiest on the digestive system. got the least amount of crap in it, if you like. So getting it from a good supplement shop is really going to be beneficial.
00:08:19
Speaker
I have protein powder in my breakfast every day. I digest it absolutely perfectly. It's like a milk product. However, some people will be more sensitive to it. There are vegan protein powders, pea proteins, things like that, that can be a little bit easier on the digestive system, especially if it's if you are not great with dairy is is when when issues can kind of arise.
00:08:39
Speaker
Or if you just think like this protein powder is not agreeing with me, stop. You don't need to take protein powder to reach your protein targets if you digest it. Well, it can be a really good way to get your protein up. OK, so as I said, this issue then with digestion of, you know, increasing your amount of protein, suddenly your diet's changed, your digestion gets a little bit slower.
00:08:58
Speaker
This is where we need to talk about fiber. And this is why it's this really kind of careful balancing act between these things to get it right. OK, so fiber is important for keeping your digestion regular.
00:09:11
Speaker
keeping your blood sugar levels stable and reducing cravings. So the same as protein. So you're going to get a double whammy here. It's going to keep those blood sugar levels stable. You're not gonna have as much cravings. You will feel fuller for longer and it's going to prevent diseases of the digestive system as well.
00:09:27
Speaker
The likes of colon cancer and things like that. So it really is. Fibre is so, so, so
Fiber's Role in Digestion and Health
00:09:33
Speaker
important. So like when it comes to eating carbohydrates, I am not anti-fibre. white bread. I'm not anti white pasta, white rice or whatever, you know, like, you know, life's too short to be cutting out everything white in your life, in your diet. so There can be ah a lot of, a lot of joy in a bit of white pasta.
00:09:48
Speaker
Okay. But what I'll say is please make sure somewhere in your day that you are getting whole grain carbohydrates into as well. So thinking on the, along the lines of oh brown bread, brown rice, brown pasta.
00:10:03
Speaker
It doesn't all have to be brown, but getting more of it in and not being afraid to eat carbohydrates because that's where your fiber is going to be. You're also going to get a huge amount of fiber from your fruit and vegetables as well. So we want to eat as much color as possible.
00:10:18
Speaker
So like, you know, quite often, like I'll cook white pasta with if we're doing a bolognese because the kids just prefer it. It's just easier. I actually just prefer it as well. but in my bolognese sauce, there's going to be so many vegetables in there and I'll often and have vegetables on the side as well.
00:10:31
Speaker
So I'm getting a lot of fiber that way. and Another way then to get more fiber in is, you know, nuts and seeds, although they're sources of healthy fats, they're also great sources of fiber. Avocado is a great source of fiber. Also, it's really eating a varied diet.
00:10:46
Speaker
So it is really looking at your carbohydrates, your healthy fats, and your fruit and vegetables. So it is basically all the rest of your diet as well that we need to not forget about. So as we up our protein, we need to have a wide variety of all of this.
00:11:00
Speaker
So as you can see from what I'm saying, fiber and protein actually have a lot in common, you know, with the keeping feeling fuller like for longer, stabilizing the blood sugar levels, except that the fiber will get things moving in your digestive system.
00:11:13
Speaker
When it comes to the amount of fiber that you need to be consuming every day, it needs to be somewhere between 25 grams and 35 grams so ah fiber every day. So females more towards the 25 gram mark, males more towards the 35 gram mark.
00:11:26
Speaker
In general, obviously depends on the size of the person, but Everybody should be getting that fiber up over 25 grams. And just remember, it it comes from all sources. Lots of nuts, seeds, avocados, healthy fats, fruits, vegetables, whole grain carbohydrates. Just get that variety in there. Make sure you're getting enough of it. It's just so, so important for your health.
Role of Water in Digestion
00:11:49
Speaker
So protein and fiber should sort you out. But what you might find when you start to increase your fiber, you've increased your protein, then you increase your fiber and you become more. More bloated, more backed up.
00:12:00
Speaker
And this is because you're missing the final piece of the puzzle. And that is water. Like you need to be drinking enough water, obviously for hydration reasons, reasons but also for digestive reasons.
00:12:12
Speaker
At least two litres of water every day, if not three or four. depending on where you live, how hot it is, how active you are. But as a baseline, someone who lives in a cold country who doesn't do a whole lot of movement all at least two litres of water for you.
00:12:25
Speaker
Most of us, a little bit more. Again, ease yourself into this. I know you might feel like you're going to the toilet so all of the time initially. If you stay consistent, your body will adjust and it won't be like that forever.
00:12:36
Speaker
Like it's so, so important. And with like spreading your water intake throughout the day as well, you know, like what I'll do is I'll drink a pint of water first thing in the morning. before I have my coffee. So then that gets me started. I'm kind of rehydrating myself after that the night.
00:12:49
Speaker
I'll then, while I'm working at my desk, as I'm recording this, I have a and another pint glass of water. So i'm I'm kind of almost through, as we speak now, it is nearly 11 a.m. m and I'm almost through my sick second pint of water for the day.
00:13:01
Speaker
If I'm out and about, I'll bring a bottle water with me. I'll try and kind of finish my water by dinnertime because I like to kind of back off the fluids a little bit in the evening and time. So I'll have my cup of tea or my chocolate bar early in the evening.
00:13:13
Speaker
But after that, then I just don't want to be woken in the middle of the night needing to eat. So it's just not worth it for me anymore. A new thing as I get older. What I'd say is just try and get it in throughout the day. Your water, your fluids in general. Like, so if you really struggle struggle with water, do throw a tiny drop of my wadi into it or any yeah or whatever you need to do.
Recap and Call to Action
00:13:29
Speaker
But, you know, the likes of tea and coffee, Like there's an argument that, you know, like that it is said that it does count towards your fluid intake and it it does technically, but I want us to really focus on the benefits of water and just getting more water into your, your diet. Okay. So, and the,
00:13:48
Speaker
In turn, that will mean you'll drink a little bit less coffee, a little bit less tea, a little bit less fizzy drinks. Doesn't mean you have to cut them out, but by you putting the active effort into drinking your water, which is going to make you feel amazing, it'll reduce those little things a little bit and you'll get a better balance in place and it's going to massively increase your digestion issues that you may be experiencing.
00:14:10
Speaker
But also, water is going to help you feel fuller for longer also. So that's it. The magic trio for feeling full with good digestion is protein, fiber and water.
00:14:23
Speaker
I hope you found this helpful. I know sometimes you must be like, Kate, is like you should rename me Captain Obvious. But it makes so all these little things that we just kind of don't think about that makes such a difference to our health journey, to our weight loss journey, to our fitness journey, just to feeling better.
00:14:38
Speaker
So give a go. Let me know how you get on. And as always, if you've enjoyed this episode, if you found it helpful, please share it with your friends and your WhatsApp groups on your stories. Tag me if you do. Leave a review or a comment if you have time.
00:14:50
Speaker
And if you are not subscribed to this podcast, please hit the subscribe button. It makes such a difference. And I appreciate you all. And I will talk to you soon.