The Busy Girl’s Guide to Hitting Your Protein Target Without Logging Everything
The Busy Girl’s Guide to Hitting Your Protein Target Without Logging Everything
Not everyone wants to track macros, and honestly, you don’t need to and you can still get great results.
One of the things I do with my coaching clients who don’t want to track is teach them how to eat well without obsessively logging every bite.
Some track for a while to build food knowledge, then transition off tracking once they feel confident. Others skip it altogether and still make amazing changes.
And lately you’ve probably seen the TikTok girly pops pushing those new AI “macro tracking” apps that promise to save you time and do the work for you. Hate to break it to you, but most of them are wildly inaccurate.. they misjudge portion sizes, pull in weird food database entries, and leave you thinking you’ve eaten way more (or less) than you actually have. At the end of the day, there’s no shortcut around knowing your food.
When you understand what a solid portion of protein looks like, you’re not chained to an app, and you can hit your targets anywhere, whether you’re at home, out to eat, or on holiday.
Soooo.. if you’d rather not live inside MyFitnessPal or a wacky AI app, here are nine busy-girl-approved ways to get enough protein in!
1. Anchor Your Day With a Protein Breakfast
Most people fall behind on protein because they skip it in the morning. Quit skipping breakfast and flying through the morning on just a coffee.. If you start your day with 25–35g of protein, you’re already ahead :) !
Examples:
200g Greek yoghurt with a scoop of whey mixed in and some berries (≈ 35g protein)
2 scrambled eggs + 150g egg whites on a slice of seeded sourdough (≈ 30g protein)
A protein smoothie: 1 scoop whey + 200ml low fat milk + frozen banana + peanut butter (≈ 32g protein)
2. Stop Thinking in Grams.. Think in “Protein Portions”
Weighing food can feel like a full-time job.
Instead, think in hand-sized portions:
1 palm of chicken breast (≈ 25–30g protein)
1 palm of salmon (≈ 22g protein)
2 small tins of tuna (≈ 31g protein)
1 scoop of whey (≈ 25-32g protein)
If you aim for 1–2 protein portions per meal and build the rest of your meal around that as a base, you’ll land close to your target without tracking a thing.
Then we just need to know how much you want to eat! If you know you want roughly around 140g of protein, an average palm-size portion of lean protein is 30g, so we want minimum 5 palm-size serves per day, with a little wiggle room for other protein sources that aren’t as lean, etc.
Not sure how much to eat?
Use my free macro calculator tool here:
3. Upgrade Your Carbs
You’re eating carbs anyway, so why not make them do more for you?
A lot of modern staples come fortified with protein, so you can swap your regular pasta, bread, or wraps for a high-protein version without changing your meal structure at all.
Same effort, better results.
This is an easy win if you don’t want to “eat more,” but simply want what you’re already eating to work harder for you.
Examples:
High-protein wraps (Mission or Simson’s Pantry, ≈ 10g protein per wrap)
Lentil or edamame pasta (per serve ≈ 20–25g protein)
Seeded bread or protein bagels (≈ 10–12g protein per slice/bagel)
Quinoa instead of rice (1 cup cooked ≈ 8g protein)
4. Sprinkle Technique
This one feels almost too easy, but the little things really do add up!
By sprinkling high-protein “extras” onto your meals, you’re not just boosting your protein intake by an extra 5–10g across the day, you’re also adding variety, fibre, and key micronutrients that support gut health.
Seeds, nutritional yeast, and cheeses bring in minerals like zinc, magnesium, and B vitamins, along with different textures and flavours that make your meals more satisfying.
The more variety you give your gut, the happier it tends to be.
Examples:
2 tbsp hemp seeds on oats or salad (≈ 7g protein, plus omega-3s and fibre)
3 tbsp pumpkin seeds on yoghurt or soup (≈ 9g protein, rich in zinc and magnesium)
Nutritional yeast on pasta (≈ 4g protein per 2 tbsp, loaded with B vitamins)
Parmesan flakes on roasted veg (≈ 6g protein per 20g, plus calcium and flavour)
5. Busy Girl Meal Prep = Protein First
Meal prep can sound overwhelming, the mere thought of cooking five days’ worth of full meals is enough to put anyone off. Instead, focus only on prepping your protein.
If you batch-cook a lean source, you can throw together different meals throughout the week without fuss.
Think of it as building blocks: the protein is ready, you just pair it with different carbs, veggies, or sauces depending on what you feel like.
Examples:
Roast or poach 1kg chicken breast on Sunday, use it for wraps, stir-fries, or on top of salads.
Grill a tray of salmon fillets and freeze half. Pull them out when you need an instant dinner.
Cook a kilo of turkey mince with garlic and herbs, then use it for tacos, pasta, or even a quick bowl with rice and veg.
6. Pick a “Default Protein” for Emergencies
There will always be nights when you’re too tired to cook, too stressed to think, or life just gets messy.
That’s when having a “default protein” saves you from ordering Uber Eats.
Keep something in the house that takes zero effort so you’ve always got an emergency back-up plan.
Examples:
A stack of protein yoghurts in the fridge
A couple of tins of tuna or salmon in the pantry
Frozen edamame or pre-cooked prawns in the freezer
Protein bars in your handbag or glovebox (just in case)
That meal prep you did after you read my last point 😛
7. Build Meals Around Protein
Most people build meals backwards, they start with carbs or veg, then add protein if they remember.
Flip it.
Choose your protein first, then build the rest of the meal around it.
This mindset shift means protein never gets left out, and you’ll naturally start prioritising it without tracking.
Examples:
Instead of “I’ll have pasta and maybe add chicken,” think “I’ll have chicken and pair it with pasta.”
Instead of “I’ll make a salad and throw in some chickpeas,” think “I’ll have tuna and turn it into a salad.”
Instead of “I’ll make rice and veg,” think “I’ll have salmon and serve it with rice and veg.”
This simple mental shift guarantees protein isn’t forgotten.
8. Don’t Fear Protein Powder
Protein powder is the ultimate busy girl hack. It’s quick, cheap per serve, and versatile.
If you’re bored of plain shakes, it can be stirred, baked, or blended into meals you’re already making. Think of it as an ingredient, not just a drink.
I personally only like to use it maximum once per day to avoid stomach discomfort and have more variety in my food, but it’s great to have as an option!
Examples:
Stir a scoop into your oats while cooking (creamier texture, 20g protein)
Blend it into coffee with milk for a “proffee” (easy 20g protein)
Add to pancake batter for protein pancakes (≈ 25g protein per serve)
Stir into Greek yoghurt for an instant mousse (20g protein)
By anchoring your day with protein, sneaking it into snacks, upgrading your carbs, and having “default” options ready for when life gets chaotic, you’ll hit your target without even touching a food diary app. Short cut? Yes. Effective? Absolutely.
Hey there, I’m Rachel!
NUTRITIONIST, PERSONAL TRAINER, WELLNESS COACH
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