– 01 –

calories

Find the Nutrition Facts and make a mental note of the calories

In this example we use 4oz of boneless skinless chicken breast for 140 calories

– 02 –

10-20 scale

Calculate 10% and 20% of the calorie number
If math is intimidating:

• move the decimal place over to the left by 1, that's 10%.
• multiply that number by 2, that's 20%.

In our example of 140 calories, this is 14 and 28.

– 03 –

grams of protein

Note the grams of protein in the same nutrition facts panel

In our example of 4oz boneless skinless chicken breast, this is 25g of protein

– 04 –

protein + 10-20 scale

Compare the protein to the previously calculated 10%-20%

The closer the grams of protein are to the 20% range, the better the source of protein the food is. If the food is well below 10%, I don't consider this a strong source of protein, even if it's advertised as high protein.

In our example the 10-20% range was 14 to 28. the grams of protein are 25, which is relatively high close to 28, making this food something I would consider high in protein.

– 05 –

bonus alternative

Divide protein by calories

Use your phone and divide the grams of protein by the calories. This gives you the same result as the above steps but with a more precise % number.

note: Using your phone might seem quicker, but when walking around the grocery store it's faster to mental math an approximation.

remember: You only need an approximation to get a sense of how good (or bad) the protein to calorie ratio is. This isn't a substitution for journaling the protein and calories you end up consuming.