I Ate Protein and Greens With Every Meal for a Week – and Honestly, I'm Stunned At How Different I've Felt

If you spend any time on TikTok, you'll have seen the 75 Hotter challenge making the rounds - a holistic, wellness-loaded riff on the viral 75 Hard challenge. Unlike its military-grade predecessor, 75 Hotter is less about restriction and more about balance: eat well, move your body, hydrate, sleep properly, socialise, and make time for self-care. A framework for long-term habits, rather than a gruelling, restrictive stint.

One pillar in particular caught my attention: prioritising protein and greens in every meal. As a Health Writer, I know both are nutritional powerhouses, but like many people, I tend to focus more on carbs for quick energy, and eat a variety of vegetables in general, rather than packing my meals with greens specifically. Could a small tweak like this really shift how I feel?

The science suggested it was worth a try. Protein isn’t just about muscle recovery - a study from 2020 shows it plays a crucial role in satiety, blood sugar regulation, and energy stability throughout the day. Meanwhile, leafy greens such as spinach, kale, and rocket are rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that support brain health and longevity. "Protein helps to keep you fuller for longer, supports mental wellbeing, cognitive function and general longevity," confirms Jenna Hope, nutritionist and author of How To Stay Healthy. "Greens are a rich source of fibre, iron and Vitamin K," she adds.

So, for one week, I set myself the task of including both protein and greens at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. My one rule? No powders, no supplements, just food. I wanted to pack my meals with protein-rich ingredients and leafy greens where possible, rather than resorting to using the trending greens powders or relying on protein blends to hit my daily goal. I tracked everything from my energy levels to my mood to my sleep, digestion, and skin. Here’s how it went.

We’ve also got features on the signs you’re not eating enough protein, if you think you could benefit from maximising your protein intake. Feeling inspired? Read what happened when one MC-UK staffer ate high-protein lunches for a week, and what changed when she ate high-protein breakfasts every day.

Don't miss our guides to the best clear proteins and vegan protein sources to add to your basket, and how to get enough vegan protein if you're plant-based, too.

I Upped My Protein Intake And Added Greens To Every Meal For A Week - And Honestly, I Feel Great

Is including protein and greens at most meals sustainable?

In most cases, yes, provided you keep it flexible. Hope tells me: “Aiming to include a source of proteins and greens at most meals is sustainable - breakfast might be trickier for some people, but in general this is a brilliant habit.” The key is to think variety, not perfection.

Hannah Cartwright, nutritionist and founder of The Nourishu Method, adds that aiming for around 20 to 25g of protein per meal is a realistic goal for most adults. “A high protein lunch typically contains at least 20 to 30g of protein,” she previously told Marie Claire, noting that this level helps maintain energy, satiety, and muscle health.

In practice, this doesn’t have to mean endless chicken breasts or spinach fatigue. Protein can come from eggs, fish, beans, tofu, nuts, or seeds, while greens could be peas, kale, broccoli, rocket or cabbage. During my week, that looked like bulking out a smoothie with spinach and Greek yoghurt, reaching for sugar snap peas with hummus as a snack, and pairing salmon with garlicky greens at dinner.

It’s a point echoed by Ruth Taylor, nutritionist at Boots Online Doctor, who stresses the importance of realistic, balanced changes over rigid rules. "Instead of strict or extreme food rules, aim for small, manageable changes that you can stick with long term. Reducing your intake of high-sugar and heavily processed foods - and finding a way of eating that you enjoy and can maintain - are key to both weight management and overall health," she says.

As Hope cautions, “it is important that people don't become so focused on the greens that they forget about other vegetables.” In other words, sustainability comes from keeping things enjoyable and varied, not rigid.

What are the benefits of prioritising protein and greens in your diet?

Think of protein and greens as the ultimate tag team. Protein helps keep you full, steadies your blood sugar, and powers everything from your muscles to your brain. As Cartwright recommends, “the best thing is to drip feed protein into regular meals throughout the day, because this slows down digestion, helps regulate appetite hormones, reduces the chance of energy crashes and helps manage focus.” In other words, sprinkling protein across your day is like giving your body a steady stream of fuel rather than one big hit.

Greens, meanwhile, are the quiet overachievers of the plate. They’re loaded with fibre (hello, happy digestion), vitamin K (for bone strength), and folate (for energy). They also contain natural plant nitrates, which studies suggest may boost blood flow and even exercise performance. And it’s not just about the gym - research has linked a diet rich in leafy greens to slower cognitive decline as we age.

Put the two together and you’ve got meals that keep you full, energised, and supported long after you’ve eaten.

Are there any risks to having too much protein and greens?

The short answer: not usually, unless you go to extremes. For most people, eating more protein and greens means eating fewer ultra-processed snacks and refined carbs, which is rarely a bad thing. That said, a 2013 study highlighted how excessively high protein intakes can put strain on the kidneys, particularly in those with pre-existing kidney conditions. Very high protein diets may also impact calcium balance and bone health over the long term, though the evidence here is mixed.

On the greens front, fibre is generally a friend to digestion, but suddenly overloading on it can lead to bloating, gas, or discomfort if your gut isn’t used to it. Variety is key: rotating different greens means you’re less likely to overload on any one compound (for example, too much spinach can increase oxalate intake, which in rare cases may contribute to kidney stones).

Hope adds: “It’s important the protein source is one of high quality, such as eggs, meat, fish, nuts, seeds, tofu, beans or pulses. Where possible, try to limit processed sources of protein and ultra-processed vegan alternatives.”

Ultimately, the risk lies less in “too much” and more in imbalance. A diet dominated by protein and greens to the exclusion of other food groups could lack sufficient healthy fats or slow-release carbohydrates - both vital for long-term energy and hormone health.

I Increased My Protein and Greens at Every Meal for a Week - Here’s How it Made Me Feel

Days One to Three

I’ll be honest: the first few days felt like effort. I don’t use greens powders or protein powders (I’m a supplement sceptic at heart), so I had to rethink meals from scratch. Breakfast meant spinach in smoothies. Lunches meant spinach in wraps. Dinners? Spinach stirred into pasta sauces or even mashed potatoes. Spinach became my culinary crutch, and by day three, it was becoming hard to stomach.

That said, snacks were a surprising joy. Sugar snap peas dipped into hummus became my go-to, ticking both boxes in a way that actually felt like a treat. Digestion-wise, I noticed a difference - more fibre meant I felt less sluggish after meals.

Days Four to Seven

By the second half of the week, the benefits started to outweigh any sense of challenge. My skin, frustratingly, was glowing. (I say frustratingly because I hate the reminder that my diet is written across my face when I’d rather blame skincare products.)

The biggest change, though, was in energy. On day six, I went for a 12km run - something I usually find challenging - and breezed through it at a pace that felt easy. Recovery was faster, too, and I had noticeably more energy in the afternoon, when I usually hit a slump. As a runner, I’ve always leaned into the “carbs, carbs, carbs” mantra, but this made me reconsider whether protein might be the missing piece.

For me, consciously thinking about whether my meals had enough protein and greens felt like a huge effort initially, but actually translated into fewer mid-afternoon cravings, steadier focus when I was working, and - unexpectedly - a much easier time when exercising.

Would I keep it up? Yes - though I’d need to expand my repertoire beyond spinach, and accept that it takes more effort (and more food overall) to hit higher protein targets. But as tweaks go, this one paid dividends in skin, energy, and recovery.

Shop MC-UK approved favourites to elevate your nutrition game