Want to hit your protein goals while keeping calories in check? You don’t have to eat the same old boring chicken breast meal after meal, and you don’t have to become a master chef. In the chilly environs of your grocer’s freezer, there’s protein to be found—and some of it’s low in calories and high on flavor.
Trouble is, those high-protein treasures are flanked in the freezer by fare that’s just pretending to be calorie-controlled, muscle-building food. You could spend weeks scouring the nutrition labels to find ones that fit your macros…and even longer finding out which ones actually taste good. But you don’t have to: A 24-year old buyer in the grocery industry (and weekend grocery store manager) has done that hard work for you already.
Here’s the science on how protein can help you maintain muscle as you lose weight, and five frozen foods that the 24-year old has used to looked jacked while slimming from 256 pounds to a muscular 206.
Related: How a 41-Year-Old Dad Turned These Small Changes Into a 200-Pound Weight Loss
The Simple Weight Loss Method That Worked
Edward Lambert, who says he has been overweight his entire life, used his weekend second job not just as a boost to his bottom line, but to add to his fat-fighting, mass-building menu. Between restocking shelves and pushing carts, the New Hampshire man has grabbed delicious lunch and dinner options that help him meet his daily protein goal of 120-160 grams per day.
“I try not to overcomplicate it,” he says. “I look at the number of calories and the value of protein for what I’m getting [in that meal].”
Maintaining Muscle Mass While Losing Weight
Lambert ate in a caloric deficit—with lots of protein—to gain muscle and lose weight.
The day after Lambert’s birthday, his girlfriend broke up with him. The newly 24-year old says that for about two weeks, he just stopped eating. He skipped lunch during his day job as a buyer for a company that supplies independent grocery stores with products, barely touched his dinner, and started dropping weight from his then-256-pound frame.
“That’s when I really wanted to get in the gym and actually make it more of a healthy thing, rather than something detrimental,” he says. “It comes down to what I want to see in myself…someone that has the discipline to put their mind to something and succeed.”
He consulted with a friend who’d lost significant weight, and got solid advice: Eat (in a caloric deficit), pack in plenty of protein, and exercise regularly.
Lambert started performing a basic strength training routine at a Planet Fitness six days per week, and focused his diet on protein, aiming for 120-160 grams per day.
Your body needs protein to build muscle, and to maintain it when you’re losing weight. That’s because there are two processes in your body—muscle protein breakdown (MPB), and muscle protein synthesis (MPS)—that are happening simultaneously.
When you strength train or lose weight, your body goes through MPB: Muscles break down from the training, and your body also breaks down muscle for fuel as you lose weight. Strength training also triggers MPS, a process by which muscles are repaired from that damage. But to perform MPS, your body uses protein as a raw material—and it needs some from your diet.
It’s kind of like if your muscles were a big hill of stones. One one side, MPB is taking shovelfuls of stones off the pile. And on the other side, MPS is shoveling them back on. Without protein to make new stones, MPS doesn’t have the material to replenish the pile, and your overall muscle shrinks. But if MPS can match MPB, you’ll maintain muscle. And when MPS is greater than MPB, you can grow more.
How much protein do you need? An analysis of 29 studies published in January 2025 concluded that eating 0.86 grams per pound of body weight per day can stave off muscle loss while losing weight. For a 200-pound guy, that’s 162 grams per day.
The Grocery Pro’s Choices for Tasty, Protein-Packed Frozen Meals
Lambert usually starts his day with a frozen breakfast sandwich that’s 270 calories with 18 grams of protein. At lunch, he’ll have filling fiber from pineapple with a CorePower shake or a Quest bar. And for dinner, he’ll eat chicken, green beans, and a shake with whey and creatine.
But on days when the pineapple and shake won’t do for lunch, or when he doesn’t want to cook for dinner, Lambert draws upon his pro grocer knowledge and goes frozen, usually choosing one of these five meals.
Most have 17 or more grams of protein, with the exception of the cauliflower pizza, for which he makes an exception: Lambert loves pizza, and this cauliflower option provides nutrition from a vegetable while satisfying his craving for pie. He pairs each meal with a protein shake, amping his protein up by 24 more grams.
These meals, he says, keep him feeling full and satisfied. And the results bear it out: Lambert has gone from 256 pounds to 206 since September, and is gunning for 185. Try pairing one of his favorite meals with a shake and some extra vegetables for filling fiber to join him on this fat-fighting crusade.
1. Real Good General Tso’s Chicken Bowl
Calories per serving: 190
Protein per serving: 23
2. Real Good Lasagna Bowl
Calories per serving: 260
Protein per serving: 25
3. Veggie Vita Buffalo Cauliflower Pizza
Calories per serving: 310
Protein per serving: 10
4. Saffron Road Butter Chicken with Rice
Calories per serving: 420
Protein per serving: 17
5. Saffron Road Coconut Curry Chicken with Rice
Calories per serving: 420
Protein per serving: 17
Related: The Routine This 43-Year-Old Used to Build 30 Pounds of Muscle in 18 Months