Let’s Talk About PROTEIN
You’ve probably heard it 100 times, “make sure you get enough protein”, but why? Let’s talk about the real reasons protein is important, how much you need and how to get enough of it.
Protein is sometimes hailed by gym bros as the holy grail of muscle gains, and this is partially true. Protein is responsible for muscle tissue synthesis and is a necessary nutrient for everyone. However, if you are wanting to improve your physique, protein needs to be a priority in your diet.
Exercise causes stress on the body, it requires energy and puts the body in a catabolic state, meaning it is in the process of breaking down muscular tissue. To gain muscle, you must ingest enough amino acids to counteract this process and put the body back in an anabolic state, meaning it is back to building muscle.
It was previously thought that there was an “anabolic window” that occurred immediately after working out, but recent research has suggested that this window remains open for possibly up to 36 hours after exercise has taken place. This means that eating meals containing protein frequently throughout the day will provide more of an anabolic effect than eating one meal directly after exercise without considering nutrition for the remainder of the day. Eating protein regularly will keep the body in an anabolic state and will lead to a greater gain in muscle mass while also minimizing catabolism. Research suggests that 20-40 grams of protein every 1-3 hours is most ideal.
So now that we understand why we need protein, how much should we be consuming? According to USDA guidelines, the average person should be eating 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight. This would mean that if you weigh 165 pounds, you should be eating 60 grams of protein per day. However, most research now suggests that to optimize muscle synthesis, you should be eating 0.8-1.2 grams per pound of body weight. This would mean that if you weigh 165 pounds, you should be eating about 165 grams of protein per day, for some individuals, this number may be even higher.
Eating 1 gram per pound of body weight may seem like an impossible amount of protein to consume, but many whole food sources do contain protein. Obviously, meats, eggs, and fish will provide the largest amount of protein, but beans, lentils, dairy, nuts, soy, and whole grains also contain protein. Another option for getting more protein can be to add in protein supplementation via shakes which usually contain whey, pea, or some combination of animal protein.
If protein consumption is a struggle for you, try to get 20 grams of protein per meal. If you are eating 4 meals per day, this is 80 grams of protein. As this starts to become a habit, you can challenge yourself to increase the number until you have reached your optimal intake.
