Why Do You Need Protein?
Proteins are building blocks. Muscle, skin and hair are all made of protein.
Benefits of reaching your daily protein needs:
Build Muscle. Since you need protein to build muscle, eating enough protein will ensure your body has what it needs to build new one.
Maintain Muscle. Getting your body the protein it needs will improve muscle recovery and prevent muscle breakdown from exercising.
Fat Loss. Protein has the highest thermic effect: your body burns more calories digesting proteins than carbohydrates or fat. Protein also satiates: you feel full longer after eating a protein-rich meal. Both help fat loss.
How Much Protein Do You Need?
The recommended daily amount of protein to be taken in your diet is significantly different for a normally every day person not really doing any extra exercise rather than there day to day chores and work. However if your weight training or performing any kind of hard physical exercise your body’s need for protein is dramatically increased.
The minimum amount of protein you should be ingesting if you train hard is 1g protein per pound of body-weight per day. That’s 200g daily protein if you weigh 200lbs. You’ll reach this amount easily by eating a whole protein source with each meal. It will just take planning and for most people changing your diet to incorporate 6 to 7 smaller meals through out the day rather than the standard Breakfast, dinner and tea the average person tends to stick to.
Protein Myths.
Protein Is Bad for Your Kidneys. There’s no data suggesting that high protein intakes cause the onset of kidney dysfunctions in healthy adults. There aren’t even correlation studies.
Protein Causes Weight Gain. Increasing your protein intake or drinking whey shakes won’t make you gain weight unless you increase your daily calorie intake.
You Can Digest Max 30g Protein/Meal. Your body can digest & absorb pretty much anything you give it. You may however see slight side effect like gas if you jump straight in and take large servings of protein in each serving. This is because your digestive system is not used to such a high amount of protein but will adapt over time. This is why recommended servings for bodybuilders is between 30g and 50g per serving repeated 6 to 7 times a day.
Best Sources of Protein.
Vary your protein sources so you get the full range of amino acids. Here are some of the best & most popular sources of protein
Protein Supplements – Whey protein, Time release protein powders
Red Meat. Steaks & ground round. Top round, sirloin.
Poultry. Chicken breast, ground turkey, whole chicken.
Fish. Canned tuna, mackerel, salmon.
Dairy. Milk, cottage cheese, plain low fat yogurt, quark cheese, whey.
Eggs. Whole eggs, scrambled eggs. Don’t worry about cholesterol.
Nuts. Walnuts, almonds, cashew, pistachio
Are Protein Supplements needed?
If you can get all the required protein your body needs from your food then no there not really required at all, but who has time to prepare 7 meals a day if you work 8 hours a day and who as the appetite to eat them. I can honestly hold my hands up and say not me, I just can do it. This is why protein supplements are so popular with today’s athletes. Adding 3 protein shakers to your daily diet will normally add 100g of your protein to your diet depending on what product you use and the serving size.
For me that’s already half of what I need so I only need 100g from food, that is a lot easier for me than getting 200g from food.
Are protein supplements needed you ask. In an ideal world not really, in the real world personally yes they are very much needed and are an essential part of most athletes daily diets.
