Protein

Protein is currently one of the biggest diet buzz words. Almost everything is marketed as having protein, protein pancakes, protein crackers, high protein cereal. Consuming protein is important, but there is often a lot of confusion and misconceptions surrounding the subject. Lets dive into the topic of protein and try and hash out some of the important factors regarding protein consumption.

Why do I need protein?

If you are somebody who participates in any sort of exercise or physical activity you, to some extent, are causing tiny amounts of damage to your muscles. More damage = more soreness, but that is a topic for a different time. For your body to be able to repair the muscle fibers, you need to consume protein! Protein is consumed and broken down into its basic parts, amino acids. Amino acids are then used by the body to rebuild muscle tissue. Complete protein sources are preferred over amino acid supplements because they also contain collagen, vitamins, minerals, natural fat sources, and don’t contain any artificial sweeteners or coloring like amino acid supplements. The process of rebuilding muscles with protein is called muscle protein synthesis. Consuming protein leads to muscle protein synthesis, which in turn builds muscle. Increased muscle mass raises your metabolic rate (makes you naturally burn more calories) and makes you stronger.

For this post I am going to lay the information out in tiers, going from very basic to very in depth and advanced.

The Basics

The Deck Of Cards Rule

Should you be consuming protein? Yes. Try and eat 30-40g of protein with each meal. One serving of lean protein is about the same size as a deck of cards.

Optimizing Amount of Protein Consumed

The typical reccomendation for somebody who exercises on a weekly basis and includes strength training in their typical exercise regiment is to consume 0.8-1.0g of protein per pound of bodyweight. A 200lb person would eat 180-200g of protein per day. If you want to be more accurate you could try eating per your goal bodyweight, not your current bodyweight. For example, if you are 200lb but you are in the process of losing weight and want to be 180lb then you would eat 150-180g of protein per day.

Optimizing When You Eat Your Protein

Protein consumption should be spread out evenly throughout the day in quantities of 25-40g per meal. Having consistently spaced meals with protein throughout the day will maintain muscle protein synthesis and optimize absorption of protein by the cells in the muscles. Eating more than 40g is not bad, but there is no evidence that supports going over 40 is more beneficial, in fact, eating too much protein in one sitting might lead to wasting of the protein since you might not be able to metabolize (process, use, and benefit from) more than 40g per meal. Eating less that 25g is not bad either, but you might not be maximizing the effect of protein and stimulating muscle protein synthesis as much as you could.

Optimizing Protein Sources

The best protein sources are lean animal proteins. Lean (93/7) ground beef, bison, chicken breast, ground turkey, white fish, and shrimp are all good examples of very lean protein sources. I like to think of these protein sources as more versitile as well, because you can always add fat to these protein sources if it fits within your caloric budget. Conversely, higher fat content protein sources are much harder to render the fat out of to make them leaner! Higher fat protein sources include salmon, 80/20 or 85/15 ground beef, ground pork, chicken thighs, and steak with lots of marbling. Common misconceptions are that any animal meat is a protein source, which, while it may contain protein, the lean sources are typically what fitness and health professionals are thinking of when they recommend adding protein to a diet.

Supplementing Protein Sources

There are a handful of ways to supplement protein consumption. While protein supplements can be convienient, it is recommended that most of your protein is consumed through real food. Protein powders include whey, casein, egg based, and plant based options. Casein is a slower digesting protein and might be beneficial for somebody who is trying to replace a meal, whereas whey is a fast absorbing protein which can increase insulin and therefore is recommended to take around workouts. Protein bars are another popular protein supplement, and these are typically full of additives, artificial sweeteners. I usually do not recommend protein bars unless you are in a situation where there are no other options (like a long road trip).