Protein
There are so many suggestions, tips, and marketing that goes into protein, protein powder, amino acids, and weight gainers. Here is where I am going to try to debunk all of them. I will 100% be honest with you and say that I have fallen for the marketing of supplements when it came to protein and still to this day use protein powder. The difference is that I understand how the body works now after my work experience and my schooling. I know when you should use protein powder, how much protein we should eat and what it does in our body. I hope this section of nutrition is helpful. We will cover what consuming protein does in our bodies, good sources of protein, and how much you should be consuming on a day-to-day basis, so, lets dive in!
Protein breaks down into two simple compounds. These two compounds are sucrose (sugar from protein), and amino acids. So why does protein have sucrose in it? The sucrose is how protein can be used as an energy source. When sucrose hits the blood stream it acts as any other sugar. This sugar spikes the insulin levels in the body to then release enzymes. These enzymes bond to other sugars and the amino acids. Amino acids are what the body needs to heal and build proteins. The body naturally produces several of these compounds for healing along with hormones like testosterone, and growth hormone.
There is a big difference in what contains protein and what is a good source of protein. A good measurement is by percentage. If a steak has 15% fat, then the protein portion consists of 85% of the steak. Although peanut butter has protein in it, based on the amount compared to the protein, peanut butter is not a good source of protein. A tablespoon of your generic peanut butter has 8.8 grams of fat. 1 tablespoon of peanut butter has about This was 5 grams of protein. Because the fat content is almost 2x the amount of fat you cannot base a meal off this amount. This is just for anybody that wanted to know the difference.
Good sources of protein are:
Chicken
Fish
Crustaceans
Lamb
Pork
Beef
Turkey
Some Soy Products
Mammals
Food that contains protein
Fruit
Vegetables
Roots (potatoes, carrots)
Nuts
Seeds
Quinoa
Some Soy Products.
Most carb focused products contain some amount of protein
The reason why I wanted to break these into groups is to help you when it came to meal prepping. If you can get about 80% of your protein requirements from a good source it is easier to count the rest of the protein in your sources of carbs and fats.
Now that all of that is covered let’s talk about why you are here. How much protein you should be consuming daily? So many people learn nutrition tips and advice from people at the gym. The issue is they are telling you what works for them. Many people have probably told you at one point in time you need to eat 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. I will explain why this is not true. Of course, this depends on your goals. That I understand but 1 gram per pound of body weight is way too much. The body produces several amino acids in the body, right? So, if we consume to many where does the extra go? The body will take the extra amino acids to the liver and kidneys. From there it will be collected and moved all to the kidneys. From the kidneys the extra amino acids will become urine. Please do not piss away your money.
With that covered the human body can absorb 25-35 grams of protein every 3 hours. So here is the simple formula that a lot of people tend to abuse. A lot of people try to consume 1 gram per pound of body weight. The actual formula is 1 gram per kg of body weight, of course I know that this is still dependent on your goals a little so below is the breakdown of how much protein you should try to consume.
Gain weight
Body weight / 2.246 = weight in Kg Kg X 1.2 grams of protein= daily macro intake
Maintain weight
Body weight / 2.246 = weight in Kg Kg X 1 grams of protein= daily macro intake
Lose fat
Body weight / 2.246 = weight in Kg Kg X .85 grams of protein= daily macro intake
I know what it seems like. There are probably a lot of people out there that think you should eat more protein. Protein is used as a fuel source when we don’t have enough carbs in our system then after we exercise, we don’t have enough protein in our bodies to start healing. Remember carbs are the main source of fuel for the body, fats are for hormones and health of cells, protein is for healing and growing.
If there are any questions you can always email me at 65roseathletics@gmail.com or send a message at the get in touch buttons throughout the website.
If you would like to schedule a 1 on 1 nutrition session where we sit down on a zoom call and talk about your daily life, medications, activity levels and goals, you can do this in the 1 on 1 Coaching.