The Importance of Adequate Protein

Whether you’re training to build muscle, lose body fat, or both, eating enough protein each day should be a top priority. 

What is protein?

Protein is 1 of 3 macronutrients that can be manipulated to affect your performance and body composition. The other macronutrients are fats and carbohydrates. Both protein and fat are essential macronutrients, meaning you need them to survive. 

Protein is made of smaller molecules called amino acids, commonly referred to as the “building blocks” for your body. There are 21 total amino acids. 11 of these can be synthesized by your body, but the other 9 need to come food or supplementation. The easiest way to ensure you're consuming a complete amino acid profile is to eat a variety of food sources including different forms of animal and plant based protein. 

The Value of Protein

• Protein supports hypertrophy
  When you exercise, your muscle fibers break down. By eating a protein rich diet, you’re giving your body the nutrients it needs to repair, grow and meet the demands in the gym and on the field.

• Protein combats muscle atrophy as you age 

  Muscle mass is the fountain of youth. In order to stay physically and mentally active as you age, you need to be doing everything in your power to maintain muscle on your body and keep body fat down. What better way to do that than to train appropriately and  fuel your body with abundant protein?

  If you’re not consuming enough protein, the body will break down your skeletal muscle into amino acids for essential functions elsewhere. Therefore, when entering into a dieting phase, maintaining a high protein intake will keep muscle on while body fat reduces.
  

• Adequate protein supports satiety & weight management
  Protein and fat take longer to digest than carbohydrates. By including sufficient protein in every meal you can help fight off hunger in between meals, which is not only a good diet strategy, but also an effective way to manage your blood sugar levels.
  

• Protein is unlikely to be stored as body fat
  Because protein is made up of amino acids, when it is digested, those amino acids are preferentially used to support optimal function. Of course, once the body’s nutritional needs are met, excess calories (even from protein) will be converted to glucose and ultimately stored as body fat.
  

• Protein promotes a healthy immune system
  Because amino acids are the building blocks of life, sufficient protein also means optimal bodily function which can help give your immune system a boost.

How much protein do you need?

The easiest way to calculate how much protein you need is to consider your ideal body weight and consume that many grams of protein each day. For example, if ideal body weight is 130lb, you would aim to consume 130g grams of protein each day. This simple calculation is a clear example of why nutrition is not a one-size-fits-all approach. 

To make sure you’re meeting your protein targets without tracking calories or weighing your food, use your hand as a measuring tool. About 1 flat palm serving of animal protein is 4oz or approximately 20g. That being so, you can mindfully customize your portions throughout the day to hit your unique intake target. 

Aim to include protein with every meal, eat protein based snacks and get a post workout protein shake or bar in to hit your daily protein goal.