The Importance of a High Protein Diet

Why is protein so important!

Muscle is composed of protein if you don’t eat it the body is severely hampered, and it can not repair itself. The average person only consumes 60 grams a day, When you start resistance training your requirement for this nutrient is dramatically increased. Protein is very essential for many physiological functions within the body, such as making hormones, blood plasma, and enzymes, rebuilding hair, skin and nails. Therefore if you are working to improve and gain muscle strength then 60 grams just is not enough. A general rule for those interested in gaining results from their training is that up to 1 gram of protein should be consumed per pound of bodyweight.

Suggestions on how to consume protein:

100 grams of protein from quality whole food sources, like chicken, fish, or beef each day
120-150 grams of protein from supplements, from high quality whey protein supplements, quantity depending on how much quality protein is consumed in diet
Protein supplements are easy way of reaching the daily requirement of protein as it can be very difficult preparing meals to contain this amount of protein while leading busy lives.

Here are a few tips to help maximize your physique potential:

Have a protein-rich supplement {preferably with carbohydrates} right after a workout.
When training, the muscle fibers are slightly torn and so the requirements are increased due to the need to repair the microtears. If your don’t consume an abundant supply of all the important amino acids during the post-workout recovery period the muscle cant repair and will break down its own muscle tissue from somewhere else to repair the trained muscle. This is bad and you don’t want this to happen, a high quality whey protein supplement prevents this from occurring, and it’s easily avoidable {amino acids = protein}.

Timing your protein supplement intake.

The lack of food intake during sleep means your body “runs out” of protein
This slows the production of insulin halfway through the night, therefore stopping the muscle from growth and repair {remember, insulin helps escort amino acids into the muscle tissue}. The sooner you consume a protein supplement in the morning, the sooner you achieve your goal to gain muscle tone and improve strength.

Advantages of using a supplement:

A.M. protein dose is:
Supplements are usually digested much quicker than whole-food proteins {the amino acids will get into your system much faster than if you were to eat 6 egg whites for example}.

DAY TIME protein doses:
It is recommended that every few hours some type of protein source should be consumed. A mixture of quality whole-food proteins and protein supplements will assist with dietary variation as well as achieving the dietary requirements set upon your body when training to gain muscle.

P.M. protein dose:
Supplementing with a protein shake late in the evening ensures that the body has enough protein to be available during the night for repair to continue, preferably 45min before you sleep.

Quick Tip:

In the event you awaken middle of the night another protein dose can be consumed as it assists in improving protein metabolism and prevent protein breakdown that occurs naturally every night while sleeping.

Scientific evidence indicates that maintaining high levels of amino acids {protein} in the blood stream {like those found in whey protein} can actually prevent a large percentage of this typical overnight protein breakdown. The cycle of feeding {during the day} and fasting {at night while asleep} results in gains and losses of body protein. For most people this is fine its all apart of homeostasis {the body’s effort to stay the same} but for people trying to add muscle tone, and improve recovery this natural building up and breaking down process is not o.k.

Keep a constant flow of protein every 3 hours by eating smaller meals 6 times a day, this will allow the body to recuperate, and build a solid base of muscle tone it’s the best way to get the most out of your workouts, and see some dramatic results.

As you can see, protein supplementation is simple. Just be sure to do it day in day out. The more consistent your protein intake is, the more, gains you will see in your physique. This is the best way to use supplementation and whole-foods to your advantage and keep an advantage over anybody else.