BENEFITS OF PROTEIN AND AMINO ACIDS: HOW MUCH PROTEIN DO YOU NEED

Many people consume as much protein as they can and opt for high-protein diets, while others fall short on their daily consumption and don’t eat enough of it.

ARE YOU EATING MORE PROTEIN THAN YOU NEED?

The People who weight train consume more protein than they require. There seems to be a stigma around building muscle requiring a very high protein diet; and while it’s true that protein and amino acids are necessary to build muscle, the amounts of which you need to consume aren’t as high as you’d think.

A lot of people’s diets are split into a ratio 40% protein, 40% carbohydrates and 20% fats.This makes it difficult for your body to build muscle.

HOW MUCH PROTEIN DO YOU REALLY NEED?

Guidelines on protein consumption vary from 0.8g to 1.2g per lb of lean body mass. Just to put this into perspective, I’ve outlined a person’s possible daily macronutrients to maintain weight at 185lbs.

COMMON MISTAKES WHEN CALCULATING YOUR PROTEIN INTAKE

1.People tend to consume as much protein as they can. You should calculate how much your body needs in order to balance your nutrition more effectively.

2.Don’t forget the amount of protein you require is based off your lean body mass (LBM) as well, so rather than Joe consuming 200g of protein he only really needs 148.

SHOULD I USE WHEY PROTEIN?

Whey protein helps you gather high quality protein quickly.

WHY ARE AMINO ACIDS IMPORTANT?

20% of the human body is made up of protein; it’s used to create muscle, bones, hair, fingernails… you name it. Protein is made up of amino acids, which makes them very important in the process of creating cell structure as well as the transport and storage of nutrients. Amino acids are essential for healing bones, muscles, tissue and vital organs.

HOW CAN YOU ENSURE YOU’RE GETTING ENOUGH BCAAS?

The most popular foods containing BCAAS are: chicken breast, tuna, eggs, salmon and turkey. This would mean you’d have to gather around 50g of protein just from that protein source in order to gather the sufficient amounts of BCAAs.