Optimal Protein Intake for Bodybuilders. Protein. It’s every bodybuilder’s favorite macronutrient and for good reason. Protein is extremely essential, super satiating and amazingly anabolic. Strangely, very few people think it’s a bit too accidental that the optimal amount of protein your body can assimilate in a day is exactly 1g/lb. Of course, I know you read my articles for their scientific merit, so let’s look at the literature on the effects of daily protein intake to find out if 1g/lb really is the optimal amount of protein intake for maximum muscle gains. Studies on the optimal protein intake. All values in the bullet point list below are expressed as grams of protein per pound of body weight per day. All of these studies controlled for energy intake, either based on individual requirements or by setting energy intake to be equal in all experimental conditions, so that only the proportion of protein in the diet varied between groups. If the studies were based on unreliable methods such as nitrogen balance, a marker of lean body mass changes, I only included them if they controlled for sweating and dietary adaptation periods. Protein oxidation did increase in the high protein group, indicating a nutrient overload. The authors suggested that 0. Based on nitrogen balance data, the authors recommended 0. This recommendation often includes a double 9. As such, this is already overdoing it and consuming 1g/lb .
The picture below summarizes the literature. As you can see, 1. 14 Ways to Include Protein in Your Diet. Whether you're a meat eater, flexitarian, vegetarian or vegan, you may wonder if you But I train harder! If you still think you need more than 0. Well, Tarnopolsky et al. Resistance training causes both breakdown and synthesis to increase, normally with a favorable balance towards synthesis. As you progress in your training, the body becomes more efficient at stopping the breakdown of protein resulting from training. Since less protein now needs to be replenished, this increase in nitrogen retention means less protein is subsequently needed for optimal growth. Secondly, the more advanced you are, the less protein synthesis increases after training. As you become more muscular and you get closer to your genetic limit, less muscle is built after training. This is very intuitive. The slower you can build muscle, the less protein is needed for optimal growth. It wouldn’t make any sense if the body needed more protein to build less muscle, especially considering that the body becomes more efficient at metabolizing protein. But what about when cutting? A final objection that is often heard is that these values may be true during bulking or maintenance periods, but cutting requires more protein to maintain muscle mass. The researchers took a group of endurance trained subjects and had them consume either 0. They also added a thousand calories worth of training on top of their regular exercise. So these guys were literally running on a 1. Talk about a catabolic state. However, the protein intake of 0. Nitrogen balance, whole- body protein turnover and protein synthesis remained unchanged. A further review of the literature on the optimal protein intake in a deficit can be found in this article of the research on protein by Eric Helms. Also, the supposed difference in nitrogen sparing effects of carbs and fat are negligible (Mc. Cargar et al. 1. 98. Millward, 1. 98. 9). Neither actually spares protein though. Only protein spares protein. I think the protein sparing idea came from a wrong interpretation of the nitrogen balance literature showing more lean mass is lost in more severe caloric deficits. A simple explanation for that finding is that the more total mass you lose, the more lean mass you lose. Ice cream and quesadillas top a tasty photo gallery of diet snacks from WebMD. They're quicker, cheaper, and less processed than many 100-calorie snack packs. No surprises there. As such, there is simply no empirically substantiated reason to think we need more than 0. If anything, you could reason the body should be able to use more protein during bulking periods, because more muscle is being built and a lot of other nutrients are ingested that may enable more protein to be used. The only people that may actually need more protein than 0. Androgen or growth hormone users definitely fall into this category, but I don’t exclude the possibility that some adolescents do too. If you reach peak testosterone production while still growing (in height), your unusually high levels of growth hormone and testosterone might increase your protein requirements. There’s no research to support it. Those rare individuals with amazing bodybuilding genetics could also qualify, but unless your father happens to be a silverback gorilla, you are most likely just like other humans in this regard. The 1g/lb Myth’s Origin. Why is it then that everybody says you need to consume 1g/lb? Aside from the facts that there don’t need to be any good reasons for why people believe in a myth, that myths tend to perpetuate themselves via conformism and tradition, and that the fitness industry is flooded with myths, here are some plausible grounds for the . Steroids enable you to assimilate far more protein than you’d normally could. There are so many studies showing protein is good for you, it’s hard not to think more of it is even better. There are actually several industry- sponsored studies showing absolutely miraculous benefits of consuming more protein (see for example the studies by Cribb). The excess will simply be used as energy. However, protein sources tend to be expensive compared to other energy sources and variety generally beats monotony with regards to your health, so satiety and food preferences are the only reasons I can think of why somebody would want to overconsume protein. Take Home Messages. This already includes a mark- up, since most research finds no more benefits after 0. Have a look at the Bayesian PT Course. Click here to see the scientific references. References. Effect of protein intake on strength, body composition and endocrine changes in strength/power athletes. Hoffman JR, Ratamess NA, Kang J, Falvo MJ, Faigenbaum AD. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. Dec 1. 3; 3: 1. 2- 8. Tarnopolsky, M. D., Chesley, A., Phillips, S., & Schwarcz, H. Evaluation of protein requirements for trained strength athletes. Journal of Applied Physiology, 7. Macronutrient content of a hypoenergy diet affects nitrogen retention and muscle function in weight lifters. Walberg JL, Leidy MK, Sturgill DJ, Hinkle DE, Ritchey SJ, Sebolt DR. Aug; 9(4): 2. 61- 6. Protein requirements and muscle mass/strength changes during intensive training in novice bodybuilders. Lemon PW, Tarnopolsky MA, Mac. Dougall JD, Atkinson SA. Aug; 7. 3(2): 7. 67- 7. Influence of protein intake and training status on nitrogen balance and lean body mass. Tarnopolsky MA, Mac. Dougall JD, Atkinson SA. Jan; 6. 4(1): 1. 87- 9. Dietary protein for athletes: From requirements to optimum adaptation. Phillips SM, Van Loon LJ. Suppl 1: S2. 9- 3. Protein and amino acid metabolism during and after exercise and the effects of nutrition. Hartman, J. R., & Phillips, S. Resistance training reduces whole- body protein turnover and improves net protein retention in untrained young males. Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism, 3. Moore, D. Resistance training reduces fasted- and fed- state leucine turnover and increases dietary nitrogen retention in previously untrained young men. Journal of Nutrition, 1. Effects of exercise on dietary protein requirements. Dec; 8(4): 4. 26- 4. Effects of high- calorie supplements on body composition and muscular strength following resistance training. Rozenek R, Ward P, Long S, Garhammer J. J Sports Med Phys Fitness. Sep; 4. 2(3): 3. 40- 7. Increased protein maintains nitrogen balance during exercise- induced energy deficit. Pikosky MA, Smith TJ, Grediagin A, Castaneda- Sceppa C, Byerley L, Glickman EL, Young AJ. Mar; 4. 0(3): 5. 05- 1. Dietary carbohydrate- to- fat ratio: influence on whole- body nitrogen retention, substrate utilization, and hormone response in healthy male subjects. Mc. Cargar LJ, Clandinin MT, Belcastro AN, Walker K. Jun; 4. 9(6): 1. 16. Macronutrient Intakes as Determinants of Dietary Protein and Amino Acid Adequacy. S- 1. 59. 6S. Related. Dietaccess. com - Diet Access 1. Body mass index (BMI) is an easy and convenient method to calculate your body fat and your weight in regards to Your height and a measure that can tell you if you are underweight., normal, overweight or obese and how much your weight vary from normal. BMI is a simple and exact number where 2. Because it is an accurate figure it will let know you how much you diverge from the normal. BMI is a measure of your body weight divided by the square of your height, consequently BMI is an estimate of your body fat and not a definite calculation of your bodyfat. As an effect of the simple formula the resulting number ought to be considered a guide of where your body weight is at present. The use of this formula results in a BMI slightly to high for tall people and a little to low for short people, therefore this simple formula doesn't one hundredpercent take into consideration how the body is put together, Consequently give or take 1- 2 BMI units if you are tall or short and one unit if you are normal height, and you are able employ the BMI figure in order to see what is your situation and make use of this as a simple and convenient guideline. If you are 2. 6 - 2. If you are lower than 1. One further factor is the question, what is standard in regards to bodyfat? Nobody really knows, it can just be guidelines and this guideline shifta with time e. BMI for normal has been moved down to 2. BMI calculations: imperial. BMI = Lbs x 7. 03 / inches. BMI = Kg / M2 (Your height in meter squared)There are handy BMI graphs available that are diagrams with weight and height as axis and with underweight, normal, overweight and obese parts marked in the diagram. You simply go in with your weight and height, and locate the area where they cross over. There are also convenient BMI calculators accessible on the internet, where you simply input your weight and height and you have Your BMI right away. BMI calculator online. You can find an easy BMI calculator with a visual gauge that shows your BMI on a scale as well as the exact BMI number. Check out Your BMI with the BMI calculator above (Weight height calculator). Daily Calories Calculator. You'll also find an online calculator for your BMR, You body's Basal Metabolic Rate, how many calories you will need every day to maintain your current weight without special activities. Check out this page Daily Calories Calculator. Calories activity calculator. You will find an online Calories activity calculator on this page that tells you how many calories you burn for special activities. The Truth on How Much Protein You Really Need Per Day to Build Muscle : The IF Life. How much protein do you REALLY need per day to build muscle? Chances are that you may be actually overeating. But how much is enough to help maintain and build muscle? Is there a limit per meal that the body can use? Lets get started with 2 more recent studies that currently have many high protein eating bodybuilding communities panicking. After exercise, participants consumed, in a randomized order, drinks containing 0, 5, 1. Protein synthesis and whole- body leucine oxidation were measured over 4 h after exercise by a primed constant infusion of leucine. APS increased in a dose- dependent manner and also reached a plateau at 2. Leucine oxidation was significantly increased after 2. Ingestion of 2. 0 g intact protein is sufficient to maximally stimulate MPS and APS after resistance exercise. Phosphorylation of candidate signaling proteins was not enhanced with any dose of protein ingested, which suggested that the stimulation of MPS after resistance exercise may be related to amino acid availability. Finally, dietary protein consumed after exercise in excess of the rate at which it can be incorporated into tissue protein stimulates irreversible oxidation. Source: Ingested protein dose response of muscle and albumin synthesis after resistance exercise in young men and here’s another one. This study sought to compare changes in muscle protein synthesis and anabolic efficiency in response to a single moderate serving (1. Mixed muscle fractional synthesis rate was calculated during a 3- hour postabsorptive period and for 5 hours after meal ingestion. A 1. 13- g serving of lean beef increased muscle protein synthesis by approximately 5. Despite a threefold increase in protein and energy content, there was no further increase in protein synthesis after ingestion of 3. Ingestion of more than 3. Source: A Moderate Serving of High- Quality Protein Maximally Stimulates Skeletal Muscle Protein Synthesis in Young and Elderly Subjects; Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Volume 1. Issue 9, Pages 1. So according to the research above we are seeing that muscle protein synthesis maxes out after a meal at 2. More Protein Does Not Mean More Muscle. While protein is of course essential to building up muscle, that doesn’t necessarily mean that just eating more and more guarantees bigger muscles. So how much do we really need in the first place? Well here’s some numbers for you: The RDA (recommended dietary allowance) for protein is 0. Or I have also seen advised that women need at least 4. NSCA (National Strength and Conditioning Association) recommends that for active people ,endurance and strength training, a higher intake is advised at around 0. Note that most of these “body weights” for calculating protein are more based on “ideal” (or even “fat free”) weight. These are interesting numbers and much lower than what you may hear out there. You can see that with more activity, then the recommended amount of protein will increase. What is also important to remember that the overall calorie intake is also increasing with activity level. So in essence, while the amount of protein may increase the % of protein per daily calories may actually be the same (or less). Just something to keep in mind, as calories also matter. Intermittent Fasting and Protein Intake. Well if you look at the info above where only 2. IF’ers who eat less number of but larger meals? Are we going to lose all our muscle when we fast and only eat 2- 3x a day? Of course by now many who IF already know that is not true. But it does call into question about “needing” 5- 6 meals of 2. As much as every supplement company would love us all to believe that we need a 2. Here’s a little outtake from Dr Eades on his blog comments (#2 to be precise) about protein turnover and IF that is very enlightening: I don’t think IF would affect muscle mass much at all. If you go without food for a long period of time, say, several days, your metabolic system goes after your muscle mass to convert the protein stored there into the glucose you need to keep your blood glucose normal. This doesn’t happen in the short term. All the protein structures in the body draw from and add to the amino acid pool. When muscle breaks down the individual amino acids go into the pool from where they’re harvested by the system that converts them to glucose. When new muscle is made, the amino acids used to construct the muscle protein are drawn from the amino acid pool. One of the contributors to the AA pool is enzymes that are no longer needed and junk proteins that the body is cleansing from the cells. When one is fasting, one of the group of enzymes not really needed is the group of digestive enzymes that would otherwise be employed in digesting food. These enzymes break down and their amino acids enter the AA pool where the muscle can pick them up as needed. Also, during an IF, the body goes into ketosis. I posted a few months back on how ketosis stimulates the process of cellular cleansing by removing junk proteins from the cells. The amino acids from these proteins also enter the AA pool where they can be recycled by the muscle mass. So, even though new protein isn’t coming into the body minute by minute from the diet, there is plenty of substrate there in the AA pool to last until the next meal, which is, at most, only 2. So by the looks of it, actually not eating all day long may help increase you ability to build more muscle on less dietary protein. By using IF and allowing the body to recycle old junk proteins (remember autophagy?) as well as enzymes, the demand for amino acids through diet could be less. Protein Pulsing for Better Anabolic Responses? Here’s another interesting outlook on how the body is actually able to use proteins in a larger meal vs several spread out ones. After a controlled period, 1. Both diets provided 1. Protein accretion and daily protein turnover were determined by using the nitrogen balance method and the end product method (ammonia and urea) after an oral dose of glycine. Nitrogen balance was more positive with the pulse than with the spread diet. Protein turnover rates were also higher with the pulse than with the spread diet, mainly because of higher protein synthesis in the pulse group than in the spread group. Source: Protein pulse feeding improves protein retention in elderly women; American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. June 1. 99. 9So in this group it seems that when eating a “protein pulsing” style of having 8. While there was no increases in the nitrogen balance or protein turnover/synthesis for the younger group, there was also no disadvantage from the pulsing pattern. Lesson to be learned, eating protein in a pulsing style/larger meal (although through the studies up top would go against it) does not decrease the anabolic factors associated with muscle gain. In fact, as we get older and our anabolic sensitivities/responses start to decline (all downhill from 3. But Post Workout Protein Makes More Muscle . With that in mind, how about the importance of the post workout shake (as we hear that eating right after a workout increases protein synthesis)? But that “microscience” ignores the overall bigger picture on whole body recovery that has us building muscle long after the “post workout” window. Here’s a study to help show that point: Twenty healthy men were studied in the evening after consuming a standardized diet throughout the day. Subjects participated in a 2- h exercise session during which beverages containing both carbohydrate and a protein hydrolysate (C+P) or water only (W) were ingested. During exercise, whole- body and muscle protein synthesis rates increased by 2. During subsequent overnight recovery, whole- body protein synthesis was 1. C+P group than in the W group. However, mean muscle protein synthesis rates during 9 h of overnight recovery did not differ between groups. We conclude that, even in a fed state, protein and carbohydrate supplementation stimulates muscle protein synthesis during exercise. Ingestion of protein with carbohydrate during and immediately after exercise improves whole- body protein synthesis but does not further augment muscle protein synthesis rates during 9 h of subsequent overnight recovery. Source: Coingestion of Carbohydrate and Protein Hydrolysate Stimulates Muscle Protein Synthesis during Exercise in Young Men, with No Further Increase during Subsequent Overnight Recovery; Journal of Nutrition, doi: 1. Confused? Well I’m going to let my buddy Brad Pilon and author of the new ebook “How Much Protein” answer that one: What you are looking at is two different measurements of protein synthesis in the human body. This includes things like your liver, heart, lungs, brain GI Track and your muscles. This measurement does not tell you WHICH part of your body the protein synthesis is happening in, just that it is happening. Most likely this means that the extra protein increased protein synthesis in your liver and gastrointestinal tract, but had no measurable effect on your muscles. So if the point of taking protein before, during, and after your workouts is to build muscle, then the research you quotes seems to say that there would be no additional muscle building effect. When you have the right kind of recovery and still eat enough during the day, it seems the “hype” about the post workout window goes away. Honestly unless you are a hard training athlete who needs immediate glycogen replenishment to train again the next day, trying to intake protein (with carbs) during or right after a workout is not necessary. If people are going to insist on something around workouts, then I would say only a small intake of BCAAs PRE- workout would be most the average person would need. Whether you eat or not immediately after a workout can be up to you, but I wouldn’t base it on some extra muscle building theory. Higher Protein and Weight Loss.
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