Here is a scenario I know you will relate too…
It’s 3:00 P.M. … you haven’t eaten since lunch at noon. You are starting to get hungry… tired… still have 2 more hours of work… and on the verge of being Hangry! Sound familiar?
Haha. Shoot, I am like the guys from the Snickers commercial, not myself when I am hungry.
Not only can going long periods without foods affect your mood (and potentially the mood of those around you haha) but can also slow you down on your journey to your goals!
I am sure by this point you have heard “eat 6 times a day” or “eat every 3 to 4 hours.” That is because there is a good reason for that. Now to be clear, yes I understand there are multiple ways to do nutrition.
Yes, I understand you can get results doing other nutrition plans.
My goal is to briefly outline a proven, effective, widely applicable approach to nutrition that is most commonly used.
HOW MUCH PROTEIN DO I NEED TO BUILD MUSCLE OR LOSE FAT?
In order to maintain an appropriate muscle protein synthesis and work to stay in an anabolic state (where your body is primarily bring carbs and fats for fuel) more consistently throughout the day, to help retain/develop lean toned muscle and cut body fat, you’ll want to make sure you are getting adequate amounts of protein in throughout the day.
This typically means eating 4-6 meals or snacks a day. Shooting for about 20-25 grams of protein, or more at each meal or snack.
The purpose of 20-25 grams of protein is because that is the rough number it takes to activate muscle protein synthesis.
This will help give your body the amino acids it needs to repair itself, and essentially saving muscle tissue from being burned as fuel. Another beneficial thing to note is that, the sooner we can start our day with protein (20-25 grams) the better!
So having a good breakfast, with at least 20-25 grams of protein really is a great way to start the day and work towards your goals!
Ideally, we’d eat all of those as whole food meals, but realistically that can be tough. The good news is, you can use a sustained assimilation protein shake to make sure your body has protein when you need it when you can’t do a meal.
I usually recommend for people to do 3-4 meals and 2-3 protein shakes during the day. If you can, and choose to, you can do all 4- 6 meals with food as well … I just opt for protein shakes 3x a day for convenience – I love to eat, but not so much to cook … nor do I have the time.
WHAT MAKES A PROTEIN SUSTAINED ASSIMILATING?
The simple answer… if it is not an isolate, it falls into this category. If we can get a blended protein (a protein that uses a few high-quality protein sources), great!
Since all proteins are not manufactured equally, to get the highest quality protein source we want to look for 2 things on the label.
- Cross-Flow Micro-Filtrated (use ceramic filters to filter protein out instead of chemicals)
- Low-Temperature Processed (because using excessive heat can denature your protein so it won’t be used by the body effectively for muscle building)
Scary thing is, most companies use chemicals to separate protein and use high heat … Why? Because it is cheaper for them when they are producing massive amounts of protein.
Good news is companies that do low-temperature protein processing will put it on the ingredient label because it’s an expensive process that they use to make a higher quality protein and they want you to know about it. So once again… always check those ingredient labels.
