Protein
Part 1
I
Didn't Realize How Important Protein Was For Fat
Loss Until I Discovered Something That Blew My
Mind...
The
year was 1992. I had just finished a long cycle
of weight gain whereupon I had moved my bodyweight
up from about 150 pounds to about 215 pounds.
And let me just tell you, it wasn't all muscle!
I hadn't
been all that careful about my diet previously
but I thought I knew pretty well what I was doing.
It was time to lose some of that fat.
The
first thing I did was make the biggest mistake
a dieter can make: in my focus of trying to eat
only low fat foods, I unwittingly and drastically
reduced the amount of protein that I was eating.
The
result? I lost weight and plenty of it. The problem
was, I lost mostly muscle! I was smaller, weaker,
lighter and nearly as fat as I was before. Not
quite the results I was looking for.
In
retrospect, I know exactly what I did wrong and
it's something I'll never do again.
I
FORGOT ABOUT PROTEIN!
Protein
is an extremely important nutrient whether your
goal is to lose fat, gain muscle or just tone
yourself up. It is the main structural nutrient
in your body, making up the bulk of your muscles
and organs. Protein is essential for proper hormone
function and immune system health. Most importantly,
for our purposes, protein is used for building
and repairing muscle tissue.
When
you are trying to lose fat, you reduce your calories.
Unfortunately, your body views fat stores as more
precious than your muscle tissue and will tend
to eat up muscle tissue before it goes to fat
for energy. This physiological adaptation used
to protect our ancestors from famine but works
against us now.
This
is very unfortunate because muscle tissue is a
great calorie-burner. The more muscle you have,
the more calories you burn even when you're doing
absolutely nothing! Protecting your muscle tissue
makes fat loss so much easier, it will amaze you.
Not only that, it will help you keep that fat
off permanently!
What
can you do to protect your muscle tissue?
The
first thing you can do is exercise. Exercise,
especially resistance training, provides a stimulus
for your body that sends it a signal saying "keep
this muscle, you're going to need it."
The
second thing you can do is provide your body with
enough protein. This can be in the form of food
or supplements.
Good
food sources of protein include chicken, fish,
eggs, lean meats, legumes (beans), soy, and dairy
products. Protein supplements are derived from
food sources but are concentrated for convenience
and effectiveness.
How
much protein do you need?
The
standard recommendation for athletes is between
1.2 to 1.7 grams per kilogram of bodyweight per
day (or 0.5 to 0.7 grams per pound of bodyweight
per day), though some research indicates a ratio
as high as 2 grams per kilogram of bodyweight
per day (0.9 grams per pound) is beneficial. This
means if you weigh 150 pounds, you should try
to eat between 75 and 105 grams and up to around
135 grams of protein per day.
Essentially,
you should experiment with your protein intake
to find out what works best for you. As far as
importance in your supplement program goes, I
would rank protein as next in importance to a
good multi-vitamin.
When
I made my first grand attempt at fat loss, I made
the mistake of neglecting protein and it cost
me. Don't make the same mistake I did!
---------------------------------------------------------------
Protein
Part 2
How to Maximize The Results You Get From Your
Protein Powder. Timing Is Everything!
Whether
it be for fat loss or muscle gain, I always recommend
taking a good protein supplement. The reason for
this is simple: it is a convenient way to get
high-quality protein without excess calories.
Be
aware, however, that in no way am I advocating
that you live on protein powder (like the dangerous
Liquid Protein diets that used to be popular)
alone. The key point to understand here is that
a protein supplement is exactly what the name
suggests: a supplement. It should be taken in
addition to a nutritious diet in order to achieve
a certain purpose, in this case increased protein
intake.
Protein
powders and protein bars can also be used as meal
replacements on occasion, especially when you
are on the go. They are far more nutritious than
a fast food meal and more convenient.
The
most popular and highest quality protein powder
is whey protein. Whey is very digestable and is
used efficiently in the body.
You
can maximize the effects you get from your protein
supplement simply by knowing exactly when to take
it. Here is a list of the when, why and how of
effective protein supplementation, ranked in order
of importance.
1.
Immediately After A Workout
If
you only take protein once per day, this is the
absolute best time to take it. Immediately after
you finish your workout, your body needs raw materials
to rebuild and recover with. If you don't supply
the raw materials through eating, your body will
break down muscle from elsewhere in your body
in order to rebuild the damaged areas. This is
very counterproductive as you can well imagine.
By
taking in some protein (20 to 30 grams or so)
within minutes after exercise, you provide your
body with the raw materials it needs to recover
without breaking down it's own muscle tissue.
2.
An Hour After A Workout
About
an hour following a workout, your body has settled
down from the excitement and is ready to really
start rebuilding. The protein that you took in
immediately following the workout has been metabolized
and your body is looking for more. Another protein
shake at this time is a good way to help speed
recovery. Try to take in another 20 to 30 grams
about an hour after working out.
3.
First Thing In The Morning
Immediately
upon waking, or as soon after that as you can
manage, take a scoop of protein powder. Your body
has just been through an (approximately) 8 hour
fast and is hungry for nutrients. Feed your body!
Protein
powder is more quickly assimilated than solid
food and gets into your muscles faster. This protein
shot gives your metabolism a boost, which can
help with fat loss. Be sure to follow it with
a good breakfast, of course.
4.
Last Thing At Night
Prepare
your body for the long overnight fast by giving
it a little something to work with. A good combination
for this purpose is to mix a scoop of whey protein
in with a small glass of milk.
Whey
is what's known as a "fast" protein,
meaning that it's digested quickly, while milk
protein (casein) is what's known as a "slow"
protein, meaning it's digested relatively slowly.
At night, you want your protein to be metabolized
slowly so that your body gets a more even supply
over the course of the night. By mixing "fast"
and "slow" proteins, you get the benefits
of the higher-quality whey with the slower digestion
time of the milk.
5.
In-between Meals
A quick
protein shake can be a great snack in between
meals. It helps keep your body supplied with protein
all day long. This is especially useful if you
tend to have long periods of time in-between meals.
It could mean the difference between losing muscle
and building or keeping muscle!
6.
With Meals
Taking
a protein supplement with meals is a handy way
to increase the protein content of a meal. This
is perfect for when you ake
a meal that is somewhat low in protein.
7.
In The Middle Of The Night
This
is a trick that bodybuilders sometimes use in
order to keep their muscles supplied with protein
throughout the night. Keep a pre-mixed protein
shake right beside your bed. Although some trainers
have been known to set alarms to wake up to drink
it, I prefer to have it there waiting just in
case I wake up, but I don't try to wake up on
purpose. If I don't wake up, it's right there
ready for me to drink first thing in the morning!
This strategy is more targeted for muscle growth
rather than fat loss.
WARNING!
Never
drink a protein supplement immediately before
working out!
Some
people do this thinking that it will give them
an energy boost or give them a head-start for
post-workout recovery. Basically, all it does
is sit in their stomach and bloat them up. Valuable
blood that should be going to working muscles
gets sent to the digestive system to try and digest
it. The same warning goes for taking protein during
a workout. Don't do it!
By following these protein-intake recommendations,
you will increase the effectiveness of your supplementation.
Even if you choose to take advantage of only one
or two of these timing techniques, you will certainly
see an improvement in your recovery ability.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Protein
Part 3:
The Best Protein Powder and How To Get It Dirt
Cheap!
Without
a doubt, whey protein is king when it comes to
protein quality and digestability. Ironically,
whey used to be considered a useless by-product
of cheesemaking and was just dumped into ponds
as waste!
There
are two main classifications of whey protein,
which are essentially based on how processed the
whey is. The two forms are whey isolate and concentrate.
The major difference between the two is that whey
isolate is more processed and is thus a purer
source of whey. Whey concentrate is still a very
high quality protein however.
If
you have the money to spend, whey isolate is the
higher quality protein. If you're looking to get
the most protein bang for your buck, I'm going
to let you in on a little secret:
Whey
concentrate is very nearly as good as isolate
and is a whole lot cheaper!
I would
compare it to driving a sports car. Imagine whey
protein as the Ferrari of protein. It is a top-quality
protein and a top-quality car. If you put a manual
transmission into that Ferrari, you are going
to get more performance out of it. This is what
happens with whey isolate as compared to whey
concentrate. Whey concentrate is your basic Ferrari,
while whey isolate is your souped-up Ferrari.
Click
here to go to my preferred
online supplement store now!
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