The Truth About Protein

9MM

It has been said that your body can consume 40-50grammes of protein per sitting. Not all protein were created equally however. Different proteins have different bio availabilities. What this means is that those proteins with lower bio availabilities are absorbed slower and less efficiently. Examples of high biological proteins are beef, tuna, chicken, egg whites, venison, salmon, whey etc. Pulse and vegetable protein sources tend to have a lot less protein and protein of a lower quality than sources from meat poultry and fish.

The quality is lower for a couple of reasons one being that vegetables and pulse protein source are an incomplete source of essential amino acids. Essential amino acids include (Alanine, Arginine, Asparagine, Aspartic Acid, Cysteine, Glutamic Acid, Glutamine, Glycine, Histidine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Phenylalanine, Proline, Serine, Threonine, Tryptophan, Tyrosin, Valine)

There are other amino acids found in nature that are not considered essential. Some amino acids are by products of one another and can be produced where the secondary amino acid is lacking, and the primary one is in abundance. This is true of 7 essential amino acids. I will confirm this number at a later date. The other 13 must be consumed to prevent a deficiency of the affected amino acid.

Basically if you didn't already know amino acids are the building blocks of protein. They are essential for growth and repair. They each have a specialized function which I don't have time to go in to here firstly because of the amount of info involved, secondly time constraints, thirdly for something so large I am going to have to do a little research and come up with some nice citation. It will be a learning experience for me and maybe I will bring something new to the table.

Now ask yourself what the primary purposes of bodybuilding are besides looking good. Ask yourself what does it require. It requires a good diet, solid consistent training and plenty of rest. In order to grow you must supply your body with fuel to fire the furnace with a little extra to push your growth to new levels. Ask any bodybuilder worth his salt what the most important nutrient for bodybuilding is and I am pretty sure he will tell you protein.

Any important question of course is how much protein do I need and how often do I need it. Well before one can even attempt to answer such a question a little more information is required such as age, sex, height, activity level etc. Probobaly the best place to start is by using the Harris benedict’s formula. Below is the formula for men.

Harris Benedict’s Formula for Men
BMR = 66 + (13.7 X weight in kilos) + (5 X height in cm) - (6.8 X age in years)

Notes:
1 inch = 2.54 cm.
1 kilogram = 2.2 lbs.

Example of BMR
You are 25 years old
You are 6 feet tall
Your weight is 220 pounds
Your BMR is 66 + (1370) + (914) - (170) = 2180 calories

Harris Benedict’s Formula for Men - STEP 2
To determine your total daily calorie needs, now multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows:

If you are Sedentary - little or no exercise
Calorie-Calculation = BMR X 1.2
If you are Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week)
Calorie-Calculation = BMR X 1.375
If you are Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week)
Calorie-Calculation = BMR X 1.55
If you are Very Active = BMR X 1.725 (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/week)
Calorie-Calculation = BMR X 1.725
If you are Extra Active (very hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training)
Calorie-Calculation = BMR X 1.9
Total Calorie Needs Example
If you are lightly active, multiply your BMR (2180) by 1.375 = 2997
Your total daily calorie requirement is therefore 2997 calories.
This is the total number of calories you need in order to MAINTAIN your current weight.

How Many Calories Do You Need to Lose Weight or Gain Weight
Now you know what your calorie-needs are, find out how many calories you need each day in order to lose or gain weight.
Below is an online calculator

http://www.geocities.com/arelliotness/

Here is the formula for woman

Two Steps to Determine Daily Calorie Needs
First, determine your BMR.
Second, apply the Activity Multiplier.
Harris Benedict’s Formula for Women - STEP 1
BMR = 655 + (9.6 X weight in kilos) + (1.8 X height in cm) - (4.7 X age in years).

Notes:
1 inch = 2.54 cm.
1 kilogram = 2.2 lbs.

Example of BMR
You are 32 years old
You are 5 feet 4 inches tall (162.5 cm)
Your weight is 185 pounds (84 kilos)
Your BMR is 655 + (806) + (291) - (150) = 1602 calories

Harris Benedict’s Formula for Women - STEP 2
To determine your total daily calorie needs, now multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows:

If you are Sedentary - little or no exercise
Calorie-Calculation = BMR X 1.2
If you are Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week)
Calorie-Calculation = BMR X 1.375
If you are Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week)
Calorie-Calculation = BMR X 1.55
If you are Very Active = BMR X 1.725 (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/week)
Calorie-Calculation = BMR X 1.725
If you are Extra Active (very hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training)
Calorie-Calculation = BMR X 1.9
Total Calorie Needs Example
If you are sedentary, multiply your BMR (1602) by 1.2 = 1922
Your total daily calorie requirement is therefore 1922 calories.
This is the total number of calories you need in order to MAINTAIN your current weight.

Maybe you’re trying to lose weight, maybe your trying to gain weigh. Once you have a value follow the relevant link in determining calorific change required.

Calorie Needs to Lose Weight

http://www.weight-loss-i.com/calori...lose-weight.htm

Calorie Needs to Gain Weight

http://www.weight-loss-i.com/calori...gain-weight.htm

A lot of BB suggest increasing protein while trying to lose weight and I see no problem with this. In fact you would be hard pressed to find many people disagreeing with bumping protein for weight loss.

Where you will find the largest divide of opinion is as to how much protein to consume for mantaince or growth. All I can provide here is a few different views and the logic behind them. Somebody builder suggest 4gr of protein are required per pound of b/w. Other suggest as little as 1 gram per pound b/w Currently I am consuming approx 2.5gr per pound b/w. RDA'S are actually much lower something like 0.4 gram per pound b/w. These Rda are for sedentary people though i.e. people who sit on their ass eating curly fries all day.

Bodybuilders needs are much higher because of what we do. You have to remember that weight lifting is a destructive, restructive process. You should be pushing your self hard in the gym and making your muscles work. This results in minute repairs, which require amino acids for repair this, require a regular supply of quality proteins and adequate rest.

Because of this damage you need extra protein for repair. There are also various biological processes going on in your body with regard to energy, substances and survival. Your body has a natural need for survival and has it's own priorities. You are in a way breaking the rules of nature telling your body to grow when it doesn't want to. If you don't eat every three hours your biological clock goes into survival mode and protects it's self from the uncertainty of where the next meal is coming from, by producing catabolic hormones. This is in effect reduces the calorific requirements of the body by breaking down muscle tissue. (Muscle tissue is living so requires calories for survival). This is obviously bad news if you are trying to put on healthy weight.

In the wild it is quite an intelligent forms of survival by reduced muscle mass an animal can reduce overall calorie requirement thus survive longer. In addition it keeps some money in the bank in the form of fat. Fat is inert and is not living tissue so does not increase overall calorific requirements. Gram for gram it has twice the calorific value of proteins and carbs and is used as for calorific supply as a last means of survival.

By eating quality proteins every three hours you are protecting yourself from this process. How much you eat depends on which value you think you need, you will have to make your own mind up on that one. It may require a bit of tailoring on your part to suit your own needs. Don't forget to use the formula above. I have found personally that separating carbs and fats increases my appetite. I have not seen this documented much and is not the norm. Generally this technique is used for people who gain weight relatively easily to tip the balance toward relatively healthier gains. Currently I consume about 800 calories above my what I calculated my maintaince level at. I plan on tweaking this soon as the work I do is quite physical, involving a lot of lifting moving etc. I would recommend that any changes you implement you try them for a minimum of three months. Remember to be honest with your self and plan your meals out. It is very easy to convince your self that you are eating more than you are particularly if you are an ectomorph. By planning meals etc you can see in retrospect if your weight is unchanged since last week that it is because you are not eating enough. I still miss meals and that is sometime that I will have to work on. The point being I have identified the problem, and I know how to fix.

For the ecto's (Don't mind what everyone tells you about ecto's being able to eat whatever you want, you can't get fat. That’s simply not true. I am sure you have seen plenty of guys who are skinny fat. Tiny bone structure with beer belly etc. Okay so you can wolf down a plate of pasta in two minutes maybe that because you forgot to eat anything for the last 24 hr. I am not saying you will put on fat as quickly as others you won't because weight gain in general is more difficult for you. If you are honest with yourself you can see the reasons why. I believe only a minute minority of ectomorph actually consume in excess of what would be considered maintenance without weight gain. The exceptions being thyroid related. The key is consistency. The key being consistency. I will be the first to admit I have a long way to go. But I am 100% confident in what I am saying to you. Remember plan what you are going to eat and eat it. Try not to make exceptions. Following a bodybuilding diet is tough so it is important to allow the occasion cheat meal. Try to limit this to 1-2 cheat meals a week. I personally do not time table my cheat meal, life being unpredictable as it is, I have a cheat meal when thing don’t go plan. Maybe you forgot to pick up your carefully packed lunch before heading out the door to work. Well live with have something from the canteen. Something reasonably healthy mind a mars bar won't cut it.
Get in the kitchen and make your meals the day before. How hard is to mix tuna with some mayo or fry some chicken.

One more piece of advice get in as much whole foods as you can. Protein powder is not a replacement for fresh meat. It should be used in addition to.

Here is the protein I consume in one day.

Half a pound ground beef
2 cans tuna
200gr king prawns
8-egg white
2 chicken breast fillets

In addition I consume protein first thing in the morning, pwo and b4 bed.


Another important point is protein is not digested as easily as carbs or fats so you need to drink at least a gallon of water a day and stock up on antioxidants (vitamin c, vitamin e, saw palmetto, milk thistle) etc. Get in loads of green vegtables as well as your vitamin requirements are higher as well particular the water soluble ones, which I believe you can never have too much of. That’s what the veggies are for. It's not a bad idea to supplement with a quality multi vitamin either.

This has taken me over 3 hours to write so someone better like it. Yep I am a two-finger typer. If you like it hit me for some rep points to show your appreciation.

If you are nice to me I will do a profile on all the amino acids. I know some of the spelling and grammar is off. I am going for something to eat now.

Pheedno

Pretty well written, GM. My take on protein consumption for a bodybuilder lies with percentages in relation to muscle cells. Given that a muscle cell is only 26% actual fiber and the rest is water I don't think it's neccessary to have protein consumption in excess of 30% of the total calories in a day. 6000 calorie diet, 2000 from protien=500g. I eat at 4500 cals a day so I take in 335g a day which is a bit less than 1.5g per/lb of b/w.

I'd also suggest getting your oxygen cycle measured instead of the HB formula. It's margin of error is 30%. I've seen it's innacuracy with quite a few of my clients

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"The secret of discipline is motivation. When a man is sufficiently motivated, discipline will take care of itself."-Albert Einstein

9MM

I agree it is not 100% accurate however it is a good principal. If people are motivated to plan their meals etc. This is an excellent starting point. There are other factors to take in to consideration. This is an excellent starting point. I think if someone use the formula to plan their meal etc with a view of delivering an increase in mass. It should become aparrent fairly quickly if they are eating less than they were before. If they follow this for a month. They will then know how deficent in calories they are and they can revise calories etc.

Re in relation to the margin of error are you suggesting a margin of error of +/30%

or +/- 15%.

I am unfamilure with the oxygen cycle and how to measure it. I am sure I'm not the only one who isn't familure with it.

hicktown

Interesting info. Protein is spelled prot-e-i-n

9MM

Corrected along with the other 200 spelling mistakes.

tdawg

great read...i agree with pheendo on the 1.5 g/ lb.....anyhigher then that i see no addition ebenfit which leads me to thinks its wasted and not digested/used properly

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