Protein

pinksultana

How important is protein after a workout? i hear lots of people on here talking about powered protein shakes or chocolate milk after excercise...I dont have any protein specifically after excercise, although have plenty in my meals and snacks. Im a little unsure of the purpose of powdered protein, or is this for bulking up muscles or what??
Is it something the every-day type of weight-loss attempting person should be having, should I be worrying about it now, or closer to my goal when im tonigh up when the majority oif the fat is gone, or is it just for like hardcore weight lifiting bulked up hulkmen?

any info would be appreciated

xxPINK

SHBoss1673

There's a lot of hype over protein. The truth is, if you eat anywhere from 18 to 30% of your calories from protein and do cardio for a majority of your exercise, that's plenty. The body can only use so much at any one time, it will use a little extra (a LITTLE) when you are building muscle, I.E. after weight training, but not a LOT extra, and protein is also used for the creation of other functions as well. But generally, you can gain fat by eating too much of any of the 3 macro nutrients (fat, carbs, or protein) as a whole. by that I mean, it doesn't matter which nutrient you take in too much of, if you go over your total calories burned for a day, you ARE adding weight and usually fat to your body, whether you go over by eating protein, fat, or carbs doesn't matter.

Certain age groups and specific body types can handle more protein than others, but in general, if you're over 15% you're probably all right. Tweaking the percentages is a process that we all need to go through to get it exactly right, but that's an individual thing. Eating more protein doesn't make you "bulk up", in fact, protein without the necessary carbohydrates in the body will do very little for your muscles. In the absence of carbohydrates, with both muscle and energy needs, the body will use protein for energy first. So you need carbs to release those carbs to build, repair, and strengthen muscles. A 2 to 1 ratio of carbs and protein immediately after a hard weight training session is what is generally recommended.

pinksultana

Thanks heaps for that Banks, thats brilliant. A lot of people on these boards have said over time that ging over on your protein allowance within your calories is fine and not to worry, but your saying that it should be pretty much spot on or a little bit over the allowance?? (sorry im a bit slow on the uptake)

sjmay

Thanks heaps for that Banks, thats brilliant. A lot of people on these boards have said over time that ging over on your protein allowance within your calories is fine and not to worry, but your saying that it should be pretty much spot on or a little bit over the allowance?? (sorry im a bit slow on the uptake)

I've been wondering the same thing as well. I almost always go over a little bit on my protein everyday (I have not changed my %s - I am still with the org mfp plan). However, I would like to have a protein shake in the morning with my breakfast (after my run). But, I want it to do more good than bad to me.

I'm just as confused about all this....:ohwell:

SHBoss1673

going over by a few percent really shouldn't make much difference. Especially if you're talking a cumulative amount, like you went over by 2 or 3 grams this meal, then over by another 3 or so in your next meal. As opposed to going over by like 20 or 30 grams all at once (like I said, the body can process only so much at once, the rest, CANNOT be stored for later as protein, it always becomes fat if the body can't immediately use it, this is true for any of the nutrients, this is also why it's recommended to have a balanced diet every meal). There is one exception to this model, people who are on a ketogenic diet (google ketogenic diet) have different needs and requirements of protein and fat, so they are a special case, but generally if you are on a ketogenic diet (no or very very low carb) you know how much you should have anyway so...

pinksultana

Banks = way smart...thanks for the info :drinker:

SHBoss1673

Banks = way smart...thanks for the info :drinker:

HA! no problem, I'm no smarter than anyone else, I just have 20 years of training in analytical problem solving (computer network design and repair will do that too you)

so I know how to take disjointed segments of information and cram them together and make them fit correctly, that's all this nutrition thing is, it's a puzzle that only fits one way. Which would be easy if that one way was the same for everyone, unfortunately it isn't, everyone has different shaped puzzle pieces so it's a little more of a challange!

bikegirl777

I used to date this hunky body builder. He would always eat after lifting weights, not necessarily tons of protein, just something healthy. He said he always took his supplements after a workout, with the idea that his muscles needed water and nutrients right then to recover and grow.

I still take vitamins after a workout, even though that hunky boy has moved on.

pinksultana

I was never good at puzzles....id always try to force the chicken into the cow shape and chuck a sadder if it wouldnt go in :happy: ....needless to say I have a looong road ahead to get my head around this difficult nutrition puzzle

thumper44

Thanks heaps for that Banks, thats brilliant. A lot of people on these boards have said over time that ging over on your protein allowance within your calories is fine and not to worry, but your saying that it should be pretty much spot on or a little bit over the allowance?? (sorry im a bit slow on the uptake)

Banks can we go into this a little deeper?
Please correct me if I'm wrong.

MFP starts us off at 55% carb 15% protein and 30% fat.

So when Pink said that above about people saying it's ok to go over in protein but within calories.
I'm assuming the ratio might be similiar to someone doing 40%C 30%P 30%F or 45%C 30%P 25%F or 50% 25% 25%.

going over by a few percent really shouldn't make much difference. Especially if you're talking a cumulative amount, like you went over by 2 or 3 grams this meal, then over by another 3 or so in your next meal. As opposed to going over by like 20 or 30 grams all at once (like I said, the body can process only so much at once, the rest, CANNOT be stored for later as protein

Someone having 15% protein at 1200 calories is 45grams of protein.
Someone having 30% protein at 1600 calories (400 exercise added on) is 120grams of protein.

So, isn't this flexible to the person who is at 15% protein and has a bit of leeway to go over in protein?

SHBoss1673

I used to date this hunky body builder. He would always eat after lifting weights, not necessarily tons of protein, just something healthy. He said he always took his supplements after a workout, with the idea that his muscles needed water and nutrients right then to recover and grow.

I still take vitamins after a workout, even though that hunky boy has moved on.

your hunky guy was right. The first hour or so after you weight train is when the body most desparately needs the carb/protein combination. Carbs to keep the body fueled during it's heightened metabolic state, and protein to help build muscle tissue. NOTE, this is one of the few times that I recommend a relatively small amount of simple (processed) carbs, because the body is craving fuel NOW, and it will use it. The other time is right after a really hard cardio workout that lasts an extended period, like after a competetive 15K run or something (5K is too short to deplete most people's glycogen levels). I.E. when you work out at about sustained 80% max heart rate or higher for an hour or more.

SHBoss1673

Banks can we go into this a little deeper?
Please correct me if I'm wrong.

MFP starts us off at 55% carb 15% protein and 30% fat.

So when Pink said that above about people saying it's ok to go over in protein but within calories.
I'm assuming the ratio might be similiar to someone doing 40%C 30%P 30%F or 45%C 30%P 25%F or 50% 25% 25%.

going over by a few percent really shouldn't make much difference. Especially if you're talking a cumulative amount, like you went over by 2 or 3 grams this meal, then over by another 3 or so in your next meal. As opposed to going over by like 20 or 30 grams all at once (like I said, the body can process only so much at once, the rest, CANNOT be stored for later as protein

Someone having 15% protein at 1200 calories is 45grams of protein.
Someone having 30% protein at 1600 calories (400 exercise added on) is 120grams of protein.

So, isn't this flexible to the person who is at 15% protein and has a bit of leeway to go over in protein?

all of those ratios are acceptable amounts IMHO, but each would be better for different people at different stages, generally, more cardio means more carbs, and more HIIT type cardio means you can up your protein a bit, so a high HIIT training regimen would probably mean something like 45/30/25 (carbs/protein/fats). But again, tweak it as needed to find the right balance for you.

to the flexibility, correct. there is some leeway there, I would say 15% is good for someone who is only dieting, as you increase your exercise amount and durations then protein % should rise.

Fieldsy

When I hit my macros 40%p 35%c 25%f I seem to do the best on my diet. I workout 6x a week

I do think I am getting a little more protein than I need, but this macro split keeps me fulfilled.

smadag1

bump