Protein

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Legalchica
Legalchica Posts: 462
in Food and Nutrition
I'm sure this has been asked before but I'm curious. I know a lot of guys who do heavy weight training make sure they get a bunch of extra protein. Is this a necessity? I"m just getting back into weights (lifted while I was in Iraq) but stopped after I started having some issues with my shoulder and back. Aside from the recommended amount is there somewhere I can find out how much I should be getting if I'm trying to build muscle?

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  • digitalsteel
    digitalsteel Posts: 374 Member
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    Some people live by a really high protein diet. It never really seemed to make a difference for me. I know that for most people eating lots of protein may help, but for some people it can be problematic to consume too much. I stick to about 1-1.6 grams per lb of lean mass, for a woman lean mass is usually around 90-110 and for a man 115-145.
  • alyssamiller77
    alyssamiller77 Posts: 891 Member
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    If you're trying to build muscle, you need a couple things (at least from all the reading I've done). First and foremost, you need to be in a calorie surplus. Short of one specific diet plan that I'm aware of that claims to allow you to build muscle while losing fat, the common consensus appears to be that your body will only build muscle if it has excess energy to store.

    Second, you need sufficient protein as this is a commonly neglected building block for muscle mass. The easiest rule of thumb is to eat 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. Research that I've read in a number of clinical studies has shown that the body can only synthesize up to 1.4g of protein per kg of body weight, so that's what I use as a general rule. The other suggestion you'll see is that you get 35% of your daily calories from protein (with protein supplying 4 cal/gram). Any of those should be a good guide for you as you look to build muscle. In reality they all come pretty close to the same values for an average calorie intake.

    Hope that helps.
  • briannaghall
    briannaghall Posts: 24
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    I'm a vegetarian (because its better for weight loss & animals) and I find that veggie burgers with added protein give me a huge kick & usually have less fat which will make your work out all muscle growth rather than fat burning! Plus they're delicious and you don't have the kill cute lil animals for it(:
    Also I eat tons of nuts. I always put mixed nuts in my salads and if I'm craving a snack will grab some.
    &&beans! If you're having mexican night maybe instead of all beef or chicken mix some black beans in with your meat for less fat&&lots of protein and make sure you always have tons of veggies on top to give you that energy needed for working out(:
    Hope this helps
    xoxo
  • deathstarclock
    deathstarclock Posts: 512 Member
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    Muscle is only going to build if the tissue is stimulated properly. You have different types of muscle fibers. The fast-twitch fibers are the larger fibers. Those fibers are the ones that are going to grow much more than slow-twitch fibers. These fiber types also have different energy needs. Energy need is based on the demand created by the muscle's neurons, which is controlled by you.

    Essentially, there needs to be an emphasis on power and weight-load on the exercise being performed.
  • joejccva71
    joejccva71 Posts: 2,985 Member
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    Everyone whether they are training with weights or not should consume the minimum protein macro requirements based on their whichever goals they set for themselves.

    .6g to 1g of protein per lb of lean body mass is sufficient for most people.

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