Protein- How much, and when is best?

Options
Z_I_L_L_A
Z_I_L_L_A Posts: 2,399 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I get so many different opinions about this subject. I want the right amount of protein for my workouts. When is the best time and how much. If I have a rest day do I still eat the same amount of protein? Lost 44lbs. in 3.5 months eating right and doing cardio and weight lifting. Use to powerlift now want to bodybuild some what. Very strong for my body weight and run a 5k on the treadmill 4 times a week(27:50min.),best mile 7:49 min. Was trying to lose fat and build muscle at the same time. Giving you as much info to get a good answer.

SW-270 lbs. 09/26/2011
CW-226 lbs. 01/15/2012
GW-220 then build muscle mass back up. End weight, who knows

Replies

  • HeidiMightyRawr
    HeidiMightyRawr Posts: 3,343 Member
    Options
    I've always heard at least 1g per lb of lean body mass. I'm aiming for 150g at the moment (1g per lb of body weight) as a minimum as I'm trying to maintain as much muscle as I can. This is based on a rest day. If I workout, I eat all my exercise calories and my protein and other macros go up naturally too.

    You can't really lose fat and build muscle at the same time though unfortunately (unless new to lifting, which it doesn't sound like you are) It would probably be best to focus on one and then the other, for example bulking and building muscle/fat then cutting and losing the fat/maintaining the muscle later. This is quite popular in bodybuilding so it sounds like it'd be useful for you.
    I've just finished bulking myself, having gained around 16lbs in 6 months.
  • Z_I_L_L_A
    Z_I_L_L_A Posts: 2,399 Member
    Options
    I'm trying to find the 6pak first and then start focusing on muscle mass alone. I've cut back the cardio to 20 minutes now instead of an hour. My food diary reflects that I made the minimum, but I'm eating a extra meal to make up for my workouts.
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
    Options
    1g-1.5g per lean body weight.
    Eat it any time within 24 hours of working out. <----being snarky!
    Preferably about an hour after you put the weights down.

    Have you tried intermittent fasting?
  • HeidiMightyRawr
    HeidiMightyRawr Posts: 3,343 Member
    Options
    What you're eating now (2190 net) sounds a good amount to lose on then. I would say to eat all the calories you burn back though as I wouldn't advise going much lower than that at your size, if you want to hold onto the muscle you have. It sounds like a lot to eat 3500 when you're losing but if you're burning 1500 through exercise alone you want to really be eating that much or you risk losing muscle with a deficit too big.
  • jsteffen80
    jsteffen80 Posts: 136
    Options
    Check this out and see what you think. http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/calpro.htm

    It seems really high to me... I know I can manage 1g per 10 calories I eat while maintaining other nutrients properly, so in 2500 calories I can get about 250g protein, and that's eating turkey/chicken at two meals, and having 3 protein shake servings throughout the day. I guess if I was in a bulking phase and eating 4000 calories it might be realistic.
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
    Options
    I would check out this thread. It's a lot of information but it should assist you with this:

    http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=121703981


    Cliffs:

    1g/lb lean mass in pro as a minimum
    .35g/lb bodyweight as a minimum

    let me stress: MINIMUM. You should be going over these values but if you don't, no big deal.

    Fill the remainder of your calories with any combination of pro/fat/cho to preference.

    Try to stay in the 10 to 20% range of your TDEE in terms of deficit/surplus.

    I would time your protein intake and meal plan towards personal preference and gym performance.
  • AdAstra47
    AdAstra47 Posts: 823 Member
    Options
    IF you're maintaining your current body weight & composition, using the MFP guidelines for protein is fine.
    IF you're trying to bulk up and/or gain muscle, you should try to eat 1g protein per every lb of LEAN body mass.
    IF you're trying to lose weight, you should try to eat 1g protein per every lb of TOTAL body mass.

    For example, I'm trying to lose weight, so I started out eating over 300g protein per day. Now I'm down to 250g per day.

    My doc says to eat protein & carbs right before a workout, and protein alone right after a workout. Apparently I have a very slow, inefficient metabolism, so doc told me to eat/drink it no more than 10 minutes before the start of my workout. And immediately after I finish a workout. But I don't know how important that is to everyone, that was based on his analysis of my particular metabolism so other people may have more leeway. Everyone's different.
  • Saftlad
    Saftlad Posts: 35 Member
    Options
    I would recommend 1.7g of protein per lb of lean body mass on workout days, and reduce that to 1g per lb on rest days. If you take more than 2g, then you stand a very good chance of eating more than your body can handle.

    Have a post workout shake (pws) containing protein & simple & complex carbs as soon as possible after your weights workout, and no more than 60 minutes, followed by a normal meal after about 2 hours. There's lots of commercially available pws drinks available, as well as recipes you can try online. Usually needs protein powder, rolled oats and some sugar-base (e.g. sucrose/glucose).

    If you do a cardio session only, then there's no benefit of having a PWS as the muscles will not have had the significant stress requiring the extra protein.

    Try to spread your daily protein intake throughout the day, so that the body is able to make best use of it, and not all in one big shot, otherwise your body will either excrete it, or convert it to fats for storage.
  • AdAstra47
    AdAstra47 Posts: 823 Member
    Options
    You can't really lose fat and build muscle at the same time though unfortunately

    This is a myth. My doctor measures my BMI every month, and my fat & water weight consistently go down while my muscle mass has actually increased (only slightly, but it is an increase).

    Here's the deal with protein:
    Not all the calories you eat are really used as calories (energy). Some are used to build muscle, hair, fingernails... there are many uses for protein in the body. But the key thing is that the chemical reaction that burns fatty acids for energy also requires amino acids (protein). The ratio is roughly 3 parts fat to 1 part protein.

    As an example, say I’m eating 2000 calories and my activity level is burning 2200 calories.
    I eat 200 calories in carbs.
    I eat 600 calories in fat.
    I eat 1200 calories in protein.

    Our bodies like to run on carbs, so let's say my body burns the 200 calories of carbs right away. OK, so our total is now:
    Remainder of what I’ve eaten: 600 fat, 1200 protein.
    Energy still needed: 2000 calories.
    My body burns the 600 calories of fat, and because the chemical reaction is 3 parts fat to 1 part protein, that also burns 200 calories of protein. So now we’ve burned a total of 1000 calories.
    Remainder of what I’ve eaten: 1000 protein.
    Energy still needed: 1200 calories.
    Here’s where it gets interesting: all of my remaining calories were protein, but protein can’t be burned for energy all by itself. My body needs to harvest fat from its stores in order to burn the protein.
    So the next calories I burn (again, at three parts fat to one part protein) are 900 calories of stored fat and 300 calories of protein.
    Remainder of what I’ve eaten: 700 protein.
    Energy still needed: 0.
    So we’ve now reached our 2200 calories of energy… but wait, if you look at the protein, we ate 1200 calories of protein but only burned 500 of them.
    The rest of the protein can be used to repair and build muscle & other tissues.
    This is how you can eat a calorie deficit, lose fat, and build muscle all at the same time.

    And before biochemists & nutritionists start to yell at me, yes, I realize this is vastly oversimplified. But it shows you the general idea.
  • Saftlad
    Saftlad Posts: 35 Member
    Options
    Oh how we all wish it were that simple :happy:

    Unfortunately, the body isn't as efficient as it could be. It takes time to mobilise the fat structures and break them back down into the necessary glucose that the body uses - simply put, the body finds it easier to break down the carbs into glucose first, then slightly harder would be the protein, with the fat being taken last :cry:
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
    Options
    This is why I fast.
  • Z_I_L_L_A
    Z_I_L_L_A Posts: 2,399 Member
    Options
    Okay, thanks everybody. Now to figure out my lean body mass....hmmm. I guess thats what I weigh minus the fat. Lean Body Weight (men) = (1.10 x Weight(kg)) - 128 x ( Weight2/(100 x Height(m))2) or LBM- Lean Body Mass = Body Weight – (Body Weight x Body Fat %). But first I'll have to find out my body fat to the tee. Aw crap, theres gotta be a better way. lol
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
    Options
    http://www.wannabebig.com/diet-and-nutrition/is-there-a-limit-to-how-much-protein-the-body-can-use-in-a-single-meal/


    Dont bother concerning yourself with protein portions per meal, see above by Alan Aragon as a good explanation.

Categories