How Much Protein Do You Need?

Whether you’re following an exercise programme to improve body composition or increase sports performance, you probably are aware of the crucial role nutrition plays in helping you achieve your goals. If your desire is to lose fat and increase muscle tone, about 70-80% of the results will be down to eating the right things, at the right time. This is why they say that abs are made in the kitchen, and anyone who’s ever undergone a body transformation will confirm it.

Protein may be the most important macronutrient in your diet, whether your primarily goal is fat loss or muscle building. So how come mainstream nutrition and government guidelines still fail to recognize it? 2007 report by the World Health Organization on 'Protein and Amino Acid Requirements in Human Nutrition' suggests that 0.83g of protein per kg of body weight should be ample for a healthy individual. So how come weight training enthusiasts swear by 1.5g per pound of bodyweight, which equates to 3.3g per kg? After all, anyone with a great physique and good health must be doing something right. Also I can confirm myself, that it’s the minimum amount of protein I consume daily, feeling great and achieving good results despite not having the best genetics to be a fitness model.

Protein will serve you a dual role in changing your body composition. It is as important for body fat reduction as it is for muscular gains. In regards to body fat reduction, protein has a specific dynamic action on the metabolism which means that when you ingest protein, your metabolic rate is elevated higher and remains elevated longer than when you ingest either fats or carbohydrates.

One of the big reasons why protein is so important for fat loss is the huge amount of calories it takes just to digest it. Thermic effect of food is described as the energy expended by our bodies in order to consume and metabolize food. Protein requires the greatest expenditure of energy, with estimates ranging as high as 30 percent. This means you will burn up to 30 percent of the calories in the protein you consumed merely to digest. When it comes to other macronutrients, it takes only about 4-7 percent of the calories consumed to digest fat and carbs.

Another important thing is – what kind of training do you do, and how much? If you’re following a serious weights programme training hard 4-5 times per week, then you need much more protein to recover the muscle fibres you’ve been breaking down, comparing to someone who’s sedentary. Mainstream nutrition guidelines really are for the average person. The average person is Homer Simpson... sitting on their backside all day, having a Pret sandwich for lunch, drinking beer, and 30% bodyfat.

It’s not always convenient to carry your weekly shopping from the supermarket, and it can also get quite expensive. I use MuscleFood website to order high quality lean meats, healthy oils, nuts etc. at a great price, and also to save time when doing my food shopping. Check out their free steak offer, and here is a great stack of chicken breast, egg whites and whey protein.