Protein Intake; Why, How Much, How Often, and What Kind?

I generally try to derive some inspiration for these posts from my day-to-day interaction with my clients. Recently a client wanted some more in-depth explanation about protein supplementation and I felt that since I talk so much about it, a new post was warranted.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

Protein is vital macronutrient that is important for growth and repair of tissues, maintenance of muscle structure, and the creation of several important enzymes (i.e. digestive enzymes) and hormones like insulin. Protein can also be used as a source of energy if need be. While proper protein intake is important for all people, it becomes even more vital to those engaging in a workout regimen due to their increased need for tissue repair and growth. When you engage in resistance training you are basically causing small tears in your muscle fibers. As these tears repair themselves they do it in a way that the new fibers are thicker and stronger than before. Protein aids in this repair and helps improve muscle recovery.

HOW MUCH SHOULD I GET?

The Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for adults with respect to protein is 0.8 g/kg of body weight, however when participating in a weight training program those needs are increased. The National Strength and Conditioning Association recommends 1.5 -2.0 g/kg of body weight per day. This range reflects the needs of those participating in a moderate strength program vs. those participating in a more vigorous program. *As a quick aside, if you are not sure how many kg you weigh, simply divide your body weight in pounds by 2.205*

When you participate in a workout program you must also be aware of proper pre and post-workout protein consumption in order to maximize your hard work in the gym. Pre-workout you want to get a good source of protein and carbohydrates. This will provide you with more energy as well as aid in minimizing muscle damage. Post-workout you want get that same combination of carbs and protein, but in a greater dose. Post workout protein consumption is even more vital that pre-workout. Immediately after you are done with your last set of exercise your muscles are very receptive to nutrient uptake, like little sponges waiting to absorb whatever is provided to them. It is at this time you need to take advantage of this 30-60 minute window by providing your muscles with a good source of protein as well as a simple carbohydrate source to also aid in replenishing glycogen stores to provide energy at your next workout. The post-workout consumption of this protein and carbohydrate mix is so important that Jeffrey Volek, Ph.D., R.D., a nutrition and exercise researcher at the University of Connecticut, says "If you're lifting weights and you don't consume protein, it's almost counterproductive".

HOW OFTEN SHOULD I CONSUME PROTEIN?

In addition to the amount of protein you consume per day, thought must also be given to when you are consuming it. Daily protein intake should be spread over the course of your three main meals as well as snacks so that you are in a state of protein synthesis all day. I find that most clients only have a high protein intake at dinner, but the issue with that is your body can only utilize so much protein at once. A study done at the University of Texas found that consuming 90 grams of protein at one meal provides the same benefit as eating 30 grams, thus effectively making the other 60 grams a waste.

As an example, if a 200lb man were to follow the 1.5 to 2.0 g/kg rule that would equal 136-181g of protein per day. Spread over the course of six meals, he would consume approximately 23-30g of protein per meal.

With respect to pre and post-workout protein and carbohydrate consumption research generally says you want to aim for at least a two-to-one ratio of carbs to protein. For example, consume 40 grams of carbs and 20 grams of protein.
And despite what you may have read out there, consuming increased amounts of protein will not damage your kidneys, in absence of any pre-existing conditions of course. "Taking in more than the recommended dose won't confer more benefit. It won't hurt you, but you'll just burn it off as extra energy," says Mark Tarnopolsky, M.D., Ph.D., who studies exercise and nutrition at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario

GOOD SOURCES OF PROTEIN

Proteins are made up of compounds called amino acids. There are 20 different amino acids classified as essential and non-essential. Essential amino acids are those that cannot be synthesized by the body and thus need to be consumed in your diet. A complete protein, mostly from animal sources, contain all the essential amino acids. An incomplete protein, mostly from plant-based sources, has only some of the essential amino acids, and thus needs to be combined with other incomplete proteins in order to consume all the essential amino acids. For example, while rice alone and beans alone are incomplete proteins, by combining them, you now have a complete protein source. Complete sources of proteins include things such as:

• Meat
• Fish
• Dairy products (milk, yogurt, whey)
• Eggs

Incomplete protein sources include:

• Nuts & seeds
• Legumes
• Grains
• Vegetables

Again going back to pre and post-workout protein consumption there are some things to be aware of. Due to the time needed for the body to digest and utilize whole-food sources of protein, these are often not optimal for your pre and post-workout meals. Instead, a better option is supplementing with protein powder. Whey protein powder, which is derived from milk, is a fast-digesting, high-quality protein that the body can utilize rapidly pre and post-workout. "It appears in your bloodstream 15 minutes after you consume it," Volek says. This is important when you remember that you only have a small window to supply your muscles with that much needed protein after your workouts for maximum benefit. 

I hope you have found this post insightful and can use it as a way to maximize you growth and potential in the gym. You put in the hard work and effort, so make sure you are following these guidelines to make it all worth it. Until next time! - Aaron

References:

1) http://www.menshealth.com/nutrition/protein-facts

2) http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/much-protein-required-weight-lifter-2062.html

3) http://www.builtlean.com/2012/10/03/complete-vs-incomplete-protein-sources/

4) http://www.active.com/nutrition/articles/get-enough-protein-post-workout

Weight Loss....is it Really That Complicated?

As a trainer I am always answering client's questions regarding weight loss. With an ever growing array of diets and programs out there, my clients often believe that weight loss is some complicated formula that they will never truly understand. The truth of the matter however is that in its most simple form, weight loss is really just basic math. 

The human body requires energy to sustain life. Humans provide this energy in the form of food and drink, or more accurately the calories in that food and drink. Even if you did nothing but lie in bed all day, your body still needs energy to perform its most basic functions such as breathing, circulation, and maintaining organ function. The amount of energy needed for these functions is called your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). BMR is influenced by several factors including age, gender, and body size. Younger people need more energy daily vs. older people, as do males vs. females, and larger people vs. smaller people. For those of us who don't lie in bed all day (which I really hope you don't), these energy requirements are increased dependent upon your activity level.

You may be asking, well how does this relate to me losing weight. As I said earlier weight loss, and conversely weight gain, is just simple math. When we consume more calories than our body requires in a day, we will be in a calorie excess. The human body, being as smart as it is, will convert these extra calories to fat to be stored for later use and you will gain weight. When we consume less calories than we need in a day we put ourselves in a calorie deficit and your body will break down its existing fat stores and gets the energy needed from that and you will lose weight. It's as simple as that. 

In order to lose one pound of fat per week we need to be in a deficit of 3500 calories per week, or 500 calories per day. As I said earlier physical activity also influences energy requirements of the body. People who are more active (and I don't just mean exercise) will burn more calories in a day. I usually recommend to my clients who want to lose weight to cut 250 calories from their eating, AND to burn 250 calories through exercise, thus meeting the 500 calorie a day deficit needed to lose one pound a week. Be careful however of cutting calories too drastically as this can slow metabolism and actually make it harder to lose weight. The American College of Sports Medicine warns that calorie levels should never drop below 1200 calories/day for women or 1800/day for men.

So as I said, its all just basic math; calories in vs. calories out. One thing I make all my clients do is download the LoseIt app. It is a food journal and calorie counter that will make you more aware of what you are consuming because as I always explain to them, you can't put yourself into a safe calorie deficit, if you aren't aware with what you are putting in to begin with.The app will also help calculate your basic energy needs, but if you don't want to use that there are other internet programs that can do the same thing  such as MyPyramid.gov. These calculators use your age, weight, height, gender, activity level, and other factors to determine your personal energy needs.

I hope this post helps demystify weight loss a little for you and can help you on your way to a healthier weight and life. - Aaron

Basic Rules to Making a Lifestyle Change in Diet

When dealing with new clients the topic of diet always comes up. I am astonished time after time at how off base many people in the public are when it comes to diet. Fads and gimmick diets have everyone looking for the next big thing to melt off pounds. Well let me tell you....WEIGHT LOSS TAKES WORK. There are no magic pills. You pay your dues with sweat and tears and sacrifice and you come out better on the other side for it. In honor of all those shitty diets out there I am going to give you my rules to help make your lifestyle change in diet go as smoothly as possible. By the way, notice I didn't just say diet? I said a lifestyle change. If you are truly ready to lose the weight that is how you need to think of this. It isn't a diet. Diet to me are synonymous with temporary. This type of change needs to be permanent.

1. EAT 4-6 TIMES PER DAY. This will help to boost your metabolism so you will be burning calories throughout the day as well as keeping your blood sugar stable. Make sure to eat within one hour upon waking up and every 2-3 hours thereafter. 

2. COMBINE CARBOHYDRATES AND PROTEINS WITH EVERY MEAL. This combination in the right proportion (60/40) will not be as easily stored as fat and will be easier for your body to digest. Keeping your carbohydrate levels up is important to make sure you have the energy to get through the day.

3. DO NOT AVOID FATS. Fats are a vital part of good health. Avoid consuming too much fat in one sitting as it is hard for the body to process and may lead to some stomach discomfort. Keep fats listed to good sources such as avocado, nuts, olive oil, and reduced fat dairy.  Avoid full fat dairy products and heavy creams and sauces.

4. EXERCISE PORTION CONTROL. I cannot stress this one enough. Our portions in the US are out of control!  Get into the habit of actually looking at the label and see what the calories are per serving and also what a serving actually is.

5. BE ACCOUNTABLE AND LOG WHAT YOU EAT. Knowing what you are putting into your body is an easy way to start reducing caloric intake. You can’t cut your calories if you don’t know how many you are consuming in the first place.

6. HYDRATE PROPERLY.  A total of 6-8 cups per day.  An additional 8 oz for every 15 minutes of exercise. More in hotter weather or if wearing heavier clothes.

7. PLAN MEALS IN ADVANCE. This will make it much easier to stick to the 4-6 meal rule. Cooking meals in bulk and dividing them into single serve Tupperware makes it easy to grab and go before you leave the house for the day. Also remember to plan snacks. Nuts, fruit, and protein bars can be a quick and easy way to squeeze in a meal.

8. KEEP YOUR GOALS IN MIND. The exercise is always the easier of the two, yet diets account for 65-80% of failures in life changes.   Every time you want to cheat on your diet or skip a workout remember why you decided to make this change. If you are not happy with yourself or your look then do something about it and stick to your goals!

The Skinny on Fats

 The 80’s will be remembered for a lot of things. Big hair, Spandex, and horrible makeup jobs are a few things that immediately come to mind for me. The 80’s can also be remembered as the decade when Americans started to pay closer attention to their health, weight, and fitness. Steroids ran rampant, places such as Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig grew in popularity, and, with hopes of slimming their collective figures, America became obsessed with the fat-free trend. Food companies recognized this “fat phobia” and flooded the market with fat-free foodstuffs ranging from cookies to chips, many of which are still produced today.  On the surface this may seem all well and good, but any gourmet can tell you that fat in food equals flavor and if these companies remove fat, they have to replace it with something to keep the food palatable. For food companies the answer is easy, replace the fat with sugar and other simple carbohydrates. Let me give you an example; next time you are at the supermarket look at the difference between the reduced fat and regular peanut butter. You will see that the regular peanut butter has more fat (obviously), but you will also notice that the reduced fat has more carbohydrates and sugar. Swapping fats for sugar makes zero sense and it can be argued that altering food in this way is actually fueling America’s obesity epidemic.

What can’t be argued however is that fat is a vital and essential part of our diet. Fats are integral to forming the very cells that make up our entire body. Fats are also needed to produce various hormones, to absorb essential vitamins (A, D, E, K), and to provide high-density energy to the body. A diet that is deficient in the needed amount of fat can experience all sorts of ill effects ranging from hair, skin, and nail conditions to mental and hormonal disturbances.

We know that fats can be good, but we also know all too well that fats can be bad. There is a mountain of evidence that links certain high-fat diets to heart attacks, cancers, and diabetes. Not all fats contribute to these diseases so it is important that we know what fats we should consume and what fats we should avoid.

Polyunsaturated Fats

Polyunsaturated fats are important because they can help to lower cholesterol. However they lower all forms of your cholesterol including HDLs, which is considered your “good” cholesterol. Polyunsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature. A variety of oils contain polyunsaturated fats including cottonseed and corn oils. Seafood is a good source of polyunsaturated fats as well as being high in protein.

Monounsaturated Fats

Monounsaturated fats will also help lower blood cholesterol, but unlike polyunsaturated fats, they do not lower HDL-cholesterol. Monounsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature and there are many natural foods that are high in monounsaturated fats including: olives, olive oil, canola oil, peanuts, peanut oil, almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, cashew nuts, macadamia nuts, pistachio nuts, and avocados.

Saturated Fats

Saturated fats come mainly from animal products but are also found in tropical plant oils such a coconut and palm oil. Saturated fats are usually solid or firm at room temperature. Diets which are heavy in consumption of saturated fats have been linked with many diseases including heart disease. Stay away from tropical oils and fatty cuts of meats including beef, pork, and go easy on the egg yolks.

Trans Fats

Trans fatty acids or trans fat is a byproduct of hydrogenation, a process where unsaturated fats are combined with hydrogen to make them more saturated and thus more stable at room temp. Trans fats are the bad fats that I mentioned earlier as they raise your body’s cholesterol levels and increase your risk of disease.  Many fast foods and processed food are high in trans fat to aid in prolonging shelf life. In short consume little to no trans fat.

Recommended Daily Intake

While individual needs for daily fat intake can vary drastically, the following are general recommendations that should suffice for your average population: 1) daily fat intake should be about 30% of your diet. 2) Around 10% should be from saturated sources 3) with the remaining 20% coming from unsaturated sources. If you have special considerations such as the need to compete in high level athletics or a condition such as high cholesterol you may want to consult with your physician or a registered dietician for more specific guidelines.

Remember to get the majority of your fats from whole food sources while avoiding foods high in saturated fats. Avoid trans fats at all costs. Not only will having a diet made of the proper ratios of fats make you healthier, but it will also make you feel fuller longer between meals to help avoid overeating. It’s time for America to get over this phobia and embrace fat as an ally in the battle for good health. 

Spot Reducing....please stop asking me!

As a trainer I have answered a lot of questions for my clients over the years. The number on question I get however sounds something like this: "How do I lose weight from [insert body part here]?". I cannot tell you the frustration that I get trying to answer this question. Infomercials and fad weight loss/exercise plans have the general public believing that it is actually possible to reduce fat from one particular region of the body. I think I have seen just over a million different gimmicks on how to get a slim midsection. It is a million dollar industry. Let me tell you something.....IT IS A LIE! This myth in the fitness industry is known as spot reducing and any trainer worth their reputation knows better than to tell a client that it is possible. Study after study has been conducted to test this "theory" and all say the same thing. It can't be done. Not possible. Don't bother. Knowing what I know it is hilarious to me when I see someone in the gym doing crunch after crunch, killing themselves. And for what I ask? 

Let me explain a little better. Imagine that you have something; anything that has a definite shape to it. You can tell what it is just by the shape of it. (Imagine this object as your abdominals). Now let's say you take that object and cover it with a thick blanket. Then another and another. (this is like fat around your midsection) The object (your abs) are still there, it just can't be seen because of the layers of blankets (fat) over top of it. You can try to emphasize the underlying object as much as you want (which is basically what you are doing when you crunch yourself to death), but without removing the blankets on top (fat) it will be very hard, nay impossible, to make out the shape. 

This analogy is similar to muscle in your body. The muscle is underneath your fat. You can build the muscle as much as you like, but without removing the fat over the top all you end up with is a well built muscle under fat. When you build the muscle it increases in size. When you don't burn the fat over the top the bigger muscle underneath can actually make you look heavier than you really are, especially when it comes to the midsection. Some may ask, "doesn't muscle burn fat?" Yes it does, but the fat loss isn't necessarily from the area over top of that particular muscle. The myth of spot reducing has a person believe that they can target fat loss to one area of the body, but the body is a fickle beast. It loses weight form where it wants to, and my experience has shown me that the midsection is usually the last (and most difficult) place to lose from.  Does this mean it is impossible to attain a nice slim midsection you'd be proud to show off? Absolutely not! What it means is that it will take hard work, exercise, and a clean diet to get there. 

So stop wasting gym time doing things that don't work and focus more on a quality workout that emphasizes calorie burn and cardio. Crunches are fine. They will still build the muscle. Just don't expect to get a six-pack from doing them alone. 

So next time you are watching t.v. at 1:00am and you see a piece of equipment that "promises results" you will know better. Save the 4 easy payments of $19.99 and invest in a gym membership and some lessons with a qualified trainer instead. They will go a lot further in getting you towards your goal than a cheap piece of plastic that is destined for your next yard sale will ever do.