How Much Protein Should I Eat After Weight Lifting
The answer is 20 30g of protein when you are doing split exercise weightlifting and 40g of protein when you are doing whole-body exercise. Those amounts of proteins are sufficient for muscle growth and strength and can be consumed after weightlifting.
Do you need a protein shake to meet above? No, most of the protein requirements can be readily provided using a balanced diet recommended for weightlifting. However, if you still consider protein supplements, please consider your health too, and always choose the best, high-quality protein supplements. You can check prices of protein supplements on .
The best sources of lean protein are chicken, turkey, eggs, beef, lamb, pork chops, semi-fat milk, fish, and seafood. For vegetarians, eggs will be the best choice and then semi-fat dairy , tofu, cereals, seeds, nuts, legumes.
The generally recommended amount of protein intake for weightlifters is 0.55 to 0.91 grams of protein per pound of body weight daily to build muscle. For example, a person with a weight of 200 pounds needs from 110 to 182 grams of protein per day. This recommendation was published in 2012 by the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition.
In general to increase the muscle size in practice and based on my own and my friends experience the best results gives from 1 to 1.4 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. My advice is to try to work it out what amount of protein is best for you.
How Much Protein Is Enough
According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2015-2020, a male between the ages of 31 and 50 needs about 56 grams of protein, assuming he is eating 2,400 calories a day. And a female between the ages of 31 and 50, who eats 1,800 calories a day needs approximately 46 grams of protein.
To get a better idea of how to calculate your protein needs, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics says that protein should make up 10 to 35 percent of your total calories for the day. And more specifically, the recommended dietary allowance for an average adult is 0.37 grams per pound of body weight.
If you’re active and trying to build muscle, using the 0.37 grams per pound of body weight equation as your baseline can help you determine your needs, especially if you’re consuming a lot of calories. However, once you establish your baseline and factor in your activity level, you may find that you need more than the minimum recommended dietary allowance for protein each day.
Read more:How to Calculate Protein RDA
And What Does Really Happen When You Take Whey Protein Without Working Out
One things for sure, you wont be packing on any muscle. And heres what else, youll probably pick up weight. Guys that workout pick up weight in the muscle area. Youll be putting on weight in the lard area. Its as simple as that really. You might even experience some discomfort or strain in the kidney area. Why is this? The kidneys are design to process the incoming protein and then distribute it.
Guys working out will have also consumed a sufficient amount of carbs which be used to manufacture energy reserves to help replenish and restore the bodys protein reserves. And all excess protein will have been churned out as well. And if youre not working out, your poor kidneys are not going to know what to do with all that excess and unneeded protein that youve crammed in.
You May Like: Low Carb Protein Shake Recipes
Your Hair And Nails Have Looked Better
Super dry hair or brittle nails? Since the structures of your hair, skin, and nails are made up of protein, extreme cases of not-enough-protein can have a very visible impact, according to Nisevich-Bede. Just as the body struggles to maintain muscle mass without enough protein, it struggles to keep up with the constant protein needs of our hair, skin, and nails. The amino acid cysteine is especially important because it provides rigidity to the protein keratin, which makes up your hair and nails, per research published in the Journal of Biochemistry.
Try To Boost Your Metabolism
To make building lean muscles easier, your body has to get rid of stored fats. The best way to do this is to boost your metabolism, improving your bodys ability to burn calories.
A way to do this is to add Omega-3 Fatty acids, green tea, and walnuts to your diet. You can also eat more bell peppers to help you start.
Don’t Miss: Keto Collagen Protein Powder With Mct Oil
Eat Slightly Fewer Carbs
Less activity should mean fewer carbohydrates: “When your body’s active, carbohydrates are used for energy ,” says Bachus. When you’re inactive? Excess carbsjust like excess of any kind of caloriesare stored as fat. Bachus suggests consuming approximately 15 to 25 grams of carbohydrates at each meal and snack.
How Our Muscles Behave
When we are thinking of gaining muscles- we are thinking of voluntary muscles.
These muscles are called voluntary because we can willingly control them to do stuff. Common examples of voluntary muscles in the body include the biceps and shoulders.
Our muscles are built to adapt to the environment that they are exposed to.
Consider two people: one who lives a sedentary lifestyle and the other, who is engaged in manual physical work. Both people will have voluntary muscles, but we will find that the person engaged in manual work has much more developed muscles.
The reason being that this person is exposed to a lot of physical strain. The other person, while not having zero voluntary muscles, will not have as developed muscles.
This brings us to an interesting conclusion physical workouts lead to better-developed muscles. This is the basic nature of our muscles. The more physical work muscles are put through, the better they develop.
It is in the basic nature of muscles that they adapt to their environment. This phenomenon where the muscles grow because of increased physical work is known as muscular hypertrophy. Let us look at the phenomenon in more detail in the next section.
Don’t Miss: Amount Of Protein Per Day
How Much Protein Do You Need
If you are not working out, your protein needs are much lower than a person who is a regular gym-goer. There is a range of numbers that are thrown around regarding protein intake. According to the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academies of Medicine, men should consume 56 grams of protein per day, while women should consume 46 grams each day.
You will easily achieve those protein consumption targets without taking a whey or casein protein shake just by concentrating on protein-rich foods.
Does Protein Build Muscle Without Exercise
Since many people are interested in knowing whether they can build muscle without working out, the answer is NO. However, there are some special conditions under which you can have proteins even if you havent worked out or been to the gym. These conditions include those over 50 years of age diagnosed with blood pressure and diabetes, as having proteins in their diet increases blood sugar levels.
Recommended Reading: Vital Protein Collagen Peptide Powder
How Should I Modify My Diet To Maximize Muscle Growth
To maximize muscle growth, youll need to eat more calories than you typically do. Eat 1.42 grams of protein for each kilogram of your body weight per day .
You should also eat enough carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats to help support muscle growth and recovery.
Numerous foods can help you gain lean muscle. Many of them are high in protein and allow your muscles to recover and grow after you have been active.
It is also important to consume carbohydrates and fats to provide fuel for exercise and physical activity.
Whats more, many of the foods on this list contain the vitamins and minerals your body needs to operate at its best.
To reach your goal of gaining lean muscle, focus on exercising regularly and eating more calories each day from nutritious foods like the ones listed in this article.
Can I Have Too Much Protein
There is an upper limit for muscle protein synthesis, depending on your body mass and activity level. For example, a pro athlete needs a maximum of 1.8g of protein per kilogram of body weight. Those of us who arent professional athletes definitely need less protein than that, and for anyone drinking protein shakes without exercising, you might find that the extra calories lead to fat gain, as you wont be building muscle tone.
Having too much protein in your diet which isnt being used by the body in an effective manner can also cause a lack of energy, it can prevent the continued growth of muscle, and can make you feel a little bit sick at the thought of protein. You can find out the science behind all of this in our guide for signs that youre eating too much protein.
Recommended Reading: Is Muscle Milk Protein Powder Good
How Many Sets And Reps Are Needed To Build Muscle
When training, you will want a program that challenges your strength, so you will need to assess what your maximum repetition is. A good coach will make sure you are working at specific percentages of your 1 rep max.
If you dont know your 1 rep max, you can work at your perceived exertion. This means you will be choosing weights based on how you feel. The rule of thumb when working at your perceived exertion is that the last 3 to 4 reps of your set should feel somewhat of a challenge.
You can customize your set and rep ranges depending on your goal:
- If you want to focus on muscle growth , do 3 to 6 sets of 6 to 12 reps.
- If you want to increase strength or power, do 2 to 6 sets of up to 6 reps. This is ideal for those who want to lift heavier weights.
- If you want to work on muscular endurance, do 2 to 3 sets of up to 12 reps.
Lets say you want to grow your chest and arms. Your Monday Split for hypertrophy for the chest and triceps will go like the following:
Is It Safe To Take Whey Protein Without Exercising
If youre trying to lose weight, its generally not a good idea to add protein shakes and powders into your diet without exercising. In general, if your caloric intake is below your maintenance level , adding protein will help with muscle recovery however, unless you are burning extra calories through exercise, those extra grams of protein will be converted into additional fat.
This is one reason why bodybuilders arent typically big proponents of protein powders. When most bodybuilders look for an increase in muscle mass they turn to supplements like creatine rather than whey protein powder.
You May Like: How Many Grams Of Protein In Milk
Is Bulking And Cutting The Ultimate Way To Build Muscle
If youve read a fitness blog or magazine, or even peeked at the Insta #fitness scene recently, youve probably heard of bulking and cutting. But if youre new to the concept of getting as big as the Hulk and then slimming back down Bruce Banner-style in order to tone up, it’s not surprising as it was created by and for bodybuilders in preparation for competitions.
There is no standardised definition of bulking and cutting. Bulking involves eating more calories than you need, in order to put on weight, then building muscle via resistance training. Cutting involves eating fewer calories than you burn in order to lose the fat. The theory is that you put on extra muscle and fat, but then lose the fat to look lean and shredded.
But does this work and is it a good idea? We ask the experts.
Signs Youre Not Getting Enough Protein
Posted on
When we think protein, we think muscle. And while this nutrient is crucial for repairing, maintaining, and building muscle, it also offers a long list of other important functions.
Protein helps our body maintain fluid and pH balance, structures our hair and nails, and supports organ function, says Pamela Nisevich-Bede, M.S., R.D., C.S.S.D., owner of Swim, Bike, Run, Eat! Sports Nutrition. Because we need protein for so many things, its crucial, especially for active peoplewho are constantly breaking down and rebuilding muscleto get enough of it in our diet.
The minute we get up and start moving around and sweating, our protein needs go up, says Nisevich-Bede. So unless youre sitting in bed all day, chances are youre not getting too much of the stuff. In fact, Nisevich-Bede recommends most peoplelike frequent exercisers, those looking to lose weight or maintain a lean physique, and the middle-aged or olderaim to eat close to one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day.
If youre consistently missing the mark on protein, your workouts will certainly be affectedbut the negative impacts on your body dont end there. Look out for these seven signs youre not getting enough of this macro:
Don’t Miss: What Is The Most Protein Dense Food
Physical Activity And Protein Needs
The dietary guidelines are written for the average person. When you start factoring in exercise, and more specifically, resistance training to build muscle, some experts say that dipping below the minimum requirement of protein is not a good idea.
In fact, the American College of Sports Medicine says that people who exercise regularly need to eat more than the recommended dietary intake. Furthermore, they state that if you lift weights regularly and want to increase muscle mass in combination with physical activity, you should eat a range of 0.5 to 0.8 grams of protein per body weight.
While moderate to intense levels of physical activity do require adequate amounts of protein, going to extremes does not have any added health benefits. In other words, you don’t have to eat chicken breasts at each meal and guzzle protein shakes all day to gain muscle. Generally speaking, the recommended level of protein, even on the higher end, can be met through diet alone without additional supplements.
Read more:14 Protein-Packed Breakfasts to Power You Through the Morning
Shake It With Pea Protein
Pea protein contains nutrients such as protein, iron, phosphorus, zinc, copper, magnesium, manganese, potassium, calcium, molybdenum, selenium, chromium, and Vitamin D. It is also rich in fiber which enhances fullness and supports digestion. .
Our Nuzest’s Clean Lean Protein is a plant-based protein powder derived from the highest quality European golden split peas. It holds an excellent nutritional profile to support your daily protein intake as you achieve your fitness goals.
Nuzest’s pea protein formula is popular for its clean quality, taste, smooth texture, digestion-friendly, contaminants-free, and environment-friendly!
To find out if pea protein is good for you, read this article.
Recommended Reading: Low Carb Low Fat Recipes High Protein
What Qualifies As A Workout That Needs Its Protein Powder
Lance Armstrong.
Go figure.
Is There Such A Thing As Having Too Much Protein In Your Diet Nutrition Experts And Science Say Yes Find Out Why
Youre a seasoned bodybuilder, so youre dedicated to giving your body more adding more weight, more reps, more sets, and more fuel to build bigger muscles. You maximize your protein intake at every opportunity. But is it possible to consume too much protein? And exactly how much protein is too much if youre trying to bulk up but stay lean? Watch for these key signs that your protein intake is out of sync, then use the pro tips to keep your training plan on track.
Protein guidelines vary by organization so getting the right amount can be tricky. Research supports a protein intake between .8 grams per kilogram of body weight , up to just under a gram per pound of bodyweight, says Dan DeFigio, Nashville-based personal trainer and nutrition expert. But my interpretation of the research is that the low end of the spectrum is too low for optimal health and physical performance.
DeFigio typically suggests a minimum of one gram per kilogram of body weight and a maximum protein intake of roughly 90 percent of your bodyweight in grams of protein per day, split into five or six servings. His recommendation comes close to the Muscle and Fitness-approved minimum recommendation of one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day. But your bodys individualized needs may vary based on your training.
If you notice any of the following signs, your protein, carbohydrate, and fat balance may be out of sync.
1 of 7
Wladimir Bulgar / Getty
Recommended Reading: How To Remove Excess Protein From Body