Muscles are made of protein. Protein is made up of amino acids. Your body can make some amino acids itself, but there are some it can’ t, called the “ seven essential amino acids”. These you have to get from your food. Protein is measured in grams. You can look on practically any food label and see the amount of protein measured in grams. Make sure you pay attention to the “grams per serving” as well as how many servings are in the package, in order to figure out how much protein you’ re getting. Many bodybuilders take in huge amounts of protein. I am skeptical that going to extremes in this regard is really helpful, and in fact, I think it could be hard on your system. I think your doctor would agree. On the other hand, you do need protein in order to build muscles. The question is, how much?
It is safe to assume that your body can only utilize a certain amount of protein at a time, probably around twenty grams. So if you were to take in forty grams of protein at one sitting, twenty would be used and about twenty would be wasted. It is literally pissed away.
Nevertheless, you will still hear and read about bodybuilders deliberately taking in many hundreds of grams of protein per day, both in the food they eat and in the form of supplements. I think this is foolish for anyone but a top professional competitor. Instead, I use as a rule of thumb one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight. So, for instance, if you weigh 170 lbs., try to get 170 grams of protein each day. You will probably still find this to be very hard to do. 170 grams is a lot. Don’ t worry too much if you fall short of this goal. Try to space out your protein intake throughout the day so you aren’t getting more than twenty grams at a time. This one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight is a rule of thumb for someone who is active and working out regularly.
If you are middle aged or older, or not really working out hard, you should take in less. Getting your protein doesn’t have to be expensive and you don’ t need expensive supplements. Some of the best sources of protein are the least expensive foods on your grocery list. Skim milk, cottage cheese and other dairy products are great sources of protein. If you are really on a tight budget, powdered instant milk has all of the protein of regular milk and is usually cheaper. You can even add the powdered milk to a glass of real milk, add powdered chocolate or whatever else you like, and make a high calorie, high protein drink just as good as the expensive supplements you will find in health food stores.
Eggs are another relatively cheap source of protein. The protein is all in the egg whites; the yolk is just starch. Nevertheless, egg whites are one of the highest quality proteins you can get. An egg has about six grams of protein.
Peanut butter is a good source of protein as well. Read the labels to see how much. Nuts in general are high in protein. All meats are good sources of protein, especially chicken and fish because they tend to be leaner than beef or pork.. A can of tuna is pretty cheap and has a lot of protein.
Besides getting plenty of protein, you will need a lot of calories in general,
particularly if you are slim and/or growing. If this is the case, and you begin a workout routine, you will need to EAT. That’ s about all I can say. You have to judge for yourself, but keep in mind you are not only burning more calories now that you are working out, you are also trying to add body tissue in the form of muscles, and if you are still in your teenage years, your body is trying to grow at the same time. So you not only have to take in more food just to maintain your body mass, you have to take in a LOT more to build the additional muscles and grow at the same time.
There are a lot of supplements advertised for bodybuilders. Once again, I take a cautious approach to these. I would strongly suggest you take a complete vitamin and mineral supplement if you can afford them, but, if your diet includes plenty of fruits and vegetables, you will probably do fine without even that. Other supplements you might read or hear about may or may not be beneficial. Consult with your doctor and judge for yourself. Remember, companies are out to sell you something, and they are experts at convincing you that you need their product. I do not believe there is any particular supplement that is going to have a huge impact on your muscular development, aside from plain old good nutrition.
It is safe to assume that your body can only utilize a certain amount of protein at a time, probably around twenty grams. So if you were to take in forty grams of protein at one sitting, twenty would be used and about twenty would be wasted. It is literally pissed away.
Nevertheless, you will still hear and read about bodybuilders deliberately taking in many hundreds of grams of protein per day, both in the food they eat and in the form of supplements. I think this is foolish for anyone but a top professional competitor. Instead, I use as a rule of thumb one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight. So, for instance, if you weigh 170 lbs., try to get 170 grams of protein each day. You will probably still find this to be very hard to do. 170 grams is a lot. Don’ t worry too much if you fall short of this goal. Try to space out your protein intake throughout the day so you aren’t getting more than twenty grams at a time. This one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight is a rule of thumb for someone who is active and working out regularly.
If you are middle aged or older, or not really working out hard, you should take in less. Getting your protein doesn’t have to be expensive and you don’ t need expensive supplements. Some of the best sources of protein are the least expensive foods on your grocery list. Skim milk, cottage cheese and other dairy products are great sources of protein. If you are really on a tight budget, powdered instant milk has all of the protein of regular milk and is usually cheaper. You can even add the powdered milk to a glass of real milk, add powdered chocolate or whatever else you like, and make a high calorie, high protein drink just as good as the expensive supplements you will find in health food stores.
Eggs are another relatively cheap source of protein. The protein is all in the egg whites; the yolk is just starch. Nevertheless, egg whites are one of the highest quality proteins you can get. An egg has about six grams of protein.
Peanut butter is a good source of protein as well. Read the labels to see how much. Nuts in general are high in protein. All meats are good sources of protein, especially chicken and fish because they tend to be leaner than beef or pork.. A can of tuna is pretty cheap and has a lot of protein.
Besides getting plenty of protein, you will need a lot of calories in general,
particularly if you are slim and/or growing. If this is the case, and you begin a workout routine, you will need to EAT. That’ s about all I can say. You have to judge for yourself, but keep in mind you are not only burning more calories now that you are working out, you are also trying to add body tissue in the form of muscles, and if you are still in your teenage years, your body is trying to grow at the same time. So you not only have to take in more food just to maintain your body mass, you have to take in a LOT more to build the additional muscles and grow at the same time.
There are a lot of supplements advertised for bodybuilders. Once again, I take a cautious approach to these. I would strongly suggest you take a complete vitamin and mineral supplement if you can afford them, but, if your diet includes plenty of fruits and vegetables, you will probably do fine without even that. Other supplements you might read or hear about may or may not be beneficial. Consult with your doctor and judge for yourself. Remember, companies are out to sell you something, and they are experts at convincing you that you need their product. I do not believe there is any particular supplement that is going to have a huge impact on your muscular development, aside from plain old good nutrition.
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