Now that we know that why you need to workout it is time to take a step back and start a conversation about food. Yep you read that right, now that you want to change your physique we need to talk about eating, and more particularly we need to talk about eating protein.
Protein intake is straight up the primary concern of most people who are in the kind of shape that you desire to be in. Those that choose to workout need to take in what may seem to be a ridiculous amount of protein but they need to do this for a reason, and that reason is that protein is made of amino acids, and amino acids are the building blocks of muscle. These amino acids account for25% of your total muscle mass with the remainder coming from water and stored glycogen, carbohydrates your body has used to build muscle.
Even the most sedentary lifestyle requires protein to maintain, a person that sits around doing nothing should take in “0.36g per pound of bodyweight (Bergeron, 2012)” meanwhile for those of us who are a bit more active the amount of recommended protein varies wildly. The National Strength and Conditioning Association recommends anywhere from .4g to .8g depending on activity levels. Meanwhile for those who exercise regularly often finds themselves feeling as though even at twice the amount of protein intake as a sedentary person we aren’t really bringing in enough. Generally though the belief in the world of fitness is that people should bring in between .6 and 1.1g per a pound of bodyweight really though it depends on what you want to achieve, a good general rule of thumb is to take in roughly 1g of protein per a pound that you desire to be. So a person that wants to be 180lbs would bring in 180g of protein regardless of their actual weight. This ensures that your body is getting enough protein to achieve the weight that you want to achieve. Regardless though a person should try to keep their carbohydrate intake in proper proportion to the amount of protein they are taking in. Roughly 45% of your daily caloric intake should be from carbohydrates, clean carbs not skittles, and 35% should come from good clean protein with the remainder coming from fats. (Welk, 2008).
It is incredibly important to remember that increased muscle mass will allow you to burn fat faster and that should be the ultimate goal.
Another important note particularly for individuals who are dieting, exercising and wanting to compete in any type of athletic activity is the importance of fats in your diet. When we really think we can identify that it was likely much easier for our ancestors to find a high fat food like an avocado than it was for them to find a high carb food like rice. So it stands to reason that our bodies would have evolved to take advantage of what was evolutionarily available to us. Some professionals recommend cutting carb intake to less than 30 of daily caloric intake and upping your healthy fat intake to 50-70% of your diet. (Mercola, 2012)
As we already established that 35% of our caloric intake should come from protein it stands to reason if we drop our carbs to make up about 20% of our caloric need we can now have our fat intake around 45%. We can always drop the carbs a bit and up the fats to increase our lean muscle mass and to improve our bodies functional ability.
Ultimately though regardless of what else you may take from this it is essential to remember one thing no amount of exercise can fix the damage of a bad diet. When we take in foods we program our body in what to do with those foods. If we take in a lot of crappy carbs then our body will try to store them in fat regardless of what else we do, if we bring in fats and proteins our bodies start to shed fat and increase muscle mass. So much so that a study was conducted that showed “The study included a total of 46 men and women weighing on average 218 pounds. The six-month long weight loss program consisted of moderate aerobic exercise and strength training, and one of two diets, either:
- Low-carb, high-fat: Less than 30 percent of calories from carbs (pastas, breads and sugary fruits), and up to 40 percent from fats (meat, dairy products, and nuts)
- Low-fat, high-carb diet: Less than 30 percent of calories from fat, and 55 percent from carbs
The low-carb group on average shed 10 pounds in 45 days, while the low-fat group took 70 days to lose the same amount of weight. (Mercola, 2012)”
Bibliography
Bergeron, S. (2012, December 12). Are You Eating Enough Protein To Build Muscle? Retrieved April 9, 2016, from Built Lean: http://www.builtlean.com/2012/12/24/protein-build-muscle/
Mercola, D. (2012, August 10). Fat, Not Glucose, is the Preferred Fuel for Your Body. Retrieved April 9, 2016, from PeakFitness: http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2012/08/10/fat-not-glucose.aspx
Welk, M. (2008, January 8). Quick Guide To Nutrition: Protein, Carbs, Fats, & How Often. Retrieved April 9, 2016, from Bodybuilding: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/weik68.htm
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