It would seem that the topic of sports nutrition and its proper use has already been fully covered, but I continue to meet people in training who have not yet figured out how to properly take protein. Let's look at the answers to such pressing questions, from the point of view of any gym goer: how much protein should be consumed per day, how many times a day and when.
The very first question regarding proper protein intake is: how much protein should you consume per day? Let me clarify that here protein refers to a sports supplement, and not protein in the usual sense. There are many opinions on this matter, and they tend to be average. The thing is that the daily protein intake of a particular person is influenced by quite a few factors: the serving size of protein consumed with regular food, the number of meals per day, the number and intensity of training, the goal (weight loss or muscle gain).
I covered the answer to this question in more detail in the article “Protein: how much protein do you need per day?” Read the article and determine how much protein you need to consume daily. After this, make up your diet for the day and calculate how much protein you get from food and how much protein, based on the received daily requirement, needs to be added to provide the required amount of protein per day.
How much protein do I need?
Protein is one of three macronutrients we need daily for energy and well-being.
But exactly how much protein do we need, and how much is too much? This article discusses how to optimize your protein intake to meet your body's needs and support your training goals. There are many reasons why you might take protein shakes—building muscle, losing weight, gaining weight, recovering from an injury or illness. Protein shakes can be helpful in each of these cases, depending on what you put in them and how often you take them.
Before you measure out your powder and start making your shake, figure out how many protein shakes you should be taking per day. You need to think about your muscle growth and recovery goals and how they fit into your daily schedule.
Why do we need protein?
Every day, throughout our lives, our muscles are constantly changing as they are partially broken down (muscle protein breakdown) and partially repaired (muscle protein synthesis).
There are two common ways to increase muscle protein synthesis: performing weightlifting exercises (or other resistance exercises) and consuming protein.1 When you are trying to lose weight and maintain a calorie deficit, it is important to include enough protein in your diet to prevent muscle protein breakdown.2
Protein also slows down digestion, making us feel fuller longer, which promotes weight loss. This property can make life easier for all snack lovers, because most likely, if your digestion is slow, you will stay away from the refrigerator...
As we age, we tend to lose muscle mass, so consuming enough protein is important for older adults as well.3
How much protein do you need per day?
When thinking about how many protein shakes you should drink per day, it's best to consider your total daily protein requirement.
Healthy people require about 0.8 g of protein per kilogram of weight per day, and athletes need up to 1.3-1.8 g per kilogram of weight, depending on the frequency and intensity of training.2
The lower end of this range (1.3 g) is generally recommended for those participating in endurance sports such as long-distance running, cycling, tennis or soccer. The top figure applies to those who do strength training. This could include weightlifters, bodybuilders, crossfitters or rugby players.
With this simple formula, you can determine how much protein you should consume daily, both from food and from your protein shakes.
For example, if you weigh 68 kg and exercise at moderate intensity most of the week, you would need to multiply your weight by 1.3: 68 kg x 1.3 g/kg = 88 g protein per day
If you only eat three meals a day day, you need to ensure that each meal contains about 29 g of protein (approximately 125 g of chicken meat). If you can't eat that much protein at each meal, a protein shake can easily make up for the missing amount.
However, if you weigh 115 kg and do intense weight training twice a day, you may need more than 200 grams of protein:
115 kg x 1.8 g/kg = 207 g protein per day
It's hard to get that much protein from food alone, unless you eat seven servings of chicken breast a day, which gets boring pretty quickly. To help such an athlete get the required amount of protein, it will be useful to take protein shakes - two or three per day.
Another question is how much protein you should take at one time.
Diet for weight loss
When it comes to losing weight, the first thing you need to do is:
- Divide your diet correctly - 4-5 meals, including the first at 7-9 in the morning, and the last no later than 2 hours before bedtime.
- Replace the first and last meals completely or partially with protein drinks. These can be cocktails with milk, low-fat ice cream, eggs, cottage cheese and fruits and other ingredients. All ingredients must be mixed in a blender, adding 50-60 grams of protein.
- From the remaining meals, it is best to completely exclude all sweet and starchy foods.
Otherwise, the diet is quite simple. The main rule is to follow the recommended amount of carbohydrates per day - 150-200 grams.
How much protein can the body absorb at one time?
Taking into account the constant process of breakdown and synthesis of muscle tissue, it is customary to divide the daily amount of protein into 3-4 equal portions - be it food or protein shakes.2
However, too many calories from any source will cause weight gain, so there is an upper limit to the amount of protein that can be beneficial. You can digest protein at different rates depending on the type (whey, soy, casein, etc.) and what other ingredients are in your meal or protein shake (milk, water, fruit, fat, etc.) .d.).
Shelf life of the finished cocktail
The shelf life of prepared protein is 1-2 at room temperature. In summer, in hot weather, even less. The finished drink can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 hours.
As you can see, the time frame is short. This is due to the biological activity of the protein, in which bacteria multiply rapidly. In addition, many proteins contain other substances, for example, vitamins or enzymes, whose active period in a liquid medium is even shorter.
Therefore, the most suitable method of administration is to drink the cocktail immediately after preparation.
For cases when you need to carry the supplement with you for a long time, sports nutrition manufacturers have come up with a liquid form. This is a protein drink in a ready-made form, which is in a bottle (one serving - one bottle).
When sealed, the shelf life of liquid protein is 1 month. Once opened, the shelf life is the same as for powdered cocktails.
Can I Take Too Much Protein? How dangerous is this?
In short, there is no clear answer about the maximum amount of protein that will be useful in a single dose. The recommendations are rather based on your goals. Typically, to maximize muscle protein synthesis, it is recommended to consume approximately 20-25 grams of high-quality protein per meal.3
Yet, studies have shown that higher doses, 30-45 grams, have better effects on muscle mass and strength.4 Another study looking at the possibility of preventing age-related muscle loss found that 25-30 grams of protein per day is the optimal dose.5 In general, recommendations range from 20 to 45 grams per dose.
When calculating how many shakes you should drink each day, think about your total daily protein needs and how many grams of protein are in each serving of your protein powder.
If your lunch or dinner includes a lot of protein, then one smoothie in the morning (with or after breakfast) may be enough to meet your daily protein needs. If you work out after lunch and have plenty of time before dinner, it's best to drink a second shake to optimize muscle protein synthesis post-workout.
Protein shakes can also play an important role in the diet of vegans and vegetarians who do not consume high-protein animal products.
You may have heard about the negative side effects of high-protein diets, but no studies have proven that protein is harmful to healthy people.6 It is important to include high-quality carbohydrates, healthy fats, and a variety of vitamins and minerals in your diet to ensure that you are providing your body with all the nutrients it needs every day. substances.
Whey
So, let's start with whey. This is the type of protein you will need to consume most often. If you are new to bodybuilding, then you definitely need to start with whey. The proteins included in its composition are very quickly absorbed by our body and have a complete amino acid composition.
It should be taken before training, about 30 minutes before it starts. This will provide your body with the necessary amino acids that will be used while lifting weights. It also makes sense to take such proteins after training, after about 15-30 minutes. This is necessary for the body to successfully begin recovery processes as soon as possible.{banner_st-d-1}
Calculate nitrogen balance
To answer this question, let's first understand the concept of nitrogen balance and the amount of nitrogen. Why do you need to know this? One gram of nitrogen contains 6.25 grams of protein, or in other words, protein contains 16 percent nitrogen. Nitrogen balance is the difference between protein and nitrogen consumed and excreted from our body. Assimilated protein is involved in the work of almost all organs and systems of our body. And the excreted protein disintegrated in the body as a result of various metabolic processes.
To understand whether we have enough protein, it is necessary to compare the amount of protein consumed and lost. Nitrogen balance is the equality of these two quantities. A positive nitrogen balance is when we gain more protein than we lose. In other words, excess protein is eliminated from the body, and a stable positive balance promotes muscle gain. But a negative balance is also possible, accompanied by a gradual decrease in muscle mass. In this case, the loss of protein exceeds its intake and a kind of “protein starvation” occurs.
How to find out your nitrogen balance level?
To do this, it is enough to take one type of analysis in any laboratory: determine the amount of urea in daily urine.
- Urine contains 80 percent of all the protein we lose every day. Based on the urea indicator, it is necessary to calculate nitrogen: to do this, multiply the urea by 0.466.
- Due to various physiological processes, we lose more nitrogen than we gain. Therefore, we multiply the result by 1.38 and get the amount of nitrogen lost.
- After this, we can find out our nitrogen balance: we need to check whether we are eating as much protein as the amount of nitrogen the body excretes. To do this, multiply the result by 6.25 and get the mass of protein lost per day. For example, if 16 grams of nitrogen are excreted, it turns out that we are losing 200 grams of protein, which have undergone breakdown.
Since not the entire mass of protein is absorbed with food (10 percent is excreted in the stool), it turns out that 220 grams of protein is the mass corresponding to nitrogen balance or equilibrium. Accordingly, if you consume less than 220 grams of protein per day, there will be a negative nitrogen balance: unfortunately, in this case, there is no way to talk about a satisfactory state of health, and especially about gaining muscle mass.
Benefits and harms
It has already become clear to most that protein is not a “chemical” and is far from being a substance due to which an athlete may fail doping control. However, many still have some questions regarding the benefits and harms of this substance. Detailed answers to them are presented below:
- Protein is a common fermented milk product and the harm from it can be exactly the same as from kefir or milk.
- If lactose intolerance occurs, a person drinking protein may experience unpleasant symptoms such as flatulence and diarrhea. This problem can be quickly resolved by taking enzymes.
- Allergic reactions to protein are extremely rare.
As for the side effects of protein, they are absent. Instead, it's worth mentioning the many negative health effects that can occur when you don't have enough protein. It has long been proven that this element is extremely necessary for physical development, so there can be no talk of any harm.
