NUTRITION
PHOTO CREDIT : PIXABAY . COM
Do you need protein shakes ?
This really depends on how you prefer to structure your day and what you enjoy . The most important factor for your overall results is your total protein amount over the whole day firstly , but also across the weeks and months that you follow your plan .
There ’ s good reason you witness people leaving the gym with a shaker in their hand- it ’ s a super simple , time saving way to ensure you meet your daily protein requirements . In formulations such as whey protein , you will reap the benefits of a high leucine content , which if we recall from earlier is one of the essential amino acids . In fact it ’ s the one with the greatest impact on anabolic signalling . In the months that follow , I will talk in detail about the relevance of how soon after training a protein shake may ( or may not ) be required . The crux of the matter comes down to your protein intake as a whole . If you ’ ve chosen to eat food throughout the day , the chances are there will still be a flux of amino acids circulating in your body .
In the pursuit of optimal protein synthesis however , a carefully formulated plan can exist . The thought process would then need to consider the biochemistry of circulating amino acids and their uptake , a process referred to as the protein refractory period ( the time it takes to digest and exert its maximum effect ).
In order to maximise protein synthesis , firstly you must consider whether the meal achieves a leucine content of 3 grams or more ( 15 grams of essential amino acids will provide this ), which has a positive influence on the mammalian target of rapamy-
EAT A MEAL CONTAINING PREFERABLY COMPLETE PROTEIN OR MIXED SOURCES SUCH THAT YOU HAVE AT LEAST 3 GRAMS OF LEUCINE ( 15G OF ESSENTIAL AMINO ACIDS ) EVERY THREE TO FIVE HOURS . With this in mind if we take a look at an individual who is 80kg Protein recommendation 1.6-2.2g / kg = 128 grams to 176 grams = 128 x kcal ( 512 kcals ) to 176x 4 kcal ( 704 kcals )
Taking what we now know , using the upper recommendation of 176 grams of total protein in a day , we can formulate how this could look from an entire day ’ s intake .
Contrary to what you may have heard , there is not an upper limit of 30 grams of protein that can be digested per meal , in fact research indicates that in order to maximise muscle protein synthesis , larger dosages , spread out further elicits the best response .
What that means for you is that an individual protein feeding of between 3-6 times across the day is adequate .
The example above taking 176 grams of total protein and spreading it across the day would give that individual around 45 grams of protein per meal if we were to use a 4-meal frequency .
Therefore , in conclusion , following on from the article in the February 2018 edition where we discovered your individual calorie amounts , we can now attribute a proportion of that number to protein intake .
102 MUSCLE & FITNESS / MARCH 2018