Protein for Everybody

"Health is a relationship between you and your body"

-Teri Guillemets

Website: We all have time for a good, filling breakfast! No more excuses to skip or just grab a poptart on your way out the door!! http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/healthy-breakfast-ideas?cm_mmc=ETNTNL-_-2010_12_09-_-HTML-_-dek

We are what we eat. And with protein, literally this is true. Our hair, nails, skin and bones are composed mostly of protein and animal products fuel the muscle growing process. We don't have to follow Gaston's lead and eat 5 dozen eggs to be the size of a barge in order to benefit from protein!

Eat More

56 grams used to be the recommended amount of protein a day but for most of us that is not enough. If you are sitting here thinking "I don't want to bulk up", kick that thought-proteins benefit goes so much farther than just muscles! It dulls hunger and can help prevent diabetes and obesity.

So, how much do we actually need? Hop on a scale and think honestly about your workout intensity. If you are at a high intensity/training level, muscles thrive on about .77 grams of protein per pound...I eat a lot of protein, but this still took me by surprise! For those who workout 5 days or more, you need about .55 grams per pound, and 3-5 days, you should be getting around .45 grams per pound.

If weight loss is your goal-KEEP PROTEIN HIGH! Muscle burns calories faster than fat and keeps your metabolism high. So as you cut calories, you should be increasing protein intake.

No, it's not all the same

A protein is a protein is a protein...right?! Actually, no. Nuts and beans do in fact provide a good source of protein but they are not complete protein like animal proteins that provide the right proportions that your body needs.

Vegetarians are not completely out of luck here-it is possible to make plant protein complete by mixing legumes, nuts and grains in a meal-but you need to consume around 20% more plant proteins to reap the benefits of animal proteins.

Think about the clock

All day long, the body is breaking down proteins...even while I lay on the couch watching another episode of Friends! But, the body gives a surge of energy for 3 hours following the consumption of protein. The majority of us eat our proteins for dinner-steak, chicken, fish...all dinner foods right? Well, this gives us a very small window to use the protein effectively.

Douglas Paddon, PhD claims "There is only so much you can put in to maximize performance, the rest is spillover". Your body can only process around 30g of protein at a time, so you can't try to cram it all into one meal.

So to lose less overall, eat proteins at every meal and snack on proteins in between. And this again is my plug to eat protein for breakfast! People who eat a protein-rich breakfast (such as eggs) eat on average 200 calories fewer a day!

Fuel your workouts

Every guy in the gym wandering around trying to impress people with his brownish-black protein shake knows workout fuel comes from protein, but many of these guys don't know when, how much or what this protein should really be.

Researchers suggest maximizing performance by splitting protein intake to both before and after a workout-around 10 to 20 grams at each intake. Few of us are training for an Ironman, so protein during a workout is really not necessary. Not eating protein following can actually make your lifting counterproductive. Proteins provide the amino acids to rebuild what is broken down in weight-lifting. As runners/endurance athletes, proteins build enzymes to allow our bodies to adapt to the strain placed on it for such a long period of time.

Grab bread for your turkey because carbs following exercise will help raise insulin and slow protein breakdown. Also, you will be using the carbs for energy replacement rather than relying on stored proteins.

So go ahead and whisk up those eggs...maybe an omelet with some leftover Christmas turkey!

Megan