NUTRITION | THE THREE Macronutrients, Protein

NUTRITION

THE THREE Macro Nutrients | Protein

Welcome to part 1 of a 3 part series on the 3 macronutrients that make up the food that we eat.  The 3 macronutrients are Protein, Carbohydrate and Fat.   Today we are talking about the one responsible for building muscle, protein!  When we are in the gym lifting weights, jumping up on things and just generally getting after it, we are breaking down muscle.  Even though you might feel a big pump during and right after your workout, this is what is happening.  The only way we get bigger, stronger muscles is by allowing our body to repair the damage we are doing to them in the gym. If you are constantly sore from your workouts, you might not be eating enough protein. 

Enter PROTEIN.  Protein is made up of hundreds of amino acids, 9 of which are essential because they only come from food.  The big one that we are interested is called Leucine.  When it is combined with 2 other amino acids, it tells our body to start muscle protein synthesis (muscle repair/building).   To be specific, it takes 3-4 of Leucine to stimulate MPS.   Animal protein is very rich in Leucine and it's easy to get that 3-4g with a 4-5oz serving of meat.  Most whey protein powder supplements also contain adequate Leucine.  Other foods contain Leucine, but you'd be surprised to see how much of it you would have to eat!

In general, we recommend eating between .8 and 1.2 grams of protein per lb that you weigh per day.  If you're trying to lose weight, skew toward the higher side.  This will help to mitigate any loss of muscle while you're losing weight.  

Stayed tuned next Thursday for our thoughts on the always controversial topic of CARBOHYDRATES.