Protein ?

When is the best time to get your protein? I usually drink a protein
shake immediately after lifting, and only on days that I lift.

  1. Should I be spreading out my protein intake throughout the day?
  2. And do I also need to get protein on days I'm not lifting?
  3. How much protein do I need daily? I weigh 150 lbs.

Currently, I'm trying to tone up and drop bodyfat.

how much protein can your body absorb during one meal? I thought it was around 30g. Mixing a larger protein would certainly be easier but if it doesnt work then it doesnt work...

I lift 3x per week at 5am and was told by the personal certified trainer at the gym that I should have 1 scoop of whey protein powder before I leave the house and 2 scoops after I get back. He said if I don't have the 1 scoop before I lift, then my body will be pulling energy out of the muscles to lift and I wont get the maximum workout that I should. On my offdays when I run using the treadmill and use the nautilus equipment for supplementary muscles, 2 scoops when I return is what I should be doing. He also said never run on the treadmill before I use the free weights, I should run after using the free weights.

27-30 grams can be absorbed per meal

This is a myth and proven so in several studies. Think about it logically, it is recommended for a bodybuilder to get 1.5 to 2g/pd bodyweight /day right? Even at 1gram protein/pd would =255grams per day for me.....So if the recommendation is to eat 6 meals per day and my body can only assimilate 27-30g per meal that means EVERYONE can only take in about 180g/day of protein......this "myth" of 30g protein per meal is old school "theory". Everyone is different and to generalize and say everyone digests the same is incorrect regurgitated information.

You could start with Will Brink at brinkzone.com. His articles and research are well known and he always provides references.

http://www.brinkzone.com/

Alot of other research and writing has been done by Dr.Mauro Di Pasquale (excellent book on the Metabolic Diet), Dr. Tudor Bompa (Serious Strength Training...excellent book BTW), Bryan Haycock (very well known, also extensive research and references to back up if you keep an open mind and forget he sells his own supplements), Lee Lebrada, John Berardi, Charles Staley, and many more well known researchers......\they certainly know more than me and I continually learn from them.

I didnt mean to sound arrogant but I used to think the same way because that was all I had read, but after a few years of nutritional reading I have found out I was wrong and as I pointed out before, do the math, it doesnt add up. Anyway, hope this helps....

I'll ttt worth's question as I have always wondered should I take a protein shake before excercise or after or both.

so if im 225lbs how many grams of protein should I be getting a day?

ttt

Crunching numbers all day is what they do best on the BBforums.
One example, the 40/40/20 (carbs/protein/fat) breakdown is
what they recommend for fat loss.

I (female, 138 lbs, 5'6'') burn about 2200 calories on maintenance.

If 40 % of those calories came from protein I would have to eat
220 g of it a day.
That is way more protein than I have ever eaten and it is near
impossible to reach those numbers by eating real food. There's
only so much chicken breast and fish that I can eat per day until I
puke.
The biggest amount of protein I have ever eaten during one day
was something like 160 g and that was during a bulking phase.
So, by bodybuilding standards (1.5 - 2 g) I am not digesting
enough protein. Sue me. I'm seeing results that I am happy with.

Shooter, I agree that you can't generalize how much protein one
person can digest. The 30 g number is just an average.
I do think however, that a lot of people waste too much money on
protein supplements. I would like to know who was the first to
recommend that BBers ingest 1.5 - 2 g of protein/lb bodyweight?
Perhaps someone in the supplement industry who realized that
people would find it much easier to reach those numbers if they
added protein supplements to their diet.

"Crunching numbers all day is what they do best on the BBforums. One example, the 40/40/20 (carbs/protein/fat) breakdown is what they recommend for fat loss.
I (female, 138 lbs, 5'6'') burn about 2200 calories on maintenance. If 40 % of those calories came from protein I would have to eat 220 g of it a day. That is way more protein than I have ever eaten and it is near impossible to reach those numbers by eating real food. There's only so much chicken breast and fish that I can eat per day until I puke. The biggest amount of protein I have ever eaten during one day was something like 160 g and that was during a bulking phase. So, by bodybuilding standards (1.5 - 2 g) I am not digesting enough protein. Sue me. I'm seeing results that I am happy with.

Shooter, I agree that you can't generalize how much protein one person can digest. The 30 g number is just an average. I do think however, that a lot of people waste too much money on protein supplements. I would like to know who was the first to recommend that BBers ingest 1.5 - 2 g of protein/lb bodyweight? Perhaps someone in the supplement industry who realized that people would find it much easier to reach those numbers if they added protein supplements to their diet. "

Your diet makes total sense and you seem to have a good sense toward training and nutrition....good for you!

I am 255pd and get about 300g protein/day, as much from food as possible but from homemade mrp's w/whey powder as well. Should use whey a half hour to hour before working out and quick protein (whey) after along with hi GI carbs such as maltodextrin or dextrose, sports drink etc. . I am more a strength lifter than BB but this works very well for me and studies also confirm this. As well, an interesting read I have had lately is on red meat. I have been eating alot of beef lately and doing different phases of training and my strength has improved tremendously and was trying to figure out what I did different to make that happen and I read that red meats significantly increase strength. People who have consumed red meats in the past have quite often reported very noticeable strength gains, and I realize this was my only real change so while I have not read any studies on this subject, I tend to believe the "real world" reports that I have read.

Protein definitely has a place in any athletes diet and supplements do play a part, but they are just that, supplements and should be used at the correct times otherwise it is really a waste. Just as a "one size fits all" exercise program is completely incorrect logic, so is a "one size fits all" nutritional program as once again everyone is different and responds different with different strengths/weaknesses etc....if it was all as easy as just doing squats and drinking milk as some claim, everyone would do it because it is so easy and less time consuming.

Oh. BTW JJJ, a good read is Tudor Bompa's serious strength training to learn more on the truth about protein as well as the metabolic diet by Di Pasquale. Of course Will Brink also posesses great knowledge on the truth about nutrition. He is very well known in the bodybuilding world as an expert on nutrition...his writings have really helped me tremendously with my advancement.