All About That Protein

All About That Protein

Protein, the third & most important food group. Protein contains 22 amino acids, 8 of which are essential which we can't produce ourselves, therefore they must come from food. Amino acids helps us produce hormones, with brain development, healthy bones & growth. 

Sources of protein are split into two groups animal protein & plant protein, animal protein obviously comes from animals and contains all 8 essential amino acids, whilst the plant protein are known as incomplete amino acids as they don't contain all of the essentials.

Now, I don't care whether your Vegetarian, Vegan, Pescetarian, Carnivore, or an omnomnomivore, I'm not going to judge. Myself, I'm a carnivore I like to eat meat it's tasty & I get all my essential amino acids, and my protein intake for the activities that I do. I mainly eat chicken/ turkey, & I have whey protein shakes, I'll have fish a couple of times a week & steak at least once.

So the question is, how much protein should a person be having?

The recommended daily allowance (RDA) is 0.8g of protein per Kilo (KG) of body weight, which means that I should be eating 65g of protein a day.

Now, we all know that protein is takes longer to digest & therefore keeps us fuller for longer, that's why I have more than 65g of protein a day, because otherwise I would be starving all day & I have a strenuous workout & I need to eat to refuel & repair my body. 

Protein can also be used to help achieve your fitness goals, by weightlifting & eating a high protein diet you can increase lean muscle mass & strength, and lose fat as when you eat more protein it takes twice as many calories for your body to digest it, whilst maintaining & gaining your muscle mass.

But Too Much Protein is Bad for You?

In previous years a high protein diet gets a bad press from things like the Atkins diet where you used to cut carbohydrates almost completely from your diet. To be able to eat healthily & still lose weight you should never cut a whole food group from what you eat other wise bad things will happen.

Or a high protein diet can cause health problems, which if you eat too much of one thing it can cause some fatal disease, this rule applies to all food, especially if you eat something in abundance and then don't use it as fuel for your body. 

When changing your eating habits, I think you should try a various different eating forms as everyone is different & only you will know what's right for your body.Each body will react differently to a different combination of foods, so it's all about experimenting what works for your body & gives the best nutrition for your activity levels

Personally, I've found that if I eat protein frequently throughout the day I stay nice and full & I'm less likely to snack on crap processed foods. If some people are stuck when losing weight its good to mix it up and shock the body into something new, so if you fancy it try eating 5 small meals day & have protein at all of them, whether it's a piece of chicken, a protein shake or peanut-butter on toast. 

Mmm peanut-butter...

I Wanna Do Bad Things....With Carbs

I Wanna Do Bad Things...With Carbs

I'm not gonna lie, I love all things made with white flour, pasta, bread, cake, biscuits...mmm donuts, & all things sugary & sweet, chocolate, sweets & ice cream. So, naturally all of these things should be enjoyed as a treat every so often, rather than everyday, as they're the wrong kind of carbohydrates we need. 

I know what you're thinking, how could some taste so good, be so bad for us? 

Well it's all a case of Simple vs. Complex carbs. The above mentioned yummy foods are unfortunately examples of simple carbs. This means that the smaller molecules of sugar are absorbed & digested quickly into our bodies. This energy is turned into glycogen & is stored in our cells. If it's not used it immediately turns to fat.  Simple carbs have usually been stripped of most of their nutrients & made more consumer friendly, their high glycemic index (GI) will cause our blood sugar levels to rise quickly causing a sugar rush, once this has ended it was cause our blood sugar levels to dip, & then we begin to seek out more sugar.

Complex carbs, are our friends. They may not taste as great & we may not always be in the mood for them, but they are good to us. Complex carbs can be found in a more natural state foods, this means they haven't been tampered with or processed. These foods are high in nutrients & lower in calories. They're also low GI foods which means our bodies have to work harder to break the food down, to get the glycogen which means that our blood sugar levels are more stable throughout the day. 

Before I started changing my lifestyle I used to eat mainly simple carbs in abundance & not worry about it, I'd never really thought about the nutritional value of the foods I was eating before. Now, I realise how much of the simple carbohydrates turn to sugar, & this is is probably one of the causes of my own obesity, from this I have learnt the error of my ways I now eat complex carbs & because not only are they good for you, they're more dense more so you don't need as much as they fill you up. 

From being educated on carbs, I could then implement an eating plan with my training program for results. I've previously blogged about the Team Dynamix Alkaline/Acid eating plan & about Macro counting, because I'm an endomorph & my goal is for fat loss, I limit my carbs throughout they day, I also don't have any carbs with my evening meal on non-training days. However, it is important to stress that you should never cut one food group completely from your diet, the consequences not only physically but also mentally could be detrimental to you. 

As I am determined to reach my goal, & I show great willpower to be able to say 'No' to the simple carb foods, but don't get me wrong I know my history of being an emotional eater, & if I'm having a particularly bad time I could quite happily sit with a cup of tea & smash a whole packet of chocolate hobnobs, no question. But, even then I still don't display this behaviour because I understand my triggers, & willpower is a wonderful thing...

Plus, now I'm in the habit of eating well & looking after myself, I like to save my simple carb treats for something special as I love Italian food or a G&T or wine. 

Count Your Macros

Count Your Macros

I know you're probably reading the title like this......

Macro's or macronutrients are nutrients that provide energy/calories, in large quantities hence the 'macro'. There are three macronutrient groups that the body needs to function properly. These are protein, fats & carbohydrates. 

So, how do we know how much we need to eat? 

Depending on your goals, will determine how many calories of each of the groups you need to eat. Firstly, you need to figure out your basal metabolic rate (BMR) this is number of calories your body needs just to complete its basic functions e.g breathing & brain function if you were to live as a couch potato.  From this you can either add calories if your gaining or decrease your calories if you wish to lose, as we all know managing our weight is basic maths. Here's a link where you can find your BMR http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bmr_calculator.htm

My BMR is 1612 if I were to live as a couch potato, because I want to lose fat I usually eat 1400 calories a day. This number of calories is enough for me I usually feel nice & full at meal times, however, sometimes I do go over this depending on what I've trained, if it's leg day I'll go over because I know I'll need extra protein for my muscles to recover & repair, some days you're more hungry than others & obviously I go over it on treat days too! When I do go over my calorie allowance it's usually not by that much & I probably end up eating my BMR, and most people reading this probably think that 1400 calories isn't a lot of food, but when you eat clean, you can usually eat a lot more food. You can also find macro proportions based on your somatotype, I'm an endomorph so I basically need to manage my fat & carb intake.

My calorie allowance is made up into percentages of the 3 food groups 45% protein, 35% carbs & 20% fats.  I sometimes play around with the percentages as my goal is fat loss, so I have tried increasing my fats & lowering my carbs, although don't lower your carbs too low otherwise you get grumpy, & no one will like you. 

This is why I find my fitness pal an extremely useful tool, as you can set your daily calorie intake & set your percentages. Then your off ready to record your food diary, I enter everything I eat into it. I'm usually like this at every meal time...