Everyone is aware of the fact that protein is required for muscle-building. The only question that haunts people is “How much protein should I eat daily for best muscle gains?”In order to answer this question, let’s first go through a few basics about protein.
What does the body do with protein? As a part of digestion, the protein is broken down into individual amino acids and are funneled into the blood. There, the amino acids are available for various functions. Endogenous protein is built by the degradation of the individual amino acids.
How Much Protein Should I Eat Daily?
The building process of this tissue is called anabolic metabolism and is responsible for muscle gain in the body.The amount of protein to be consumed and its maximum limit is decided based on the rate of absorption of amino acids from the food proteins by our digestive system and the ability of the liver to reject excess nitrogen producing urea present in those proteins.
How much protein is needed at all? The protein requirement of the body of the athletes and bodybuilders is generally overestimated. Let us assume, a bodybuilder would like to build around 22 lbs of muscle mass in a year. In order to build this 22 lbs of pure muscle mass he would require 9,979 grams of pure protein in a year.
This results in a daily protein requirement of only 27.22 grams to build that extra mass. However, one must take into account that proteins in the human body also perform other important functions. Proteins include components of skin, organs, enzymes and the immune system. They build new tissue to repair damaged structures and provide for the transport of nutrients. In other words, proteins are essential for life.
How Much Protein Should I eat Daily Based On My Weight
The best answer to a frequently asked question,”How Much Protein Should I eat Daily For best muscle gains?” can be found in the succeeding paragraph.
The official recommendation of .78 grams per body lb/day of protein is based on the structural needs and does not take into account the use of protein for energy metabolism. Therefore, sports nutritionists recommend that 1.4 to 1.8 grams of protein per pound of body weight should be consumed daily for muscle gain.
This means that a 175 lbs athlete would need to consume up to 318 grams of protein per day. To meet such a huge requirement in the natural protein diet, our 175 lbs athlete would almost have to consume approximately 3.3 lbs turkey meat, 50 chicken eggs or about 10 liters of milk daily. One cannot even imagine to eat so much in a day.
In addition to the amount, the timing of protein intake for muscle gain is also relevant. Studies have shown that about 29.5 grams of protein per meal shall suffice. An increase in the amount of protein has therefore brought no further positive effect in muscle-building. Ideally, each meal must contain a small portion of protein. This ensures that your body is supplied with amino acids evenly throughout the day.
Taking quickly utilizable proteins immediately after training is particularly crucial for rapid mass construction. At this point, a substitution i.e. using protein powder is a good idea.
Is Too Much Protein Unhealthy? How Much Protein Should I Eat Daily?
One of the most common misconceptions in bodybuilding programs is that you must dramatically increase your protein intake in order to build muscles. Some people even go to the extreme, such that their diet becomes entirely of protein. Contrary to the common belief, excess protein intake can harm your kidneys. Excess protein, that is, when it exceeds 35% of energy intake, may also have adverse effects such as excessive stress, nausea, diarrhea and even the risk of a stroke or a heart attack causing death.
Excessive protein can lead to weight gain too! Nevertheless, there are still bodybuilders who take up to 1.8 grams of protein daily per pound of body weight. Subtracting the basic needs of 1.67 grams/day, around 1.4 grams of protein per pound of body weight still remains in excess.
The human body cannot completely convert this much amount of protein into muscles and therefore it can lead to enormous weight gain over a period of time.This would indeed result in a theoretical weight gain of nearly 200 lbs a year. Though this is practically impossible, just imagine what will happen even if you gain 20% of 200 lbs. That’s 40 lbs!
An important thing to remember is that you will not be able to gain muscle simply by increasing your protein intake. It is also imperative that you increase your total calorie intake. Good bodybuilding programs consist of a balance of fats, carbohydrates and proteins in the diet and also a strict routine of daily exercising.
Remember that to be able to build muscle mass, it is essential to keep your body healthy and functioning efficiently.Equipped with all the knowledge that you have gained reading this article about protein intake for muscle building, you will never again need to ask the question, ” How Much Protein Should I eat Dailyfor best muscle gains?”. Would you?
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