Protein Intake
Obsessing over protein intake is not actually helping.
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When it comes to Protein intake, new clients here at StrengthLab tend to fall into one of two problems:
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There’s those who’s daily protein intake is waaaay under what it needs to be - usually this is because they don’t really think about what macronutrients are coming in, so their diet tends toward too much of the yummier stuff (carbs and fats) with a little protein just sneaking in at dinner time.
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Then there’s the other group who ARE conscious of their protein intake - but waaaay too conscious. As in obsessed. Every meal needs to be based around protein. Every snack through the day is an opportunity to get more protein in - usually in the form of a complete dud protein product like a protein bar or protein added ice cream or something ridiculous which:
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🤷🏽♂️has just been filled with the lamest and cheapest proteins they can source (soy protein / wheat protein / etc)
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🤷🏽♂️has so many other low quality ingredients in it that your guts just flare up and you get gassy and bloated and none of that low quality protein even digests properly
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🤷🏽♂️tastes like trash so now you are a bloated, gassy mess who also hates their life cos your sitting down trying to force down a pro-gurt or something while your girlfriend is eating a tub of ben n jerry’s and looks 10 times better than you
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Here’s the issue: everyone loves acting like they’re an athlete when it comes to the easy stuff (cramming a ridiculously high protein diet, taking heaps of supplements, having a $500 quarterly Nike budget) without acting like an athlete when it comes to the stuff that matters (training like an athlete). If you don’t train like an athlete (hot tip: you probably don’t) then you DON’T need as much protein as you think you do. What do you think is happening with the extra protein you eat?
You need to eat enough protein to allow your body to recover from the training that you do. That’s it. Not the training you SHOULD BE DOING or that you LIKE TO ACT LIKE YOU DO. We’re talking about the training you actually do. If you make up your workouts on the fly in the gym or you have a program ripped off the internet then you only need about 1.8 grams of protein per kilo of bodyweight each day. That’ll be enough. If you’re 80kg you need 144 grams of protein a day. You’ll get that from 700gm of meat. Eat three meals a day with 250gm of meat in them each and you’re more than safe. Putting in more protein is not going to do anything.
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Quit it with the protein obsession, just get the protein you need each day from meat and eggs and use the rest of the calories you’ve got on fats and carbs. I like getting a amount I NEED in fats and just using the rest on carbs because they’re yummy and they help you train harder and recover better and they make life better. But you might enjoy using majority fats more. Cool. Anything’s better than a pro-gurt.
Strength Lab - Personal Training, Body Transformation Coaching and Competition Preparation
Personal Training Hawthorn, Melbourne