Protein: Do You Really Need It?

Why is scheduling protein around your workouts so important? Whether it is whey, casein, soy, pea, rice or hemp, protein is essential to every diet. Protein provides energy, repairs damaged tissues and helps prevent infection and disease. Here are some tips on the types of protein and scheduling to align with your health and wellness goals. What's good for one, is not good for all when it comes to protein intake.

Have you ever been told, “Do not eat 30 minutes before a work out?” “Drink half your body in ounces of water!” “Eat portions the size of your palm, and never more.” Well, these are all pretty accurate, the confusing part is when, where and why….So here’s the basics for timing your protein intake and it basically depends on your health and wellness goals such as losing weight, building muscle or preserving your current physique.

Here's the breakdown:

• Having a protein-rich diet can increase your metabolism and suppress your appetite to increase fat loss. Protein literally reduces your appetite by reducing levels of the “hungry hormones”: GLP-1, PYY and CCK. So, having a snack like Isalean Bars or Whey thins are great options between meals to eat fewer calories throughout the day.

• In order to build muscle mass and strength you must consume protein, and it's most beneficial when your body is in an anabolic stage aka metabolic stage, a term used in strength training to describe the 15minutes to 2hour (give or take, dependent on the individual) period after exercise during which nutrition can shift the body from a catabolic state to an anabolic one. I always tell my clients 15-30 minutes after a work out to get a protein bar, other solid, or drink your protein shake. I say this because it provides an urgency to ingest your meal and allows for wiggle room to use the rest room, make phone calls, get stuck in traffic, whatever it is, JUST GET IT IN! This is also why I tell clients to make their shake and have it ready or bring it with them so nothing gets in the way of their muscle growth!

• As we get older it is proven we loose about 3-8% of muscle mass every 10 years after the age of 30! This also causes increase risk of osteoporosis, fractures and drastic muscle mass loss is linked to a shorter lifespan. The University of Texas department of Physical Therapy discovered that in order to prevent muscle atrophy it is recommended to have 25-30g of protein per meal evenly distributed throughout the day. This is the perfect amount in an Isalean shake. I prefer my shake in the morning because I like to grab and go. Fast food options are full of carbs and fats, PLUS its proven that most adults eat 3x more protein at dinner time so a shake for breakfast can change your life! Change your breakfast, change your life!

So, in summary, protein is important not just for muscle mass but essential for weight loss and muscle maintenance. It can also enhance performance and recovery by reducing DOMS: delayed onset muscle soreness. That means getting back into the gym, less down time. Leg day who???? Bring on the challenge. And if you haven’t heard of the bed time belly buster you are missing out. Consuming protein before bed maximizes muscle growth and fat burning, while allowing the body to experience adaptation throughout the night…REST and DIGEST. This makes sense. Digest when you rest! Your body is ready to break down those protein molecules in this rested state. So morning and night, it looks like you need to go get some quality protein. Look for our future blog on why choosing the quality is so important because if you are not absorbing it, what does it matter, just like with CBD oil or anything else. Its all about bioavailability. Stay tuned!

If you do not move it, you will lose it…Don’t Give Up! Get moving today with The ExerScience Center.

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