admin August 10th, 2010
The question of “How much protein do I need?” comes up often in conversation, so we thought it best to deal with the issue here on the blog.
(Side note: Hi, by the way.Yes, we’re bringing this blog back from its hiatus of almost two years. Did’ja miss us? We’ll be aiming to update this more regularly from now on, with at least a monthly post, but obviously trying to post even more often than that should time allow).
Ahem… where were we? So, back onto the question of how much protein you should be aiming to get into your diet, provided that you’re following an active lifestyle with at least a few gym sessions throughout the week.
A general rule of thumb is to aim for at least a gram of protein per pound of body weight. So for those of us working on the metric system, as in Australia, we’ll convert that. There are 2.2 pounds to one kilogram, roughly speaking. So if 1 gram of protein per every pound is the goal, then for every kilogram you should be aiming to get about 0.45g of protein daily… and that’s really a minimum. If you’re looking to gain weight or pack on muscle, then really you’ll be looking to up that amount to between 0.75 – 1g at least.
Take me as an example. I’m 85kg at the moment. Going by the bare minimum of 0.45g protein per kg body weight, that means that realistically speaking I should be packing in at LEAST 38g worth of protein into my daily diet. But, of course if I’m looking for a 0.75g dose per kg, then that takes it up to around 64g protein per day.
Looking at that figure, it’s pretty clear that I supplement my daily diet with protein shakes, using different protein powders in order to reach that goal. Generally speaking, most protein powders will supply you with between 20 – 30g of protein per serve, but be sure to read the label to make sure you’re not being gipped.
Any questions?
admin January 4th, 2009
There’s a worthwhile post to read over at the Examiner examining what factors to use when deciding upon the right protein powder for you. It’s just a short post, but echoes many of our own thoughts. For example, the article says:
There are two different types of whey protein: whey protein isolate and whey protein concentrate. Always buy the powder that has whey protein isolate as the first ingredient. This is a better quality protein and is worth every penny. When it comes to price, quality is important.
Yep, we agree there, and say so on our Whey Protein Powders page.
Try to drink a protein shake before and after workouts and before bed to preserve hard-earned muscle.
We might quibble over just how essential it is to consume a protein shake before your workout as well as afterwards (personally, most of us only do the “post-workout” shake, which is of course mandatory), but we’re agreed with the author over the value of a protein-shake prior to bed. It definitely brings some great results.
As we say… worth the few seconds it takes to read the post.
Tags: comparing protein powders
admin December 28th, 2008
What with our prejudice towards whey protein powders, we sometimes don’t pay enough attention to plant based protein powders around these parts; which is why we thought we would point out this article, “Review of the best Plant Protein Powders“, to you, our readers. It’s a worthwhile read, if you’re into exploring some alternative protein powders. Some choice takeaways?
Here’s what’s interesting about that: Your taste buds will tell you which protein you need more. If you’re missing an amino acid in your diet, the protein product that provides more of that amino acid will tend to taste better to you. So my advice in choosing a protein product is to try all the top contenders and see what the high-tech chemical sensors on your tongue tell you.
You may also find that your taste varies over time. For example, you may really like one protein product a lot at first, but as your amino acid intake gets balanced, your taste buds may tell you to switch to a different protein. This is completely normal. It’s one of the ways your brain communicates with you to make sure you vary your diet. It’s also why eating the same food over and over again eventually gets boring. That’s your brain telling you to eat something different!
In my opinion, plant-based protein products are superior to animal-based proteins for lots of reasons — not just nutritionally speaking, but also for avoiding the tremendous resources required to produce animal products, the environmental consequences, etc. I used to recommend egg and whey protein products (and I still think egg protein is better than whey), but I stopped recommending whey protein due to all the gas and bloating effects users were reporting. Do you realize, by the way, that it takes up to 2,000 gallons of fresh water to produce just a single gallon of milk from a cow? That means a lot of environmental resources are being consumed to produce whey protein.
While we categorically don’t agree with the author about whey protein, it’s always good to hear differing opinions when it comes to choosing your personal favourite protein powder.
Tags: plant protein, protein powders
