Protein Question

[Olivia]

Hi,

I'm hearing a lot about building muscle by using weights, doing less cardio and also eating more protein. I'm having a problem with this! It has been in grained in me to eat less meat for many years now and cardio, cardio and more cardio.

Also I have a friend who is very much into nutrition and reads a lot about the latest health benifits and she believes very strongly, on eating too much protein can damage your liver?? All we are hearing is eat more protein than carbs and you will build muscle and burn fat!

What do most of you think? I know there are many of you on this site that are very knowledgeable about nutrition. I want to really tone up and get hard but will eating more protein be the only way to go, such as the body builders, not that I'm wanting to be a body builder, I just want to tone and firm!

Thanks in advance.

 

[Debra]

Check out the advice of a sports nutritionist w/ a degree and certification like R.D. Or the American College of Sports Medicine. They're not advocating huge amounts of protein. More than the RDA, but well below the amount most Americans eat.

Your body takes care of energy needs before it builds muscle. If you replace carbs w/ protein, & your body needs fuel, it throws out the amino acids to use protein as fuel. So you might as well eat the carbs without putting your organs through the task of flushing a lot of amino acids out of your body.

Another reason to emphasize nutrient dense carbs in the diet is their impact on long-term health. The vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals & fiber found in plant foods reduce the risk of heart disease (#1 killer of women in the U.S.), many cancers, & diabetes.

You'll probably get many opposing views. High protein diets do help people get weight off while keeping appetities appeased. But trust me, you don't have to eat 100+ grams of protein/day to build & show off your muscles.

Debra

 

[Connie1]

The reason people have come away thinking that sooo much protein is needed, IMO, is from their own food diaries. If you keep a food log, you may discover that you don't need to change it much. On the other hand, you may discover (like so many others!) that you are eating way too many carbs and way less protein, way more fat, way less fiber than you thought you were! In fact, *I* have heard no one who kept a food diary who discovered any different!

So to have the diet that you think is best, write down the range of how many grams of protein, fat, and carb you should stay within per average day (you may need assistance with the numbers, maybe your friend could help) and make allowances for your activity level. Then track your actual intake. Then you make adjustments, if needed!

If you like, I can e-mail you a simple food diary form in Microsoft Excel. It's just something you print out and fill in with pencil.