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Question from Michael ,USA
Q. How much protein would you recommend to maintain muscle and lose bodyfat?
Michael,
Protein is a very important nutrient, and plays a key role when trying to add muscle or lose body fat. When you are a hard training athlete, your protein requirements are always going to be higher than what an average person who is not training would be. You must take in plenty of protein when trying to add muscle or maintain muscle mass.
As far as how much protein you should be taking in is difficult to estimate because I don't know your weight, height, body fat percentage, etc. I also don't know whether you are trying to add muscle or lose body fat. Not everyone will eat the same amount of protein and get the same results. However, here is what I suggest: If you're trying to add muscle mass, I would recommend that you take in 1.3-1.5gm. of protein, per pound of body weight, per day. Work your way up to this amount slowly though. Start off by just eating a little less than 1gm of protein, per pound of body weight per day. Then, after a few weeks, bump it up a little and see what happens. If you get stomach pain or uncontrollable gas or anything like that, then you might be eating too much. Just see how much your body will allow, and go from there. At my current body weight of 215lb., I know that if I eat more than 375gm. of protein in one day, look out, I'm reaching for the Gas-X real quick! So just listen to your body, it will tell you when it's time to bump up the protein intake.
I would also suggest that you eat your protein in five or six small meals a day. So lets say you need to take in 180gm. of protein a day, then eat six meals with 30gm. of protein in each meal.
Now, here are the top protein sources that you should be consuming: Lean cuts of steak, lean ground beef, lean ground turkey, chicken breasts, turkey breasts, fish, egg whites, whole eggs, low-fat and nonfat dairy products. Whey, egg, and milk protein powders are also great sources of protein. Proteins bars are also very convenient and make great snacks.
Well, there you go, those are the best proteins sources and the amounts you should be consuming. Good luck to you Michael, and eat your protein!!!
Train Hard,
Ricky Gonzalez
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