How Much Protein Do You Actually Need?
If you’re exercising with others, you’ve probably heard of the many protein supplements or foods that boost your protein intake. While it’s true that active people need more protein than sedentary ones, there is a limit on how much you should consume. Consuming too much protein can have consequences and limit your intake of other foods with nutrients necessary for good health. You require the right mix of macronutrients, protein, fats, and carbohydrates. The protein requirement also varies by gender, age, and activity level.
You’re an individual with special needs.
There’s not one right amount of protein for every person. Even your total calorie intake will determine how much you should have. People on a 2000-calorie diet for weight maintenance should have 10 to 35% of their calories from protein. If they’re active, that percentage will be higher. Additional protein is necessary to help mend and build muscle tissue. Sedentary people require a gram of protein for every 2.2 pounds they weigh. That gram grows to 1.3 grams if the same person is active and escalates to 1.6 grams if they’re an athlete.
Your weight, age, and gender also determine the amount of protein you require.
Women have less muscle mass than men do, so their need for extra protein isn’t as great. Since the amount of protein you require is based on weight it affects the requirement by gender, since women generally weigh less than men. Protein isn’t as bioavailable to older people, so they need more. To get the same benefit from protein as they did when they were younger, it takes more protein at a time when appetite is often less.
Some types of protein are more beneficial than others.
Protein is created from amino acids. Nine of them are essential. Essential amino acids are ones the body can’t make so they have to come from food. Animal products contain complete proteins, meaning they have all nine essential amino acids. Not all plant-based proteins are complete. That doesn’t necessarily mean they’re inferior, but it does mean you have to be more careful when you’re planning menus. You can combine plant protein to get all 9 amino acids and create a menu with complete proteins. A chicken breast is a far healthier source of protein than processed meat or a poor-quality protein powder.
- If you love beef but want the healthiest source of protein, consider beef and animal products from pastured animals rather than grain-fed animals. Pastured eggs are also more beneficial.
- Protein is used in the creation of enzymes that cause biological reactions, such as creating connective tissue, boosting the immune system, building and repairing muscle, and providing energy.
- Eating high amounts of protein for extended periods can damage the liver and kidneys. It’s hard to do if you’re using whole foods and not protein supplements. For a 220-pound person, that would mean eating 200 grams, the equivalent of 1 ½ pounds of steak or eight 3-ounce hamburgers daily.
- Consuming a carbohydrate and protein snack after a workout can help speed recovery. It provides the energy and nutrition to repair and build muscle tissue.
For more information, contact us today at Next Level Fitness
Even though we focus heavily on physical fitness, staying mentally fit is just as important. California is a laid-back state, but there’s still a lot of stress that affects you both physically and mentally. Poor mental fitness makes every day a chore. It makes the thought of exercising and eating healthy seem like a chore. Good mental fitness can also help you muscle through the toughest exercises. It’s so important we had a blog last August about exercises that can help. Here are some other ideas to aid in improving mental fitness.
If you’re like many people in Irvine, CA, you’re constantly looking for ways to boost immunity. Preventing illness is far better than trying to cure it. Improving your immune system is the best way to do that. You can stay healthier by focusing on good immune health. Your immune system is your body’s first line of defense to prevent invaders from entering. If they do manage to enter the body, the immune system also weakens and destroys them.
The body requires the amount of water necessary varies by weight, age, and other factors. How much water do you need to stay healthy? While your size plays an important role, your activity level also affects your intake. If you’re out in the hot sun, you’ll need more water than if you’re sitting in an air-conditioned room. How do you decide how much you need? You have to start with a baseline.
Probably one of the things for good health that people might think is easy, may be one of the hardest things to do. It’s getting adequate quality sleep. It’s even worse in today’s society, where lack of sleep is almost a virtue. It’s all about the quality of your sleep and how much your body requires. Everyone is different. Some people thrive on less sleep than others do. It doesn’t make either one good, bad, lazy, or ambitious. It’s just the difference in their bodies. Most adults require 7 to 9 hours of sleep, but a small minority require 6 or less, with a similar group requiring 10 or more hours.
Working out at Next Level Fitness in Irvine, CA, provides a well-rounded program and is one way to improve your health. Some people include 10,000 steps a day or use that technique as their only fitness workout. Is it beneficial? Why are 10,000 steps best and not 5,000 or 15,000? How did we arrive at that number and does it work or do you need more than just walking? There’s a lot of confusion surrounding the 10,000 steps recommendation.
Workouts can improve your physical health, but now there’s evidence it does the same for mental health. It increases circulation, which sends oxygen and nutrient-rich blood to the entire body, including the brain. It also affects the gut microbiome that influences your mood. They increase or diminish neurotransmitters and improve your feeling of well-being and happiness. The gut, not the brain, produces most of the serotonin in your body, so improving the microbe balance can boost your mood.
If you have a desire for a specific food or type of food and nothing else will do, you have cravings. While some cravings are purely physical. If you’re craving watermelon or a juicy fruit, you might need hydration. Some people also have healthy cravings that are the body telling you that you need certain nutrients. Most cravings, however, are strictly emotional. Cravings are part of the reward system that is located in several areas of the brain. It’s more than just being hungry. The part of the brain that tells you it’s hungry or thirsty is located in the hypothalamus at the base of the brain, while the reward system is throughout the center of the brain. If you eat something sweet, it makes you feel good because it triggered the reward system.
You’ll get more than just strength training or endurance training at Next Level Fitness in Irvine, CA/ You’ll also work on exercises to increase flexibility. Flexibility workouts help improve your range of motion and can prevent injuries. What are the best flexibility exercises? They’re stretches. Stretching boosts blood flow to the muscles. That can also help increase their size and strength. It also helps improve posture. Here are a few exercises that help.
If you feel like every workout is punishment and eating healthy is the price you pay for overindulging, you’ll spend every minute getting fit miserable and probably won’t stick with it long. Celebrate every movement, appreciate how good you feel, and reward yourself when you’ve achieved a goal. The reward can be for reaching a goal, completing a tough workout, or sticking with a plan of healthy eating for a month. The celebration can be for accomplishing something hard for you to do, even if it’s easy for everyone else.