Strenuous workout sessions or even your busy everyday routine can leave you feeling depleted and you might be wondering how to muster up your energy. Be it you are training to build your muscles or just have a love for fitness, not fueling the body adequately can hinder the progress causing fatigue, reduced strength and poor concentration. An ultimate energy enhancing ingredient to fuel your body is protein. Protein is one of the three macronutrients body needs in large quantities; the other two being fat and carbohydrates.
WHY SHOULD YOU EAT MORE PROTEIN?
Reduces food cravings Get the urge to eat peanut butter straight from the jar? Or those creamy, tasty pastel coloured donuts? You may argue these things are delicious, but ever wondered why you feel so at the moment? Food cravings! Food cravings are directed toward a specific texture or a flavour. Your body does not need nutrients; your brain needs a reward. One way to overcome them is to increase your protein intake. Having high protein diet reduces cravings and desire for late night snacking. (Source: PubMed Central)
Keeps you fuller for longer Comparing the three macronutrients; protein, carbs and fat; protein is the most filling. It improves the function of weight regulating hormones, reduces the levels of hunger hormone ghrelin while also boosting peptide YY levels; the hormone that makes you feel full. (PubMed Central)
Increases muscle mass & strength Taking adequate protein has a positive effect on muscle and strength during resistance training. Those who are actively lifting weights and trying to gain muscle need to make sure to add protein in their daily routine.
Boosts metabolism & increases fat burning Thermic Effect of Food (TEF) states that body uses calories to digest and use the nutrients in the food. Protein has a much higher thermic effect and thereby boosts metabolism and increases the number of calories you burn.
Helps in muscle recovery Protein forms the main building blocks of tissues and organs. It helps the body to repair itself after workout.
Helps to stay fit as you age One of the ageing consequences is that the muscles gradually weaken. Eating more protein rich food helps to reduce age related muscle deterioration.
FAST, MEDIUM AND SLOW ABSORBING PROTEINS
If you are looking for protein to help you achieve specific fitness goals like muscle building; it is more important to consider its absorption rate. Some proteins are absorbed by the body quickly while some others feed protein slowly to the muscles. Fast absorbing proteins are generally digested within 1 to 2 hours while slow absorbing protein is digested over a period of 4 plus hours. Choosing the right kind of protein depends upon the fitness goals.
- Are your looking for a protein supplement to assist you with muscle recovery post workout?
- Are you looking for protein intake to meet your daily protein requirements?
- Are you checking out protein options to keep you full and ward off hunger?
What are Fast absorbing proteins?
Fast absorbing proteins like Whey Protein are absorbed by the body within few hours and includes the two big hitters; whey protein and hydrolyzed whey protein. This means body is able to utilize it faster to help in the process like muscle protein synthesis, the process in which protein helps repair muscle damage caused by intense workouts. Resistance training along with protein supplements gives improved muscle performance and effective muscle protein synthesis. Whey Protein breaks down quickly and results in a spike of amino acids to the muscles. Good as a pre or post workout supplement to counteract muscle breakdown and promote muscle protein synthesis swiftly.
What are Medium digesting proteins?
Medium digesting proteins get digested within 3 to 3.5 hours. Whole egg, pea protein and rice or soy protein are good examples.
What are Slow absorbing proteins?
Slow absorbing proteins take longer period of time of more than 4 hours. Casein is a slow digesting protein. Casein protein forms curd once exposed to the stomach acids and lengthens the body’s digestion and absorption process. Good choice for those who want to maximize muscle growth throughout the night. Consuming casein protein helps in fasting situations like before bed time since it provides the body with a steady release of amino acids throughout the night.
Although whey and casein both are derived from milk, body absorbs them differently. Protein is broken down by the body into amino acids which stay in the bloodstream until they are absorbed. With casein the levels of amino acids stay elevated in blood for a few hours. However, with Whey it stays elevated for approximately 1 to 2 hours. But bear in mind, this is only a part of the equation. You need to consider protein bioavailability (how much protein can your body absorb and utilize) and amino acid score (whether the protein contains all essential amino acids).
INCREASE PROTEIN INTAKE WITHOUT INCREASING FAT
If you are trying to increase your daily protein intake, you may also increase your fats, since protein sources may also contain a lot of fat. For those who want to maintain their body weight or planning to shed some weight, increased fat intake could affect the progress. So how to increase protein intake without increasing fat?
Choose ‘grilled’ over ‘fried’ foods
Fried food generally drives up the fat content of the food. Therefore, choosing grilled items over fried ones help to ensure that you are not consuming more fat.
Choose low fat food
Much of the fat content in the egg is in the yolk. Having multiple eggs in a day can increase your fat intake. Avoid full eggs and swap it for the egg whites to keep fat low in your diet. Avoid full fat dairy items and add non-dairy products in the diet.
Choose powdered peanut instead of regular peanut butter
Agreed. Peanut butter is a delicious way to get more protein, but it also comes with high amount of fat. Not ideal if you want to keep your fat low. Instead you can swap the regular peanut butter for its powdered version. Pressing the peanuts for powder removes all the oil from the peanuts, leaving it with mostly protein and fiber. This will help you to reduce fat while also not cutting on your protein intake.
Try protein shakes or protein bars
One of the most effective ways to increase your intake of protein without any extra fat is to include protein shakes or protein bars into your everyday routine. If increasing protein intake in the old-fashioned way is not an option or is not adequate, taking a protein supplement can be both effective and convenient. Whey91 Protein Bars come in handy with 60 g bars (20 g protein per bar) and available in multipacks to suit your daily protein requirements.
When your body is in great shape, everything is great. And when you want to sculpt your body a balanced diet is not always sufficient to provide required energy to the body and nutrients to the muscle tissues. Therefore, adequate protein consumption is necessary for an improved metabolism and also for gaining muscle mass.
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