Stay in the game, bitches!
 |
| Next stop - Cardio Vascular Disease! |
Reminder :
- Week 2 of Sample Recipes are up.
- The calipers are at the gym if you want to take your measurements.
- As far as your measurements are concerned, if you did not do them this weekend you are OK to do them on week 2 or week 3, at the very least, the half-way point. Granted you stayed Paleo-savvy, it should show you a progression.
---> M
I have a question on how much protein to eat. Where did I read that it's 1.5-2 times your body weight in kiligrams; in grams of protein/day? Is that right? I don't want to eat too much protein so that it stores as fat!! It seems like some people think if I'm trying to gain more muscle, it will automatically include more general mass, which will therefore mean more fat. ??
ReplyDeleteThere are many different numbers you'll see for how much protein to consume. I think a good baseline to aim for is 1 gram per pound of body weight, which is essentially the same as the 2 grams per kilo that you read about.
ReplyDeleteIn general, I think decreasing the breads, pastas, and simple sugars in your diet (as you have been doing) will have a much more profound effect on fat storage than consuming too much protein. Additionally, I tend to err on the side of having more protein rather than less, to make sure that I am giving my muscles enough resources.
Many of the resources that you'll find online regarding muscle gain are directed at people that go through cycles of bulking and cutting, where they spend a few months eating a ton and a few months eating a lot less. Most of these people are guys that do bodybuilding competitions, where the focus is on being very muscular and lean rather than on performance.
This is effective for the purposes of strictly getting stronger, and I have done that myself. However, I have also found that it is very possible to gain strength and muscle while still staying in a state that will be conducive to constantly improving your WOD times. In fact, I was "beach-ready" for two years while I gained a lot of strength by doing WODs and making sure that I had at least 1 gram per pound of body weight per day.
Source:
Years of experience.
***
Bottom Line:
Aim for at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight per day, making sure to eat when you are hungry. As long as you stay away from the aforementioned carbs and eat when hungry, you'll still be able to gain the strength and lean mass you're interested in without the fat.
Ok, since we're able to add fruit back in to our diet this week, how much counts as 1 serving? Is that like 1 apple or like a handful of berries, or what?
ReplyDeleteSooms: stay tuned, I'll add to Tristan's info in a bit.
ReplyDeleteTristan: good post/comment. Side-five to you.
Squirt: So that we wont obsess, stick to one whole fruit or a cup of mixed small fruits, like berries.
Note - that doesn't translate to "eat a watermelon or papaya" don't be smart-asses.
I've got to say, it's next to impossible for me to eat that much protein in a day unless all I eat is protein and consume a lot more calories. I have three egg whites/day = 10gm; a few servings of nuts totaling maybe 18gm; about 30gm with whatever my lunch is; and let's say another 30gm-40gm at night (half-pound bison burger).
ReplyDeleteMy morning smoothie: avocado and almond milk, another 5gm.
So that adds up to around 98gm! I'm not sure how I could add more protein to my day without tacking on a lot more calories too. Suggestions?
Muscley Milk
ReplyDeleteI use muscle milk or pure protein bars, but not every day. Those add 250-300 calories to my day, so I confess I've used it as a meal/snack substitute rather than an addition to my regular eating schedule.
ReplyDeleteI'm with PJ
ReplyDeleteNot sure how to get that much more protein without eating so many more calories.
ReplyDeleteBut maybe that's why I'm so weak - I usually don't eat more than 40 g of protein a day.
ReplyDeleteYou guys might want to switch to a protein powder with fewer calories. I buy the Vitamin Shoppe store brand whey protein (BodyTech Whey Pro 24). There are 24 grams of protein and 120 calories in each serving, which is about half the cals of Muscle Milk for the same amount of protein. Plus it costs a lot less.
ReplyDeleteAdding up what I will probably eat today, I'll end up at 1737 calories and 103gm protein. My goal for now is weight loss, so I don't like going over 1500 calories in a day. I still don't know where I could pack in more protein!
ReplyDeleteI may sub chicken breast for bison burger tonight(260 cal vs. 504 cal for 8oz.). That will slide me right in at 1493. I'll save the bison for post-workout tomorrow.
Brad - good suggestion on the alternate protein powder; too bad I just bought an enormous jug of muscle milk yesterday. :(
I think that it's better to focus on how you feel rather than how many calories you've consumed, both from a peace of mind perspective and from a results perspective.
ReplyDeleteI've counted calories before on several occasions, probably totaling 18 months of life, and my results have always been lackluster. I've almost always ended up losing way more strength and muscle than desired. As you can imagine, this is a bit disheartening.
However, what I found to be very effective for me in losing fat while retaining and even improving strength was a pretty simple system. Essentially, I wouldn't eat until TWENTY TO THIRTY MINUTES after I could feel and hear my stomach growl, at which point I would eat a meal with a sizable amount of protein, good carbs, and fats (I'd make sure I was hitting my 1 gram per pound of body weight and then eat the veggies and fats until satisfied).
I really like paleo and find it effective for the same reason that I found my method of fat loss effective: sustainability. For me, it was simply too stressful and not beneficial enough to count calories. I personally know that it's tough to go away from counting calories, especially once you have your system down, but I think there is a lot of benefit that you can get from abstracting away your nutrition.