The importance of protein

People who work out and have specific goals need to know the effect of different nutrients in their body. Those who exercise need to eat, and eat well - working out and closing your mouth is a huge mistake and it will most probably give you the opposite to a slim, toned and healthy body.

Basic, undeniable and scientifically proven rule: the food is the one that supplies energy to the body and allows us to be active, able to do all our daily tasks and - most basic, still important - survive. The food that gives us energy is the one that contains macro-nutrients. 

Macro-nutrients are those which the we need in bigger quantities - proteins, fats and carbohydrates, the ones that supply energy. They are all different: carbohydrates and fats are used as pure energy, but if we don't use all that energy (as it happens most of time) our body will store it as body fat.

Proteins are mostly present in all foods from animal origin: meat, fish, eggs, cheese, yoghurt, milk. When you're not sure if a specific food is rich in protein, ask yourself: did this product have a 'mother' or 'father'? If the answer is yes, than it is rich in protein.

But why is that important for us to have a diet full of proteins? And why are they so important after working out?

Protein is fundamental when working out and building muscle.

But why?
When we lift weights, run, do some squats, push-ups or use those gym machines, what is happening is that we are destroying the muscle tissue (don't worry, it comes back to normal - and it might even increase).

What happens is that during the night, while we sleep, the muscle is rebuilt. Here's why protein is so important after working out: so that the muscle is rebuilt, we need to have proteins in our body. Proteins are like bricks: if you damage a wall (muscle), you will need new bricks (proteins) to rebuilt it. Protein will allow the muscle to get to normal shape and even more solid and bigger. If you workout and don't take proteins your muscle will not have how to rebuild itself. It will lose tissue, strength and flabbiness will take over.

5 protein intake rules

1. Don't start taking proteins in an unbalanced way. 
For whoever is starting some kind of workout, the ideal is to take the amount of protein that is near the most common recommendations: should be around 0.8g per each 1kg of body weight.

After, as you improve in your workouts, you might want to increase the amount of protein intake according to the improve of your results. Too much of anything is bad. Taken in an unbalanced way it will be transformed in energy and stored in your body as fat, just like carbs and fats.

2. Don't stay without eating for too long. 
Terrible mistake. When the amounts of energy in the food we eat is not enough and we go through those hungry moments, our body will use the protein present in the muscles as suppliers of energy. Result: we lose muscle.

3. Balance your protein intake through the day (the same quantity in each meal) to promote anabolism (gain of muscle). 

4. Ideal is to do meals with 20g or 30g of protein spread through the day in regular intervals. That way you will be giving your body the right amount of nutrients and answering its needs.

5. In the case of the meat, fish or eggs, go for grilled, baked or stewed. If fried they will add the kind of fat that gets saved in your body.

See you soon,