If you've been working out with weights for any length of time, you know
the importance of supplying your body with frequent feedings of quality
protein so that your body will be able to have the necessary building
blocks to build muscle in the shortest amount of time possible.
How much protein should you be consuming each day? Well, that debate has
been raging for many years. Eventually, the mainstream will accept what
those in the bodybuilding community have known for a long, long time.
In order to increase muscle mass, you should be consuming at least one
gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day.
This is a good starting point.
After awhile you may gradually increase your protein intake, monitoring
your progress as you go, to determine if a higher protein intake allows
you to make better progress.
Personally, I make better progress when my protein intake is somewhere
between one and 1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight, spread out
over 6 meals per day.
The above paragraph may not be new to any of you. What you might not
realize, however, is that protein is also extremely important when
dieting to burn off excess body fat.
Yes, it's important to keep your protein intake high when dieting to
make sure that you don't burn off any muscle tissue in your quest to get
ripped.
But that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about taking in
protein in order to boost your metabolism and burn more fat, in addition
to helping preserve and build your lean muscle tissue.
In a study published in the American Journal of Physiology, one group
was fed a high protein diet (just over one gram per pound of bodyweight
per day) while the second group consumed a protein diet near equal to
that of the RDA.
The group eating the high protein diet burned more fat than the group
consuming protein near equal to the RDA.
One reason for this could be an increased "thermic" effect. The thermic
effect of the RDA group was elevated 16% after eating.
However, in the high protein group the thermic effect increased 42%
after eating, almost 3 times that of the RDA group.
This thermic effect of digesting your food peaks approximately one hour
after eating. Spreading your daily caloric intake over 6 meals a day,
eating every 2 to 3 hours, helps to take advantage of the increased
metabolic rate that accompanies eating.
In other words, the more oftern you eat, the higher your metabolic rate,
or the number of calories your body burns each day.
In addition, by adding more protein to each meal, you also increase your
metabolism. Your body requires more energy (calories) to process protein
than it does carbohydrates.
Let's review some simple changes you can make right now in your
nutrition program to rapidly increase your body's ability to not only
build muscle but burn fat also.
1) Eat 5 to 6 smaller meals per day, as opposed to 2 or 3 larger ones.
This will ensure that you supple your body with the nutrients necessary
to build muscle, as well as increase your resting metabolic rate.
It will also prevent your body from kicking into "starvation" mode,
which can happen when you go too long between meals.
If this happens, your body will start burning muscle for energy and
increase your body fat stores, as well as slowing down your metabolism.
All of these are things you want to avoid.
2) Eat a high protein diet consisting of at least one gram of protein
per pound of bodyweight. This helps ensure that your body has the
protein available to increase maintain a positive nitrogen balance,
which can lead to an increase in your muscles mass.
It will also increase your metabolic rate, allowing you to burn more
body fat than a low protein diet, without as large a decrease in your
daily caloric intake, which will also help avoid the "starvation" mode
discussed in the previous paragraph.
Try these simple changes in your nutrition program to help you rapidly
increase your muscle mass, burn off unwanted body fat and achieve the
ripped muscular body that you've always wanted.
Remember: "Never give up. Always pursue your dreams. Don't let anyone
stop you. Don't let anyone tell you what you can and can't do."