May 10
20
What is Protein Anyways?
As a continuation from my previous post I wanted to expand a little more on the subject of protein. We talked briefly about protein rich foods and I left you with some basic guidelines as to how much protein to consume. Let’s discuss what protein really is and how different kinds of proteins affect our bodies.
Protein as most of us know is the foods we consume such as meats and dairy products. I thought it may be interesting for you to know some of the ways that make some of these food choices different, and how consuming them may alter how you feel or perform.
Your body disassembles protein upon digestion into its basic building blocks, amino acids. Different combinations of amino acids make up all the different cells and tissues in our body. It’s generally accepted that our protein rich foods breakdown to 23 different amino acids. Each amino acid or a combination of amino acids plays a number of roles. We need more of some amino acids than others as they perform multiple functions. In all the 23 amino acids are categorized as follows:
Non-essential amino acids – these are aminos that can be manufactured by the body, meaning if we didn’t consume them our bodies will find a way to make them. They consist of: Alanine, Aspartic Acid, Cystine, Glutamic Acid, Glutamine, Glycine, Ornithine, Proline, Serine, Taurine
Conditionally essential amino acids – these are aminos that though our body can manufacture but we require such an abundance of them that we need to consume them additionally or risk poor performance, sickness, or injury. They consist of: Tyrosine, Cysteine, Arginine
Essential amino acids – these aminos are essential in that our body cannot manufacture them in any significant amount and we need to consume them at regular intervals or we will suffer adverse health conditions. They consist of: Tryptophan, Threonine, Phenylalanine, Methionine, Lysine, Histadine, Valine, Leucine, Isoleucine
Here is a little bit of info as to some of the amino acids that are more commonly discussed and food choices for a good source of them.
Branched chain amino acids, this group consists of Leucine, Isoleucine and Valine. BCAAs are commonly known to athletes for muscle energy production and performance. But BCCAs also play an important role in the formation of hemoglobin and the healing of skin and broken bones. Good food sources of BCAAs are: eggs, cottage cheese and beef to name a few.
Phenylalanine has a variety of useful effects ranging from: and increase in learning, memory, and alertness. It is used to treat some types of depression and can also curb appetite in the dieting individual. Also found in abundance in cottage cheese and almonds.
Tryptophan is an amino many have heard of, and likely experienced after the big turkey dinner. Tryptophan is the precursor to the hormone Serotonin that calms us and aids in falling asleep. Poultry is the best food source I know.
Tyrosine you can think of as the opposite of Tryptophan, Tyrosine promotes greater alertness as well as aiding in the production of melanine (our tanned skin pigment.) Tyrosine can be found in cheese and milk. Warm milk before bed anyone?
And last for this article and in my mind most important is Glutamine. Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in our body. It plays a key role in immune system function and tissue repair and development. Although it is considered conditionally-essential I recommend to many people every day to focus on this important amino acid to feel and perform better. You find it in dairy products, fish and beef.
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Protein powder is one option for adding additional protein for weight loss.
Over the years as a local personal trainer and weight loss expert in Red Deer I’ve seen all sorts of nutritional practices. With so many variations there seems to be one fairly common consensus; that is additional protein is can be a significant benefit. In the past when I have spoke to high school students I was always surprised at how often the students didn’t know which foods were good choices for protein. Maybe this is why many people are not consuming enough, a simple lack of understanding of which foods to eat. Let me share some protein knowledge I’ve gathered through the years while personal training in Red Deer.
Some of the best protein rich foods are: beef, poultry, buffalo and wild game, fish, egg whites, and cottage cheese. When choosing a protein source be cautious of the ratio of protein vs fats, etc. For instance other items such as some pork, especially nuts, and legumes tend to contain so much fat that to consume any significant amount of protein you are consuming a tremendous amount of fat. Now that you have some ideas which foods might be the best to eat you may be wondering just how much and how often you should be eating protein.
I remember when I first started personal training in Red Deer; asking people if they ate a lot of protein. Often I was met with, “yes I eat plenty of protein we have meat a couple times per week.” Our body is in a constant need of protein, it does so much more than just make muscles. Every time we consume foods our blood sugar increases and the body releases insulin, the ultimate storage hormone which lowers our blood sugar and stimulates hunger. At the same time insulin is storing sugars our body is also using and storing the protein within our blood, when our blood sugar drops low, so may our blood protein levels. When our body needs to repair tissue from injury, strain or stress, reinforce our immune system, or help us become more alert or lay down to rest proteins play important roles. By now I bet you see where I am going, protein needs to be the other cornerstone to our daily nutrition next to the almighty carbohydrate. If you consume carbs, you should be consuming protein alongside four to six times per day. In terms of just how much, well that’s an argument that will probably run rampant through all time, but my suggestion would be 1-2 grams or protein per kilogram of bodyweight. (Less active people at the lower end of the scale and more active people toward the higher end.) This is just a guideline, the amount necessary for healthy basic living and the amount for performance or dramatic physical change can be very different, we can talk more about that in a future post. For now happy training!
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The secret to weight loss and a toned body is not fad "Toning" products.
In this column I’d like to discuss one of the great misconceptions that continues to plague people in their fitness efforts. Over my now nineteen years of weight training I’ve competed in a number of bodybuilding events, all the way to the Canadian Nationals three times. Now you may not want to be a bodybuilder, in fact I suspect bodybuilding is almost the furthest thing from the minds of most people reading this post. However, what we may likely agree on is that most of us are looking for ways to achieve that harder more athletic look or what many people like to call a “toned” body.
There are two ways to tone the body. You must either shed some bodyfat—if you’ve been reading my series of posts and newspaper columns you likely have a few ideas on how to do that—or you must create larger stronger muscles.
If your nutrition is working well it’s time to set forth on building the muscles; and don’t worry you won’t become Arnold Schwarzenegger over night. Let’s try to find a common ground and create a better understanding of how the body works and what it means to achieve that idea of muscle tone that many people have. Let’s first look at our muscles in a very simple way. Essentially for any movement we perform, whether it’s talking or walking, we use our muscles. If we can complete that movement repeatedly with little to no real effort there is no need for that muscle to change in any way. The best gym example of this is the traditional light weights and high repetitions. However if we increase the stress on that muscle such as progressive increases in resistance, now our body will be forced to adapt. It may respond by increasing the size and strength of the muscle or figuring out how it can supply more oxygen to the muscle for a greater capacity to work. It’s this adaptation that is so important if we are to achieve a toned body.
Remember that next time you are in the gym; try to increase the resistance just a little over what you completed last week. Don’t be afraid to try different ranges of repetitions to make progress in different ways. But most important of all make sure that the next workout will always provide a greater challenge over the last, this will ensure continued progress.
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The ONLY Three Tips You Will Ever Need To Achieve Your Weight Loss Goals!
