Protein Intake And Muscle Maintenance

Yesterday was a theme day for the Health And Wellness Channel here at b5Media so I didn’t get to the usual Tuesday Muscle Maintenance feature. I could have done it but this week extremely tiring for me. Anyway, enough of my excuses.

Tonight I’m going to try and touch on the subject of protein intake and muscle growth and maintenance. If you do some research you will most likely find that the common agreeable amount of protein to ingest at a time is between 35 and 40 grams. Anymore than that and you’ll just be wasting it as you body will not process all of it. If you’re a hard gainer and you’re trying to put on a lot of muscle mass they say your daily intake should be around the ratio of 1.5 grams per 1 lb of body weight. Now that may seem like a lot and if you plan on trying to keep up with that you will need to space everything out a bit.

What I’m trying and it seems like it may be working well is to take a protein supplement more often in smaller amounts. I’ve read that actually slowly drinking a protein drink throughout a period of time as opposed to chugging it all down is much more efficient. That sounds great and everything but protein shakes are not something that you want to let sit for periods of time, especially if you use milk.

Now everyone is different but this is what I’m trying and it is in my opinion a lot more efficient and is a lot easier on the digestive system:

I weigh about 165 lbs. I get plenty of protein from my regular meals so I only take a protein shake at 9 AM, 2 PM and one before bed, each at 20 to 29 grams each. Depends whether I use skim milk or not. So with that I get about 70 grams of protein. Immediately following each shake I take 3 Papaya Enzyme chewable’s. Papaya Enzyme helps your digestive system break down foods and can help with some of the problems that occur with protein supplements like flatulence. His formula per se, should work best for me because I’m not trying to make mass gains but to increase my muscle a little bit while burning fat and avoiding muscle atrophy. By taking smaller amounts I’m confident that my body is absorbing it all and that it’s not going to waste.

Depending on what your goals are it is always a good idea to consult a physician and get some good solid advice on a work out regiment. Protein is a must for muscle maintenance. What works for one does not always work for another so try different things and see how your body reacts. It all takes time so be patient.

One last thing, expensive protein supplement don’t always necessarily work better than your less expensive ones. Do some research and shop around.

Image Source: GNC.com (GNC Brand Pro Performance 100% Whey Protein)