In part 1 of the “Bro Diet Basics” series, we talked about how to figure out your daily calorie requirement.
Getting this sorted, tracking, and tweaking this number will determine if you lose weight, gain weight, or stay the same!
Today, we’re going to get a little more into where those calories should come from – specifically, how much protein you need each day.
For a long time, nutritionists maintained that although athletes need more calories total, that people didn’t need more protein intake if they were doing intensive exercise.
In recent years however, the field of nutrition has come around to the view that optimal protein intake is probably higher for some athletes, especially if you’re building muscle.
There has also been thoughts on the idea that eating too much protein strains your kidneys, but research hasn’t really borne this out.
Anecdotally, working with thousands of clients over the years, I can also tell you that eating more protein helps build muscle! And making this tweak often is a big factor in dramatically changing people’s body composition.
Daily protein recommendation:
1.6 – 2.0 g/kg
Example:
Female
160 pounds / 73kg
Daily protein grams range = 117 – 146
Make this protein come from whole foods whenever possible. You’ll get more nutrients, generally healthier for a lot of other reasons.
For sake of convenience, a general guideline is that up to 25% of your protein intake could come from supplements like protein powder.
Stay tuned for part 3 of this series, we’ll continue the conversation!!
– Forest and the FVT Team
PS – If you need more help getting your nutrition on track, it’s something we focus on with our personal training clients at FVT. More info and try our program here: -> http://bit.ly/14dayjump2021
*If you missed part 1 of the “Bro Diet Basics” series, click here – https://www.forestvancetraining.com/blog-2
*More info on protein requirements here – https://www.popsci.com/how-much-protein/