Getting Enough Protein

By Team Beachbody

One of the biggest adjustments that most Power 90^® users have to make is increasing the amount and percentage of protein in their diet. While this adjustment is particularly difficult for vegetarians, it seems to be creating a lot of discussion on the messages boards from our subscribers.

As your body builds muscle, its need for protein increases. Studies show widely varying results on just how much protein is necessary. Endurance athletes will often only consume 10 - 15% of their daily caloric needs from protein while bodybuilders sometimes subscribe to a 1-gram per pound of body weight regiment. We think that most Power 90^® users should shoot for getting around 30% of their daily calories from protein.

Primary sources for protein are meat, fish and dairy products. Vegetarians' primary sources are legumes and "meat substitutes" made from wheat products.

For meat eaters, red meat and poultry have plenty of protein, but are also very high in saturated fat and cholesterol. Fish (except shellfish) has approximately 50% less fat and cholesterol and is an excellent source of essential fatty acids, and therefore a better choice for daily protein consumption.

Dairy products are the savior to many a vegetarian. However, only egg proteins are "rated" as high as animal-source proteins. For this reason, it is tougher to get good muscle resynthesis if you get most of your protein from milk products.

People trying to increase lean muscle mass without eating more animal protein can run into another problem because the primary sources of options (legumes, tofu, etc) all have fairly high percentages of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates work against their goal.

A simple means of assuring that you get enough protein is to take supplemental protein. Most of what you will find on the market is either soy or whey. In analyzing these sources, you will see how you can tell which would suit your lifestyle best.

According to Hammer Nutrition's founder, Dr. William Misner in the Journal of Endurance:

"For muscle resynthesis after intense interval sessions or strength workouts, WHEY Protein Concentrates with a glutamine-enhanced profile is the top bioactive protein. However, aerobic metabolism and cardiovascular development during endurance base-training will benefit most from SOY Protein Isolates, which provides a remarkable amino acid and isoflavone profile for enhancing endurance performance outcome."

What this means is that whey protein is more effective for recovery from heavy resistance (or weight) training while soy protein is a better alternative for endurance sports. Therefore, the best way to ensure that you are getting enough protein for the job would be to supplement with whey protein on high-intensity resistance days and soy on your more endurance-oriented cardiovascular days.