It has been noted that man can survive without carbohydrates but that he cannot survive without protein of fats.I will never advocate a zero / low carb diet as to be truthful I just cannot get my mind to be in favour of such a plan. I know people who have tried them and met with success just as I know people who have tried them and met with disaster. I think that for the average individual the low / zero carb diet is too extreme and the possible results derived from such an eating plan are not significantly greater than those from a less extreme eating routine. I was never a big protein eater and only in the last four months did I finally decide to increase my protein intake. Since doing so I've lost about 5lbs (within three weeks), I've added maybe a 1/4 of an inch to my arms and my lifts have all increased. I am also more defined, I do not have any less energy than when I was eating more carbohydrates.
Can I attribute all of this to an increase in protein? Maybe not all of it but I certainly believe it has played a huge part in it. Allow me to go back a few years to when I was rowing. The year is 1995 and I had a reasonable year on the water and met with success off the water in the form of the concept 2 ergometer. I was doing a lot of training, probably 10-12 sessions per week and only two were weight sessions and those two sessions were endurance based i.e. doing 80 reps with 50% of my 1RM.
In 1995 I weighed about 200lbs and my protein intake was terrible. I would estimate that an average daily consumption was about 150 grams and most of that would have come from milk. At this time I consumed on average about 4250 kcals per day, sometimes over 5000 kcals which meant that protein accounted for at best a measly 14% of my daily intake. I knew very little about protein back then and I really wish I had. In my opinion protein is a very important component of an active individuals eating routine. I would have been stronger and more powerful had I consumed more protein but at that time I was not wise to the benefits of eating more protein and less carbohydrates. Now I weigh about 230lbs and my bodyfat percentage is the same as it was when I was rowing. When we were rowing we would gain weight (upto 10lbs in the winter) and promptly lose it all come spring, this meant that all the strength and power gained during the winter was lost which in a way defeated the purpose of being in the gym in the first place. If my protein intake had of being higher I could have negated the catabolic effects of all the aerobic training and maintained most of the gains made during the winter months. Have you ever noticed how a bodybuilder with 7% bodyfat looks compared to a marathon runner with 7% bodyfat - yes he is bigger but the added definition can "In My Opinion" be attributed to the protein rich diet versus the carbohydrate loaded diet of the runner.
Studies have been conducted with elite swimmers in the USA and instead of allowing them to consume the standard endurance athlete eating routine (75% carbohydrates, 15% Protein and 10% Fat) they changed them to a diet higher in protein (40% Carbohydrates, 40% Protein and 30% Fat), it was a Zone diet as advocated by Dr. Barry Sears. The end result of this was that nearly all the swimmers saw their swimming times improve. Some scientists disputed the findings and even still we have people who are strongly opposed to a high protein diet. They are opposed as they feel red meat is dangerous and in high quantities it is but we can get protein from fish, poultry, dairy products and supplements etc. which reduces the credibility of those opposed to a high protein diet.
I think that protein went out of fashion with the advance of the low fat diet fads - even today there are plenty of people who think that a plate of pasta is the perfect evening meal. I know some people who feel that the stir in sauce they add is more than enough meat, thank you very much! In my very strong opinion the low fat / high carbohydrate diet has resulted in more fat people in society and unless people adopt a more sensible eating plan the problem will persist and develop. Obesity started to rise in Japan when McDonalds opened their first restaurant and with the influx of franchise outlets and western processed convenience foods the problem is getting worse. There were less obese people 50 years ago, yes they may have taken on average more exercise but they also consumed more protein and ate less carbohydrates and of the carbohydrates they ate most would have been in the form of starch i.e. potatoes etc.
Now if we take this into the jungle and look at which animals are the leanest we see the carnivores i.e. Lions, Tigers, Cheetahs, Leopards, Panthers even Crocodiles being very lean and athletic / powerful. The animals that survive primarily on vegetation like the Elephant, Hippopotamus and Pandas etc. are compared to their carnivore brethren more obese. This is not to say that such animals are not powerful or that their diet is bereft of protein for we are all aware of plant proteins. The point is that the ones who eat meat have a much higher percentage of protein in their diets than those who do not eat meat. Does this mean that a homosapian can adopt a diet more in line with that of a tiger and enjoy the benefits of increased power and less bodyfat at the same time. In a word, YES! Obviously we do not want to adopt the exact diet of a tiger but certainly there are huge benefits to be gained from increasing your consumption of protein.
So we have established that more protein will be of benefit to an active individual training with weights, the next question is: how much protein do I need? Lot's of articles will tell you that 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight is more than enough. I feel that 1 gram of protein is not enough and I personally recommend 1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight and ensure that this amount of protein accounts for roughly 35% of my daily calorific intake. For me weighing 230lbs, eating 1.5 grams per pound means consuming 345 grams of protein per day. I've never actually managed to get 345 grams but I almost always get over 300 grams per day and this is at least 1.3 grams per pound per day. I feel that whatever we aim for we may well fall short so the principle is to aim high and fall a little short knowing full well that you are still consuming more than enough to derive benefit. Based on 345 grams of protein equating to 35% of total calories, means that I should be consuming 3950 kcals a day which is by no means excessive but is more than enough to ensure that I have enough energy and that my workouts are productive. Far too many people eat too little for fear of putting on weight. The fact is that if you are training hard be it in the gym or on the track, the amount of extra calories you need to consume to gain blubber is more than you think. To all of you who are reading this try eating more protein and increasing your overall daily calorific intake for a month combined, of course with hard, productive workouts in the gym and see if it makes the difference that I feel it has made to me.
My personal ideal eating routine and the one I try and adhere to consists of: 35% Protein, 50% Carbohydrates and 15% Fat. The reason I opt for these ratios and not the 40-40-30 of Dr. Sears is for a simple reason, if we assume that their is more fat in what we eat than we know or are aware of then if we aim for 15% we might end up with say 20% or maybe 25% and correspondingly less carbohydrates. Whereas I feel that if we aim for 30% fat as in the Zone diet we may end up with more than 30% and for me personally this is too much. As you have already seen I aim for 1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight a day. Seeing as some of you will opt for more and some for less, I made up the charts below.
Each chart lists your bodyweight and then gives you your protein, carbohydrate and fat grams per day plus the total kcals that they equate to. I did up the charts based on consuming .75, 1, 1.25, 1.5, 1.75 & 2 grams of protein per pound per day. If your exact weight is not listed please pick the bodyweight closest to yours i.e. if you weigh 209lbs use 200lbs as your weight.
If you wish to base your diet on 0.75 grams of protein per lb of bodyweight see the table below:
Your Weight Protein Grams Carbohydrates Grams Fat Grams Total Calories
100 75 107 14 855
120 90 128 17 1026
140 105 150 19 1197
160 120 171 22 1368
180 135 193 25 1539
200 150 214 28 1710
220 165 235 31 1881
240 180 257 34 2052
260
195 278 36 2223
280 210 300 39 2394
300 225 321 42 2565
If you wish to base your diet on 1.00 grams of protein per lb of bodyweight see the table below:
Your Weight Protein Grams Carbohydrates Grams Fat Grams Total Calories
100 100 143 19 1143
120 120 172 23 1372
140 140 200 27 1600
160 160 229 30 1829
180 180 257 34 2057
200 200 286 38 2286
220 220 315 42 2514
240 240 343 46 2743
260
260 372 49 2972
280 280 400 53 3200
300 300 429 57 3429
If you wish to base your diet on 1.25 grams of protein per lb of bodyweight see the table below:
Your Weight Protein Grams Carbohydrates Grams Fat Grams Total Calories
100 125 179 24 1435
120 150 215 29 1722
140 175 251 34 2009
160 200 286 38 2296
180 225 322 43 2583
200 250 358 48 2870
220 275 394 53 3157
240 300 430 58 3444
260
325 465 62 3731
280 350 501 67 4018
300 375 537 72 4300
If you wish to base your diet on 1.50 grams of protein per lb of bodyweight see the table below:
Your Weight Protein Grams Carbohydrates Grams Fat Grams Total Calories
100 150 214 29 1720
120 180 257 35 2064
140 210 300 41 2408
160 240 342 46 2752
180 270 385 52 3096
200 300 428 58 3440
220 330 471 64 3784
240 360 514 70 4128
260
390 556 75 4472
280 420 599 81 4816
300 450 642 87 5160
If you wish to base your diet on 1.75 grams of protein per lb of bodyweight see the table below:
Your Weight Protein Grams Carbohydrates Grams Fat Grams Total Calories
100 175 250 33 2000
120 210 300 40 2400
140 245 350 46 2800
160 280 400 53 3200
180 315 450 59 3600
200 350 500 66 4000
220 385 550 73 4400
240 420 600 79 4800
260
455 650 86 5200
280 490 700 92 5600
300 525 750 99 6000
If you wish to base your diet on 2.00 grams of protein per lb of bodyweight see the table below:
Your Weight Protein Grams Carbohydrates Grams Fat Grams Total Calories
100 200 285 38 2282
120 240 342 46 2745
140 280 399 53 3198
160 320 456 61 3659
180 360 513 68 4111
200 400 570 76 4572
220 440 627 84 5032
240 480 684 91 5484
260
520 741 99 5945
280 560 798 106 6397
300 600 855 114 6857
The amount of protein in a few common food items:
A can of tuna (200 grams) has 54 grams of protein
A litre of slimline milk has 38 grams of protein
An average chicken breast has roughly 16 grams of protein
5 weetabix will give you about 11 grams of protein
A bread roll (125 grams) will give you 16 grams of protein
100 grams of Whey Protein gives you roughly 80 grams of protein
This is very obviously not an exhaustive list but it gives you a starting point. It's not easy getting 1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight per day. Let's take a 220lb man as an example. He is looking to consume 330 grams of protein per day.
For Breakfast Jake has:
4 weetabix
500ml of milk
250ml Orange Juice
50 grams Ministry Whey (he's got good taste!) with 300ml milk
Total calories: 900 kcals and 316 kcals(79.1 grams) came from protein which is 35%
For the 11am snack Jake has:
1 apple
1 standard protein bar
1 cup of coffee
Total calories: 370 kcals and 70 kcals (17.5 grams) came from protein which is 19%
For lunch Jake has:
1 can of tuna
1 bread roll
1 cup a soup
Total calories: 620 kcals and 280 kcals (70 grams) came from protein which is 45%
For the 3-30pm snack Jake has:
75 grams Ministry Whey with 500ml milk
Total calories: 489 kcals and 316 kcals (79 grams) came from protein which is 65%
For dinner Jake has:
Chicken breast
80 grams Pasta
Vegetables
1 litre ribena or similar cordial type beverage
Total calories: 900 kcals and 100 kcals (25 grams) came from protein which is 11%
Before bed Jake has:
500ml milk
6 fig rolls
Total calories: 574 kcals and 100 kcals (25 grams) came from protein which is 17%
Over the day Jake consumed: 3853 kcals and 295.6 grams of protein which equates to 31% of total calories. As we can see Jake fell short of his target on grams of protein consumed and he ate a little more than the ideal number of calories in a given day but he was pretty close and I think you'll agree that his diet is not that radical.
If you cannot or will not consume milk then adding a can of tuna to the above with another bread roll would make up for the short fall almost precisely.
This article is not the result of scientific research it's just my views on the subject of protein. The main point one should have gleamed from the above is to ensure you get between 1.25 and 1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight per day from whatever source suits you and you lifestyle best.
