Should I eat more protein to build muscle? Nutritionist: Carbohydrates are more important!

If you want to get rid of all the extra fat and get a sexy waistline, eating more protein is the right choice, right? In recent years, the fitness and weight loss trend has been popular, and most people have heard of the saying "gain muscle and lose weight". However, nutritionist Zhang Peirong, who loves marathon running, reminds us that there are tricks to supplement protein, and the more is definitely not better. Moreover, among the nutrients that should be supplemented before, during and after exercise, carbohydrates are far more important than protein!

Daily protein intake: 1 gram of protein per kg of body weight

Nutritionist Zhang Peirong said that protein is an important raw material for synthesizing muscles, and is also the source of components for the skin and some digestive enzymes. A certain amount must be maintained in the human body. For normal adults, each person should consume 1 gram of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. That is to say, a 60-kilogram adult should consume 60 grams of protein per day. If you consume too much and your daily activity or exercise volume does not increase, the 4 calories in every gram of protein will be converted into fat and stored in the body. Long-term accumulation will lead to obesity.

If you want to develop charming muscle lines, moderate exercise stimulation and sufficient protein are essential.

Want to build muscle! Add a little more protein to the base

However, for those who have exercise habits, want to build muscle, or are doing weight training, these amounts of protein can be called "basic amounts", which are only enough to maintain the basic functions of the body; if you want to achieve the goal of strengthening muscle groups and turning fat into attractive lines, in addition to moderate exercise stimulation (such as resistance exercise), you also need to supplement enough protein to synthesize muscles.

Nutritionist Zhang Peirong said that for adults who have exercise habits, the recommended daily protein intake is 1.2 to 2.0 grams per kilogram of body weight, while for people who do weight training, it is recommended to consume 1.5 to 2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight.

Zhang Peirong is a nutritionist. (Photo/File Photo)

There are ways to supplement protein! Breakfast, lunch and dinner are equally divided + after exercise

It should be noted that the body's absorption capacity is limited, and protein must be supplemented in multiple times. It is recommended to calculate the "basic amount" when supplementing, and divide it into breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The remaining extra protein for muscle building and weight training can be supplemented after exercise to repair muscles damaged by exercise.

For example, an adult weighing 60 kg needs to consume 90 grams of protein every day in order to build muscle (calculated at 1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight). The recommended way to eat is to distribute the 60 grams of basic protein evenly among three meals, with 20 to 25 grams of protein per meal, and the additional 30 grams of protein as nutritional supplement after exercise.

Do you need to supplement protein before, during and after exercise?

For extra protein, is it enough to eat it after exercise? Is it wrong to supplement a little before, during, and after exercise? Nutritionist Zhang Peirong believes that if you want to build muscles and tones, you should supplement with much more carbohydrates than protein. The following explains the important nutrients that should be supplemented before, during, and after exercise.

Before exercise:

Just like you need to fill up your car with gas before driving a long distance, to prolong your endurance in order to build muscle and burn fat, you also need to replenish the energy for muscle contraction - muscle glycogen - first so that the training can achieve the best results. Compared to protein, carbohydrates can be absorbed by the human body more quickly and converted into glycogen for storage. Therefore, before exercise or strength training, the best source of nutritional supplements is mainly carbohydrates, with a small amount of protein at most.

If you want to build muscles and tones, you should supplement with more carbohydrates than protein.

During exercise:

It depends on the type of exercise. If the exercise intensity is low and the exercise time is less than 1 hour, just drink water to replenish the water and electrolytes lost through sweat. If the exercise intensity is higher, such as a 10-kilometer road run, because the glycogen in the muscles will be reduced during running, in order to keep the muscles in a good contraction state, it is recommended that in addition to replenishing water, you also need to supplement with carbohydrate foods that can be quickly absorbed by the body, such as sports drinks, energy bars, energy jelly or bananas.

When the exercise intensity is a little higher, such as for half marathon or full marathon runners, it is recommended to supplement with BCAA (branched-chain amino acids, a type of protein). Not only can it repair muscle damage during exercise, but protein also produces a "glyconeogenesis effect", first converting into pyruvate in the human body, regenerating glucose, and then turning into glycogen and storing it in the muscles, liver and blood. Muscle glycogen can provide energy for continuous muscle contraction.

After exercise:

Although protein can repair damaged muscle tissue and tighten skin lines, it is still not advisable to consume too much. Moreover, exercise consumes a lot of body energy. In addition to protein, post-exercise nutritional supplements should be mainly carbohydrates that can be quickly converted into energy. It is recommended to supplement about 300 calories after exercise, and the ratio of carbohydrates to protein is about 3:1, that is, 225 calories of carbohydrates and 75 calories of protein.