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There is a big misconception in the fitness community that more protein, means more gains and more muscle growth.
People think that by consuming over 200 grams of protein a day, they will see huge muscle gains and think they will look as jacked as Ronaldo by eating that much of it.
People worship Protein as the most important macronutrient that we should consume, and antagonize carbs and fats as the macros that will make you put on weight and gain lots and lots of bodyfat.
Unfortunately, that isn't how it works. More protein, does not mean more muscle growth.
Protein isn't the magical macronutrient that will solve all your skinny problems and help you pack on pounds and pounds of muscle. More of it isn't necessarily going to get you jacked.
Yes, Protein is extremely important for our bodies and the muscle building process, but overconsuming it isn't doing your body anything extra besides being stored for later use.
In order for you to build muscle, you must follow a consistent strength program, consume a reasonable amount of protein, and if you'd like to see faster growth, eat in a calorie surplus.
If you'd like to learn more about how to track your calories to help you build lean muscle mass, or lose fat, then check out this blog post.
The Role of Protein in Our Bodies
The reason why protein is important for our bodies, is because protein stimulates our body's internal process of protein synthesis.
Protein synthesis is the process that your body does to form new nuclei and cells to repair damaged or dead cells.
When we workout and push our bodies to their limits, we cause the muscle fibers in our body to tear microscopically. This sounds bad, but it is essential for muscle growth, since your body will repair these damaged muscle fibers and make them bigger and tougher as a result.
These damaged muscle tissues are what cause Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, or DOMS, which is the pain we feel in our body the day after an intense workout.
If we consume too little protein in our diet, the process of protein synthesis will not be as efficient since our cells don't have the protein they need to function properly, and we will not recover as quickly from our soreness.
That is why protein is essential for our bodies, especially as athletes. However, people who don't know the true reason why we need protein have derived the misconception that we only need protein in our diet to be strong and have the most muscle gains.
Why Too Much Protein is Bad
Because of this misconception around protein consumption, people prioritize consuming a majority of their diet with just protein. They try to cut out carbs and fats as much as possible because they heard that they make you 'fat.'
However, because of this lack of carbohydrate and fat intake, their bodies will not function properly, and they'll constantly feel fatigued, since their bodies don't have the proper fuel they need to perform, and their body won't have the nutrients it needs to function properly.
We need carbs and fats just as much as we need protein in our diet.
If you would like to find out more on how to build a healthy diet for football or general fitness, than check out this blog post.
Although the actual overconsumption of protein won't be too harmful too you, it's better to stick to consuming the right amount of protein needed to make sure you're stimulating muscle protein synthesis, and filling the rest of your needed calories with quality carbs and fats to give your body the fuel it needs to perform.
This will also prevent
Going a little over your required protein intake won't do too much harm, in fact, it may be beneficial if you're constantly doing heavy strength training and are constantly breaking your muscle down.
And with that, we move on to our next point:
How Much Protein Do You Need?
Now that you know that you shouldn't overconsume too much protein, how do you know how much protein you should consume on daily basis?
As athletes, we're constantly breaking down our muscle tissues through heavy strength and athletic training, which means that we're going to need more protein than your average person.
According to this article from Journal of Sports Sciences, studies in protein requirements for strength and endurance athletes show that athletes who perform heavy strength training and high endurance based sports require a higher protein intake than the recommended dietary allowance value of 0.8g per KG of bodyweight.
Three groups of strength athletes were placed into three different treatment groups. One group consumed the recommended protein intake for the average person (0.8g per KG) and was considered the 'low protein' group. The second group consumed a 'medium' intake of protein (1.4g per KG), and the third group consumed a 'high' protein intake (2.4g Per KG).
Results showed that individuals in the 'low' protein group, had a reduced rate of whole body muscle protein synthesis (MPS) compared to the 'medium' and 'high' protein groups.
However, there was no significant difference in the 'medium' and 'high' protein groups in the MPS.
This shows that athletes generally need a higher protein intake than normal, so in terms of how much protein you should consume in a day.
According to the article, athletes should consume anywhere from 1.4g to 2.0g of protein per KG of bodyweight to maximize MPS.
In order to calculate how much protein YOU need in a day, follow this step-by-step process.
Find your weight in Kilograms. If you live in the United States and measure in pounds, simply divide your weight in pounds by 2.2.
Multiply your weight in Kilograms by 1.4, to 2. Generally, if you have a heavy training day, you will need more protein, while on days where you're not training as intensely, you won't need as much protein. (Ex. I weight 67 KG, and on a low intensity day, I will have to consume around 100g of protein as a minimum. On a High Intensity Day, I will need to consume a minimum of 140g of protein.)
It's okay to go over the minimum. Generally, on a typical day I consume around 160 to 180 grams of protein since I train intensely on a weekly basis.
If you consume around 30-50 grams of protein across 3-4 meals, then you should have consumed more than enough protein to stimulate MPS.
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I hope this helps! Thanks for Reading.
If you would like a in-depth nutrition guide to help you make better nutrition habits than check out our free guides section on the website!
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