Protein!

After talking about women’s health last week I thought it was only fair to mention a few topics today on Men’s Health! After working in a gym for nearly five years one of the most common questions I hear from a man are ‘should I use protein shakes?’ and ‘when should I take protein shakes?’

SO, a few tips about Protein are:

• Protein is required for building and repairing muscle
• most athletes will find that their protein intakes are high enough because of the extra food they are eating to meet the energy needs of their sport
• high protein diets are not necessarily harmful but can get expensive and can carry the risk of replacing other nutritional goals

Guidelines for daily protein intake- grams per kg or body weight per day

Activity level Protein g/kg/d
Sedentary to low levels of activity 0.75
Regular activity (more than 1 hour per day) 1.0-1.2
Endurance athletes 1.2-1.4
Strength or speed athletes 1.2-1.7

The body naturally produces protein and most people can get their protein from food! Some of the foods that contain protein are:
• Eggs
• Chicken breast
• Turkey
• Nuts
• Cheese
• Milk
• Tofu

If you still feel you need protein shakes, then the times you need to take the shake depend on what your goals are! If you take the shake before your workout you will help preserve the lean tissue and will provide a small amount of energy. If you have the shake after your workout it will help aid in the recovery of your session!