Protein Intake and Timing for Reducing Body Fat

Protein Intake and Timing for Reducing Body Fat
How many different diet plans have you looked at over the years? Picked up a cookbook like Eat Clean and flipped straight to the meal plan section to see how it looks…read every issue of Women’s Health, Self and whatever else is out there these days with 7 day meal plans. Each one looks delicious and with good intentions we set out to follow it, but honestly it’s such a huge departure from normal that many quit after just a few days. Hence my excitement at working with Sports Dietitian Kirstina LaRue {learn more about what the heck a sports dietitian does}. Instead of overhauling every morsel you eat on day one, a good dietitian will take you through a process: Be brutally honest about what you are eating for one week Calculate all the macro and micro nutrients to see where you might be high or low Discuss your goals {performance, weight, energy, food sensitivities} Review what initial change you can make Test for food sensitivities if desired MY GOALS My initial goals are probably very familiar to many of you, which is why I’ll be sharing the process and progress: Drop Body Fat: My weight has stayed the same for roughly 5 years now…like literally within 1-2 pounds. Doesn’t seem to matter if I eat more or less, run farther or bike, it’s steady. I want to see physique changes for performance and well vanity {brutal honesty, remember!}. Improved Recovery: I talk a lot about recovery because it’s an area of high concern for me. I know with my hormonal issues and my desire to run until I’m very old and gray I must feed my body with foods that allow it to repair. Reduced Sugar Cravings: Time to let go of wanting any food for reasons other than hunger. I don’t need to be banned from sugar…but you know, less is more in this case. Let’s use nutrition to our advantage! It’s a free tool to better performance. STEP ONE: PROTEIN TIMING While I fully expected Kristina to look at my food journal and say: “girlfriend who do you think you are eating those cookies” and something like “dang are you supporting the entire peanut butter industry??” Instead she wanted to focus on protein timing specifically to help with dropping body fat. I love that instead of overhauling my food choices, she picked one area to focus on doing something positive, which I fully understand will crowd out a few other foods. We know that I LOVE the idea of focusing on the positive and not the “banned” foods. One study put it this way “Ingestion of approximately 25-30 g of protein per meal maximally stimulates muscle protein synthesis in both young and older individuals.” — in other words balance your protein intake. An example of what that means from a study by the University of Texas: Group 1: 30g protein breakfast, 30g protein lunch, 30g protein dinner Group 2: 10g protein breakfast, 15g protein lunch, 65g protein dinner This is a technique that fitness competitors like my friends Heather and Laura have been doing for ages, but most of us are just looking at our daily total instead of the breakdown throughout the day. HOW MUCH PROTEIN Honestly, I am back and forth on this idea. I listen to my Vegan friends say we don’t need that much and my Paleo friends say that we need more…my preference honestly would be to go lower and less meat. BUT I went to these very smart sports dietitians for a reason. I’m tired of feeling like a ping pong ball, so I will be following the goals she has set for at least 6 weeks to see what kind of results we get. Then I’ll know for sure what works for my body. Recommended daily protein intakes are roughly as follows: Healthy adult: 0.8 grams/kg Endurance athlete: 1.2-1.4 grams/kg Resistance athlete: 1.6-1.7 grams/kg Endurance athletes need more protein because we are metabolizing muscle during extended workouts. My intake was inline with a healthy adult, but far below the athlete levels. It’s taking some extra thought and planning at each meal for me to ensure that I hit those numbers. In fact, Kristina set up MyFitnessPal with some specific notes to help me focus on this goal each day. So far it’s working like a charm to ensure I really think through my meals and well slow down the grazing! As always I’m not just interested in quantity, I want QUALITY. Eating a bunch of red meat or non-hormone free meat isn’t going to enhance my health, so I’m focused on great sources of protein. You’ll be seeing some tips in the coming weeks on creating meals that are 25-30 grams of protein. Some sources I’m currently using: Vega Sport {no surprise} Flax, hemp, chia Nuts Tempeh Tofu {couple times a week} Fish {a few times a week} Lentils, black beans, chickpeas Gluten free oats {Love Grown Foods}, quinoa Veggies of all kinds Organic Chicken sausage, turkey {a few times a week} If you can tolerate it eggs and quality dairy are amazing sources Existing Sports Nutrition Articles: Sports nutrition who to work with and benefits Is your workout causing you to gain weight 10 ways to manage marathon training hunger Looking for a sports dietitian? Lots of you have expressed a desire to work with someone, so of course I recommend connecting with the ladies at Diet Diva. They do Skype sessions so you don’t need to be in Orlando. How much protein are you eating? Do you spread it throughout the day? Other ways to connect with Amanda Facebook: RunToTheFinish Get new posts via BlogLovin Original article and pictures take http://www.runtothefinish.com/2014/09/protein-timing-to-reduce-body-fat.html#_a5y_p=4970414 site