Just today I trained a woman who is 250lbs and she is trying to lose weight and a man who is 170lbs that is looking to run a 5k in 3 weeks. Those general numbers don’t apply to my two clients at all and/or to the majority of the population. At this point you can see the problem with generalities. The idea of eating more protein has gained popularity in the past few years. Some people may think the way to build body muscle is to eat high-protein diets and use protein powders, supplements and shakes. But there’s no solid scientific evidence that most Americans need more protein. I recently had a client that kept gaining weight week after week. We went over his diet and I saw no reason for him to consistently gain weight. Then I found out that he was only documenting the food he ate, not the two protein shakes he was drinking every day. Let me make this clear most Americans already get all the protein they need. Depending on your training goal multiply your body weight by where your daily protein needs fall. CF4L Protein Intake Chart
| Lifestyle/Training Goal | Daily Protein Needs | Lifestyle/Training Goal | Daily Protein Needs |
| Bodybuilding | 1.0 – 1.6g/lb bodyweight | Endurance | 0.7 – 0.9g/lb bodyweight |
| Power & Speed | 0.9 – 1.1g/lb bodyweight | Trauma Recovery | 0.9 – 1.4g/lb bodyweight |
| Dieting | 0.35 – 1.0g/lb bodyweight | Stressed | 0.45 – 0.7g/lb bodyweight |
Things to know
- A recent NIH study of men and women in their 70’s found that those who ate the least protein lost significantly more muscle than those who ate the most protein. Maintaining muscle is particularly important as you age.
- Vegetarian food combinations that give you complete protein, for example, include rice and beans or peanut butter and bread. Eggs are also a good source of complete protein. People who don’t eat eggs or dairy products need to be particularly careful to get all the essential amino acids they need.
- .A small 3-ounce piece of meat has about 21 grams of protein. A typical 8-ounce piece of meat could have over 50 grams of protein. One 8-ounce container of yogurt has about 11 grams of protein. One cup of milk has 8 grams of protein. One cup of dry beans has about 16 grams of protein.
- People with certain diseases like diabetes or kidney disease may want to cut back on protein because it can increase the amount of work for the kidney.
- The worse protein sources are fried and processed meats such as bacon, hot dogs, fried chicken and lunch meats
Siddiqu “The Personal Trainer” is a CPT, motivational speaker, author of How Are You Fat and Saved?! He is also the Co-creator of the exercise series “You Would Think I Invented Sweat” for booking information or more fitness tips visit www.chicagofit4life.com