Bodybuilding Nutrition And Protein Requirements

Protein Requirements
There is an incredible diversity of opinion on just how much and what types of protein are needed each day by bodybuilders. My personal feeling on protein requirements for bodybuilding nutrition is moderate. Weighing a little over 200 pounds, I consume 150-200 grams of protein a day as part of my bodybuilding nutrition.

There is absolutely no doubt that protein is a vital food element for every bodybuilder. Protein forms the building blocks for all of the body’s skeletal muscles (over 600 of them), as well as for every major organ (e.g., the heart, lungs, kidneys, skin, eyes, stomach, etc.). The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has set an Adult Minimum Daily Requirement (AMDR) for protein consumption at one gram per kilogram (2.2 pounds) of bodyweight. In other words, the FDA’s AMDR is a little less than a half-gram of protein per pound of bodyweight. The FDA also believes that much of this protein AMDR can be made up from vegetable protein sources.

I personally feel that active bodybuilders require almost twice as much protein as what the FDA recommends, and I believe that this protein should come primarily from animal sources, which yield a higher quality of protein than do vegetable sources. I recommend that you eat three-quarters to one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight. Any diet amounting to 300-400 grams of protein a day is a waste of money, as well as a potential strain on the kidneys. It also can be a potential source of accumulated bodyfat because all calories in excess of daily energy requirements will be stored as bodyfat, whether they come from fats, carbohydrates, or proteins.

You should always consider the quality of the protein that you eat. Nutritionists talk about the Protein Efficiency Ratio (PER) of foods, which is based on each food’s amino acid content and assimilability by the body. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein itself. There are 22 amino acids, 14 of which the human body can produce within its own digestive system. The other eight - called essential amino acids - can’t be manufactured in the body and must be contained in the food you eat.

If even one essential amino acid is missing from the food you eat, your body won’t be able to use the protein that you have consumed. For body assimilation of protein, you must consume either a food containing all eight essential amino acids or a combination of foods that supply a few of these essential amino acids, which, when totaled, have all eight essential amino acids.

This is where the PER of foods comes into play in planning the protein content of your diet. It so happens that all proteins from animal sources [except gelatin] are complete (contain all of the essential amino acids in high concentrations). Egg albumen (egg white) has the highest PER, followed fairly closely by milk products and then by animal flesh.

Of all vegetable proteins, only soy beans have complete protein, although this food’s content of one of the essential amino acids is quite low. All other vegetable proteins (nuts, seeds, grains, beans, corn, etc.) contain incomplete proteins. It is possible to improve the completeness and the usefulness of vegetable proteins by combining them with either complete animal proteins or with other vegetable protein sources with complementary amino acid makeups. Here are three such combinations that are used, particularly in underdeveloped countries: (1) grains + milk products, (2) grains + legumes (peas, beans, etc.), and (3) seeds + legumes.

I encourage bodybuilders to avoid - or at least curtail their consumption of - red meats, such as beef and pork. These red meats are extremely fatty, and therefore quite high in calories. They also contain considerable uric acid, which harms the body’s joints. A bodybuilder’s best sources of protein are fish, poultry (with the fatty skin removed before baking or broiling), eggs, and commercial protein supplements.

Milk presents problems to most bodybuilders, because 90%-95% of all men and women are at least mildly allergic to the lactose (milk sugar) in it. This can cause both stomach and skin bloating, because most adults have insufficient production of lactase, the enzyme that digests lactose. Milk products without lactose (cheese, protein powders, etc.) will present no allergy problems, however.

Protein supplements are useful to bodybuilders if they are used correctly and not to excess. When you are eating five to six (or more) meals per day in an attempt to gain muscular bodyweight, a protein drink is valuable between regular meals. Or if you’re so rushed that you would ordinarily not have time to prepare a meal, a protein drink can be whipped up and consumed in as little as three or four minutes. And it will give you nearly as much nutritional value as the meal you would have missed.

Protein (and all other) supplements should always be used as supplements, however, not as substitutes for ordinary, nutritional foods. The tendency of some young and enthusiastic bodybuilders is to get so carried away using food supplements that they virtually exist on supplements alone. Some spend over $1000 per month on food supplements, which is very foolish.

To properly mix a protein drink, you will need a blender, which is often called “the bodybuilder’s best friend.” If you don’t already have one, buy a good quality blender with variable speed controls. You’ll use your blender a lot, so it’s better to spend more money on one now than to economize and have the cheaper blender break down after only a few months of use.

Carbohydrates and Fats
Carbohydrates and fats are the body’s main sources of energy, with carbohydrates the body’s preferred energy source. One gram of carbohydrate yields four calories when metabolized for energy in the human body. One gram of fat yields nine calories.

Carbohydrates are easily metabolized by the body and produce energy very quickly. As such, carbohydrates are the best source of fuel for workout energy. I consume about 150 grams of carbohydrates each day when dieting for contests and even through the body, adding to stool bulk). Celery and most salad greens actually require more energy to digest than they produce and are thus negative calorie foods.

A certain amount of fats is necessary for healthy skin and proper nerve function. It is impossible to completely eliminate fats from the diet - and, indeed, it would be unhealthy to do so - but we go as close to zero fat intake as possible. This is done, of course, because fats have more than twice as many calories per gram as protein and carbohydrates.

Author: Rex Grogan
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