Lets face it protein is an essential nutrient, and is vital
to your health and is used to build muscles, skin, hair
and nails. However, many people put their health at risk
by eating too much of it.
The typical American diet already provides plenty of protein
and there is no point in adding any more, unlike fat cells,
there is no place in the body to store protein so the excess
is eliminated or is seen as fat rather than muscle.
So what you need to do is to consume just enough protein
to allow your muscles to be healthy, perform work and grow.
But how much is just enough?
You only use protein for about 15% of your energy use,
the majority of energy comes from fats and carbohydrates.
Exercising doesn’t necessarily mean that you require
more protein but more carbohydrates to stop your body breaking
down protein and using that for energy.
Try to make sure that 70% of your protein comes from sources
such as meat, fish, eggs or poultry. The complete protein
provided by these foods combines with incomplete protein
consumed from other food sources. So your body makes the
best of all the protein that you consume.
If you are consuming too much protein, you are probably
consuming too many calories over your maintenance levels
and this will show as an increase in your body fat levels.
And with the advent of the latest fad high protein diets,
not enough carbohydrates are being consumed so the protein
is converted to glucose and not converted into muscle growth.
What is needed for muscle growth is not more protein but
high intensity strength training with the required amount
of time for rest and recovery between sessions.
Because that major bodybuilding star you saw in the latest
magazine requires 300 grams of protein a day doesn't mean
that you have to. What he won't tell you is that taking
Steroids is behind his muscle gains and not his diet.
High intensity strength training and not food stimulates
muscle growth
Consuming excessive amounts of protein is not only bad for
your liver and kidneys but also promotes vitamin and mineral
deficiencies. It is also linked to osteoporosis and some
forms of cancer.
One way to overcome the need to eat large quantities of
protein is to increase the consumption of protein in stages
until a maximum efficiency point is reached and then to
drastically reduce it again. This obliges the body to over-compensate
by increasing the efficiency for the absorption of protein
into the body. An example of a Protein Loading diet is found
below.
Week One
Breakfast: Poached egg on toast, cereal with fruit and
milk.
Snack: Fruit and protein shake.
Lunch: Chicken, potato, and vegetables. Fresh fruit salad.
Snack: Nuts, fruit, and biscuits with cheese.
Dinner: Fish any style, rice, vegetables, and whole meal
bread and fruit . salad.
Week Two
Breakfast: Two poached eggs on toast, cereal with fruit
salad and milk.
Snack: Nuts, fruit, protein shake.
Lunch: Chicken with potatoes and vegetables (any style)
Snack: Nuts, fruit, biscuits with cheese.
Dinner: Roast Beef with vegetables, brown rice, whole
meal bread.
Week Three
Breakfast: Three eggs any style on toast, cereal with
fruit and milk.
Snack: Nuts, fruit, and protein shake.
Lunch: Turkey with potatoes and vegetables, brown rice,
whole meal bread.
Snack: Nuts, fruit, protein shake.
Dinner: ½ Chicken, potatoes, veggies, brown rice,
whole meal bread.
Before Bed: Protein shake.
Week Four
Breakfast: Four eggs any style on toast, cereal with
fruit and milk.
Snack: Nuts, fruit, protein shake.
Lunch: Spaghetti with meat sauce, potatoes, brown rice,
whole meal bread.
Snack: Nuts, fruit, protein shake.
Dinner: Roast Pork, potatoes, brown rice, whole meal
bread.
Before Bed: Protein shake.
After week four of this protein loading diet, move from
the max intake of protein to the lowest. So in the fifth
week go back to week one menu, in the sixth week, week two
menu and so on.
Make no mistake about it this protein loading diet provides
a balance of protein, fats and carbohydrates and combined
with high intensity strength training will be very effective
in increasing muscular bodyweight without the need to ingest
large quantities of protein.
>>
Click here for Tom Venuto's Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle
program
>> Click here for Pete Sisco's Maximum Strength Program | 
