MEAT! CARNE! VIANDE! FLEISCH!
I KNOW, I KNOW…more protein talk. But stay with me!
Protein is “having a moment”. What sucks is it’s always had a moment with us, but now (thankfully), EVERYONE is talking about it. And it’s a good thing. But why do you think that is? Maybe it’s because almost 74% of Americans are considered overweight (including overweight and obese). And I know…I can hear the critics…BASED ON WHAT? What’s the definition of obese? Well, you know the mainstream (and the CDC) use the Body Mass Index, which we all think sucks right? Well, it certainly doesn’t take into account for those who are very muscular, but even Ed now tests normal after having dropped about 10 pounds in the last two years. The definition of “lean” or normal weight from this chart is actually not terrible.
Yes, body composition – percent body fat – would obviously be more accurate, and we can get pretty accurate numbers for that from a whole body DEXA scan, an InBody Scan, Hydrostatic Weighing or Skinfold Calipers. But there isn’t a single source that gives us a standard for where we should be based on age and gender – there’s quite a bit of variation. Human Kinetics and ACE offer us these ranges which aren’t too bad:
And even more specifics for ages:
So why all the body comp talk? Because this topic, protein, has a lot to do with body composition. Everyone wants to lean out for health and aesthetics and look good “naked”, or even in clothes. At our age, we’re often as or more interested in this process as it relates to being strong enough to manage our yard work, independently go grocery shopping, lift our grandkids, and play Pickle Ball for days. Protein plays a very simple role in all of this. In fact, working out without adequate protein is like fishing without bait, or playing tennis with a football: you won’t be successful. Protein allows us to:
- build lean muscle mass which requires more calories to maintain than fat and therefore contributes to that health and aesthetic awesomeness
- feel fuller longer, and more satiated
- fill in our calories with a macronutrient that is essential, satiating, purposeful as it relates to aging (we need more as we get older) – so of our 1600-3000 calories per day, protein will take up 30-40% of that number
- performs numerous essential functions in your body such as repair of tissue, helping to make new cells, aids in building bones, muscles, cartilage, and skin,…but let’s just do this. Here’s a link to a decent article 9 Important Functions of Protein in your Body…better to not recreate the wheel.
For those of us over the age of 55, it can take between 6 and 9 weeks to build one new pound of muscle…over two months to build ONE POUND! And that’s if all the variables are right…including eating enough protein to aid in the repair and development of muscle tissue. It’s a SLOW BUT WORTHWHILE PROCESS. We’re doing our part to create the load and stress to build muscle, but you have to do the dietary part to ensure muscle protein synthesis occurs in the right environment. Protein is important and will help get body fat down, lean body mass (muscle) up, and improve health and aesthetics.
We generally use the guideline of “1 gram per pound of body weight” when speaking about how much protein to consume. It can vary between 1 gram per pound of body weight or “lean body mass” – which is a number you can get from a body composition test, as mentioned above. I’m sure it seems like a lot – it’s not – but it can seem that way if you’re hyperfocused on vegetables and other constituents of your diet. The reason we focus on protein first because if our job is to get you stronger, so you can live a fuller, independent life into your really old years, and you’re under-consuming the one macronutrient that will turn your hard work in the gym into results, then you’re making our jobs impossible and it’s worth the time to push this out.
Preaching more protein is tough. Mainstream media, the USDA…all scare us away from “too much protein” or too much red meat”, which is actually a great modern-day scare tactic to get us focused on the wrong things. “Don’t eat too much protein”…but in lieu of what? Carbohydrates? Oye! If we focus on ancestral health patterns, tailored for today’s activity levels, and also our famous “n=1” (study, sample size of 1, meaning YOU), we’ll see first hand what the results are – and we can measure them by watching all of the common blood markers, and as important – how we look, feel and perform. One formula does not work for everyone, but teaks in amounts of the same types of foods you’re probably already eating will work!
The Standard American Diet promotes protein intake of around 15% of total calories, which should be considered criminal for most. For a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet, that’s 300 calories from protein or 75 grams. A typical male in our gym weighs about 175 pounds…and if they are consuming 2000 (plus) calories, that’s 100 grams short of what we recommend. However, science is catching up! You can search “protein requirements in older adults” and if you stay away from independent blog sites and look for Google Scholar, PubMed or other research organizations (where it’s just not an opinion, like ours 🙂 you’ll find PROOF.
Something I learned a long time ago, and was recently reminded of was that whatever the “norms” are in any subject – they should be scrutinized. The example I gave at the seminar some back was that I asked “How many of your friends and family can do a dead hang pull up?” The average is zero. We ran a gym of young people who virtually all had pull ups. And we knew most adults actually can’t do even 1. That being said, if it’s average for people to not be able to pull up their body weight, is that the right number for the norm? So please, scrutize what you hear as normative values. If the majority of Americans eat 15% of calories from protein, and they’re also overweight, sick and weak, it’s time to look at where we’re going wrong.
While eating enough protein is important, eating the right type of protein is just as important. Protein from animals is easier to digest and easier to assimilate. When possible, select animal sources of protein (it had a face, feet, wings, fins, maybe a shell, probably a face, and soul) and it’s from ethically raised, free-ranging, grain-free, hormone-free, and antibiotic-free animals, it’s a go! Look for grass-fed/-finished beef, pastured pork, free-range fowl and their eggs, wild-caught fish, and game meats. Organ meats should be considered the crème de la crème of protein. And yes, there are vegetarian and vegan sources of protein, but that’s for another post.
Let’s just remember. Protein is not a fad. It is essential. You can’t live without it.
YOUR HOMEWORK
Do this exercise with me…I promise, it will demystify the protein dilemma and give you a very simple plan from which to work:
The image below is my math. All you have to do is work the math for yourself.
List your ideal body weight. Not sure what it is? Refer back up the BMI chart and pick one in your green zone. That is your target grams of protein for the day.
Let’s just talk about a training day – so you’ll do some type of intra (while you train) and/or post (after you train) protein supplementation – whether you drink a protein shake, or eat 30 grams of cooked egg whites – get 30 grams of protein in the intra/post workout period.
Subtract that from your daily protein goal and that’s how many grams of protein you need a day.
Now, divide that by 3 meals, and that’s how many grams of protein you need per meal, or for the rest of the day.
I know I wrote in ounces and extrapolated to grams, and here’s how you do that: use a rule of thumb: every ounce of protein in weight has 7 grams of protein in it. I usually eat more for dinner and lunch than breakfast so I planned dinner and lunch first, and backed into breakfast.
I challenge you to do the math, make a plan, and try it. And to eat your protein first in your meals so that a) you get the benefit of heightened digestion and b) you don’t fill up on crackers and salad and then say “I was too full to eat that much protein”. 🙄
And finally, a fun twist on an old standard to help kick things off.
Here’s a great kick start! Proteined up deviled eggs. Just a little creativity can take an average appetizer from a little protein to a little more protein!
Protein Deviled Eggs
Ingredients:
- 3-4 eggs
- One can of responsibly sourced tuna
- 2 Tbsp avocado mayo
- 1-2 cloves of garlic
- 2 shallots (you can use onion too but I think shallots taste so much better/sweeter)
- 5-6 basil leaves
- Salt and pepper to season
- Juice of one lime or lemon (dealer’s choice)
Boil the eggs and drain the tuna. Mince up the shallots, garlic, and basil and mix it into the tuna with the avocado mayo. When the eggs are boiled dunk them in cold water for about 5 minutes and then peel and halve them. Take the yolk out and mix them really well with the rest of the ingredients. Make balls using wet hands or an since cream scoop and stuff the halved egg whites. Dress with your choice of oil and cracked pepper.
You get healthy fats from the egg yolks and mayo, protein from the egg whites and tuna, and more flavors from the shallots, garlic and seasoning. It’s a great little protein hack.