In this article, we will look at the most important element of our diet, without which any training will be useless. It’s about protein. In the specialized literature, you can find the term “protein”. It is from this substance that our muscles consist. A sufficient amount of protein is a prerequisite for your progress, both in losing weight and gaining muscle mass. Fatty acids only stimulate the growth of muscle tissue, while amino acids, formed during the breakdown of protein, serve as a real building material for it.
There is still a debate about how much protein you need to consume per day to achieve a steady increase in muscle mass. Each source gives its own figures: from 0.5 to 5 g of protein per 1 kg of weight. However, all this is rather extreme. In our case, it will be necessary to adhere to the average values: at the initial stage of our training, 1.5-2.5 g of protein per 1 kg of weight will be quite enough for steady progress. Thus, at least three meals out of the recommended six should include protein foods.
You should also consider the type of protein you consume. Protein is of animal, dairy and vegetable origin. The latter variety is found in legumes, soy and cereals. It is undesirable to use vegetable protein as a base, since it is very difficult to digest by the body. In fact, only 25% of the plant protein that is ingested with food is absorbed and used to build muscle. Therefore, your diet should be dominated by animal and dairy proteins.
Among the milk proteins, there are two main types: whey and casein.
The most effective way for our body to digest the protein that is contained in chicken eggs. It is in its structure that it is closest to the protein of our muscle tissue. The easily digestible category also includes proteins obtained from chicken meat (breast), lean beef and milk.
Milk is a very valuable product with an excellent amino acid formula. It is not only easy to digest, but also perfectly stimulates the growth of muscle mass. The only problem that may arise is an individual intolerance to lactose (milk sugar). Fortunately, in our time, dairy products that do not contain lactose have appeared. For obvious reasons, it is necessary to choose skim milk.
Currently, there are a huge number of protein shakes on the market, which help to completely solve the problem of providing the body with proteins. They are delicious and contain easily digestible protein, which is completely used to build muscle tissue. Proper use of protein supplements allows you to more successfully use the nutritional factor to achieve sustainable progress. Consider the relationship between the type of food and the digestibility of protein.
Thus, the most valuable products in terms of protein production are eggs, milk and fish.