ARE YOU EATING ENOUGH PROTEIN?

Having a full understanding of your calorie intake is obviously essential to your progress because you know where you are, however you need to know more than that. One of the KEY parts of your nutrition which you must have a clear understanding on is your protein intake. Having the right protein intake is absolutely essential to maximising your recovery, rate of growth and fat loss. 

If you need 2,500 calories per day for instance but your protein intake is too low then you're still under eating indirectly.

You can't put one specific amount of protein which everybody should eat, however I would say that most men would need to be within 1.5-2.5g of protein per kg of lean body weight, most women within 1-1.5g. Where you lie on that scale will depend on things like training goal, age, overall calorie intake, where you're in a deficit or not depend on training volume/frequency as well as other key factors. 

Here are 3 key reasons why having the right amount of protein in your diet is absolutely essential to your results. 

Fighting Catabolism

One of the biggest reasons people lose muscle mass when dieting is because they don't combat catabolism properly, which results in them losing muscle mass. Having enough protein in your diet will help fight the effects of catabolism as the amino acids will protect your muscle tissue. If you're under eating in terms of protein then you're far more likely to suffer with muscle loss, especially whilst in a calorie deficit. 

Fuelling Growth

Sufficient amounts of protein isn't just essential for recovery and fighting catabolism it's also essential for muscle growth. It's hard enough to continuously generate new quality muscle tissue, without enough protein. 

Having the right amount of protein in your diet will provide the amino acid profiles required to promote anabolism and sustain that, as it "spike" your muscle protein synthesis frequently which is a key driver to sustained growth. 

Satiety & Energy Control

Consuming enough protein is also crucial for your satiety and blood sugar levels as protein can be a key regulator. When you up your protein intake you'll find that your cravings will drop as you become more satisfied, with less hunger and fewer cravings for sugary foods as your blood sugar levels are now better regulated. 

Like I said at the beginning, calorie intake is one thing but ensuring that your macronutrient profiles are on point is equally as important. This is especially the case where protein is concerned, this is one area you really cannot afford to ignore.