Recently during a personal training session, I had a discussion with one of my clients about her proper protein intake. After doing a recall of everything she ate the day before, we discovered she only had about 30 grams of protein! The reason why we were assessing her protein intake was because she has been complaining for some time about a few muscle injuries that weren’t healing. I informed her that she should really have about 90 grams of protein per day. How did I come up with this number for her? Just calculate the amount of fat free mass (also referred to as lean muscle mass) a person has and take the number and eat that amount in grams of protein per day. (In this example, she had almost 90 lbs of fat free mass) This calculation is for optimum protein intake . The best way to calculate your fat free mass is by making an appointment with a certified personal trainer or certified nutritionist. If your budget can’t afford to see a professional to calculate this number, I find that Tanita body composition scales are fairly accurate.
Why is protein intake important? Protein is broken down into amino acids in the body. Amino acids are the building blocks for your body. They aid in re-building muscles, skin, hair, nails, the lining of your digestive tract, etc. If your current diet is deficient in protein, your body will have to pick and chose what requires the most immediate attention – often leaving that sore muscle for a future protein intake. Now consider if you wanted to build muscle – this would almost be impossible on a protein deficient diet.
Tags: fat free mass, lean muscle mass, personal training, protein intake