Mastering Macronutrients (Part 3) - Protein

In our first two posts of the "Mastering your Macronutrients" series, we covered carbohydrates and fats as part of your nutrition plan. Part three addresses the "mother of all macros": protein.

Before going on, I want to recap why we felt it was so important to put together this series. Dieters, whether they are successful in losing weight or not, by definition give over control to someone else to "fix" their problem. Whether you are purchasing a meal plan, using shakes, or simply following a plan someone else laid out for you, at some point a person decides "I can't do this on my own and I need someone else to tell me what to do." If you were successful, great. But what happens when you come off the diet? Or, what if your goals change? If you weren't successful, do you know why you weren't? Or are you just frustrated?

We want to give you the tools and understanding to build your own nutrition plan. To sustain it for months and years to come. And, to make adjustments to it, whether it is fine tuning or an outright overhaul. When you own the knowledge, you will be more likely to make the very best use of it. You simply can't buy that kind of personal authority.

Onward...

Protein, an introduction

Proteins, as a food component, provide amino acids which are required to renew and replace body tissue, including muscle, organ, and skin. There are over 20 amino acids used by the human body, nine of which must be consumed in the diet, as the body cannot synthesize them from other compounds. The body breaks down and distributes amino acids throughout the body through the digestive tract and liver.

Your body is continually breaking down and renewing tissues at a cellular level. The cycle of daily regeneration of tissue is known as "protein turnover," which is, in itself an energy-consuming process. Lower rates of protein turnover are associated with aging. Protein turnover has been shown to increase through exercise and training, particularly strength training.

Insufficient levels of energy in the body from carbohydrate (glucose) and fats will result in the body consuming dietary protein or muscle tissue to supply its needs (a process known as ketosis). Excess protein can be stored by the body as fat, but it is not an efficient process, as 1/4 of the potential caloric energy is consumed in the conversion process. For the most part, your body would rather just get rid of the unused protein, rather than keep it around.

Why protein should be the centerpiece of your nutrition plan

Protein is unique among the macronutrients. First of all, protein has the unique ability to trigger the satiety response in your brain. This shouldn't be that surprising, as we have evolved for millions of years to be a large carnivore. There is literally nothing as satisfying. I'm talking about the difference between feeling "full" which is the result of overeating and physical discomfort, and feeling "satisfied" which is your brain's "thank you" for giving the body some much needed building material. Even food marketers are catching on and have added the "fills you up with protein" message to an ever-increasing number of their campaigns. This is not an endorsement for their products, however, as most will far overstate the virtues of their product while simultaneously glossing over nagging issues like sugar content. Still, it's a fact - protein-forward meals trigger the "I'm full and satisfied" response.

Protein is inefficient. What? How can that be a good thing? When it comes to something called the thermic effect of food (TEF), inefficiency is a great thing. That's because protein takes work to break down. Work, as in: calories. Protein has the same caloric content per gram as a carbohydrate food, but carbs are absorbed easily, while protein actually burns energy to digest and absorb. Therefore, consuming the same calories in protein instead of carbohydrate will actually create a little more of a calorie deficit for you overall.

With me so far? Here's where it gets interesting.

Calorie counters (i.e. calories in < calories out = weight loss) operate on the assumption that a calorie is a calorie. It's nothing but a piece of potential energy waiting to be expended or stored in the body. Even those that have gone to great pains to create sophisticated equations to account for basal metabolic rate (BMR) and TEF are missing something critical. Protein is the only macronutrient that can be used to build new muscle tissue, which does more work and burns more sugar when it does. So, rather than just being a piece of potential energy, it is a piece of potential ability to do work and consume more energy. It's like the cold fusion of nutrition!

Granted, you have to be working on getting stronger to create those adaptations, but that's why we recommend a combination of nutrition and training, including strength training to optimize your body composition.

Another point that is not well accounted for in the calorie counting mindset is that, biochemically, it is extremely difficult for protein to be converted into available energy, which means it's very hard to store as fat. So, no, a calorie isn't exactly a calorie.

How much protein do I need?

The precise amount of protein you need depends on a lot of things: the amount and type of training, your specific goals (weight loss, muscle gain), your age, as well as how you are managing your other macronutrients. That said, the current consumption level for Americans is somewhere around 15% of total intake.  This is lower than anybody should be consuming. A healthy nutrition plan should generally consist of anywhere from 30-40% of intake from protein, depending on your activity.

If you're at a stable weight and not accelerating protein turnover with heavy exercise, then somewhere between 0.6 and 0.8 grams per pound is fine. If you are working out hard and trying to lose fat while preserving muscle mass, then between 0.8 and 1.2 grams per pound of your target weight should be your daily goal. If you are trying to gain muscle, then between 1.2 and 1.5 grams of protein per pound of your desired body weight is a better target.

Choosing quality protein sources

Protein content of common foods.

There are three major considerations when choosing the protein elements of your nutrition plan. First, of course, is the actual protein content of a particular food item. The heavy hitters are pretty intuitive, but some may surprise you.


Second, most protein sources are also sources of fats and, to some degree, carbohydrates. This, in itself is a great reason to choose your protein meal element first when building a macronutrient-friendly plate. Then you can select and manage additional elements with the fats and carbohydrate from your protein source added in.

The third is "bioavailability." Simply put, your body will be able to more effectively absorb some protein sources than others. Below is a table of the bioavailability index of some common foods.

Bioavailability of certain protein sources.

Putting it all together

Using the information in this series, you're in a position to build and customize a powerful nutrition plan. Let's flesh it out with a few additional points.  This could almost be a separate post, but I think it fits well into the big picture.

Calories or Macros? Everybody approaches problem-solving differently. Some need precise counts, while for others, directional "big picture" indicators suit their needs. We met and exceeded our weight and body fat goals without counting a single calorie. If counting calories helps you, then do it. But: DO NOT rely on anybody else's formula for calculating how much you need or how much you burned. Track the calories you consume and track it against your progress. If you're making progress, then you don't need to reduce. If you aren't, you STILL might not. Are your macronutrients in an appropriate proportion? You can substitute protein for carbohydrate calories and you may see progress without reducing. You can substitute protein for some fat and instantly reduce calories without reducing total portion consumption. The point is, you are the only baseline that matters.

Optimize Your Systems: Increase protein turnover and insulin sensitivity through a training program that focuses on building strength. The adaptations you create will not only make you stronger and burn calories, but your body will also become more effective at digesting and processing the nutrients you consume. On a related note, ditch the scale (or at least put it in time-out), because it is a one-dimensional measure that doesn't tell the whole story of everything you are doing to improve your body. How do you feel? How do your clothes fit? If you're going to weigh yourself, include a body fat measurement as well so you can see the change in your body composition.

Eat Fresh, Whole Food: Cooking using fresh ingredients removes countless issues from managing your nutrition. You don't have to decode labels and seek out hidden traps like sugars, highly refined carbohydrates and others, such as added gluten. You are in control of every single ingredient in your nutrition plan. This will also free you from flavor profiles that have been designed by their manufacturers to be addictive, rather than satisfying. Honestly - you'll be amazed how much more you enjoy your meals.

Think of food as fuel and building blocks I'm not saying don't enjoy your food. We LOVE to eat and really enjoy meal times. But we also make sure that we have quality ingredients that meet our nutrition needs from the start. That way, as you combine and prepare your menu, all the pieces are already there for you to make as delicious as you like.

Take Control: Don't let anybody else dictate to you how to manage your nutrition or achieve your goals (even us). That's because everybody is different and every body is different. You are starting with a completely unique set of factors, behaviors, and goals. Using these tools WILL work. But exactly how you put them to work is completely in your hands.