Protein

PROTEIN IN OUR DIET

The Body builder has always been associated with protein and like them other athletes probably consume more protein than the normal person. So how important is protein to us ?

Protein is a tricky part of our diet because suposedly to much of it is not good for the body and to little of it is not good for the body. So what do we do ? well I think the best thing to do is not to get hung up about protein. Its probably a different matter with competing athletes as they may need more protein to repair their muscles but probably have nutritionists setting there diets for them.

Protein rich foods that we eat like  chicken contain essential amino acids that our bodies need. An average size adult should intake about 60 grams of protein a day. To much protein intake could make the kidneys work over time putting undue stress on them. Nutritionists say that about 15% of our daily calorie intake should be protein.

So my thoughts on protein are that I will just take into account what sort of foods contain protein and then make sure these are included in my diet. I don’t think I need to take any extra supplements for protein on the exercise program I am doing.

Here are some of the foods that are rich in protein: fish, lean meats, poultry, cheese, milk, eggs, spinach, beans, nuts and lentils. Now obviously there are a lot more foods than this that are rich in protein but I am not going to list them all, these ones are just ones that I eat on a weekly basis that I know are a good source of protein. So with this kind of diet although I am training every week I don’t think I need to specifically concentrate on putting any more protein into my system.

There are plenty of supplements out there on the market that are protein based with plenty of persuasive adverts to make you buy them, but I think people waste their money on these products when there are so many foods that give you all the protein you need. If you are a normal person that keeps them self in shape with a fitness program like me then my guess is as long as we include some protein rich foods in our diet then we are absolutely fine and don’t need to worry about protein to much. If you are competing in any kind of sports it may be worth consulting a nutritionist.

So if we all eat a balanced healthy diet then surely we are sufficiently fueling our bodies for our weekly training programs.