Part I: The Letters P, F and C.

I sat with a client a few days back in regards to his nutritional plan. He contacted me prior to the consultation for some advice for lean muscle building. Upon meeting him face to face, I immediately remembered seeing him around a few gyms. This guy stood 180cm, weighed 100kg of good muscle and was incredibly strong. He was genetically gifted of course, with his broad shoulders, tiny waist and large calf muscles (3 characteristics of great genetics). I thought to myself, why would he need my consultation? He definitely looked a lot better than me.

I assumed he would understand my nutrition/training lingo since he looked the part. When I said “protein”, he thought I meant protein powder. When I said “fat”, he got scared and looked at me in disgust. When I said “carbs”, he had no idea what that meant; so I said it in Arabic and still “no hablo nutrición.” He looked up, started thinking and said “Oh, you meant rice?”

The moral of this story is that everyone needs to know their 3 macronutrients before implementation of any nutritional plan. Knowing what to eat and when to eat it is every dietitians secret; and I’m about to ruin it for every nutritional consultant out there and today I’ll be talking about:

Proteins
Weightlifters adore this macronutrient and old school dietitians hate on it like it was the devil. In layman’s terms, proteins are part of every cell, tissue, and organ in our bodies. The proteins that exist in our bodies are constantly being broken down through vigorous weight training, athletic and cardiovascular activities, walking around or merely dealing through stressful situations. In order to replace broken down proteins, a good amount of ingestion is needed so that the body can convert it into amino acids and distribute it around our bodies for repair.

Why do I promote proteins more than any other nutrient? Enzymes that are found in proteins are the catalysts of metabolism. It takes our bodies a lot of energy to break down protein, which in turn boosts our metabolism. When the metabolism is at its best, it’s more efficient in the digestion of other nutrients, including fats and carbohydrates.In order for our bodies to benefits from the above, we need to ingest “complete proteins”.

A complete protein contains all the amino acids, and only then can our bodies ingest it properly. Complete proteins (listed from best source to not-necessarily-worst):
1) Whey Protein (found in dairy products or protein powders)
2) Whole Eggs (egg whites are not complete, but complete when combined with yolks)
3) Lean Animal Proteins

The above doesn’t mean you need to ingest a huge amount of protein powder. I’m only trying to show what types of proteins that easily digest.

Recommendations
Beginners/Non-Active Individuals/Cardiovascular Athletes:
Males (ladies need to read this too): Start with 1 gram x each lean pound, and by lean pound I mean fat-free muscle mass. Assuming an individual weighs 200lbs and carries 40% bodyfat. 80lbs are accounted for the fat in his body, which means that his lean body mass is at 120lbs. That individual needs 120 grams of protein. This group consists of people who have just started weightlifting, lightly active athletes (soccer players) and couch potatoes.
Females: Start with 0.8 gram x each lean pound. Same rules apply.

Athletes/Active Individuals:
Males: 1.5 grams x each lean pound. These individuals mostly consist of experienced weight-lifters and athletes who need the added energy in order to cope with vigorous activities.
Females: 1 gram x each lean pound. This consists of females who are athletes and those who want to put on lean muscle on their frames. Don’t worry ladies, you won’t end up like me.

In my opinion, since complete protein is ingested, there is no need to increase protein to higher amounts. Too much protein may also cause problems. You may lose calcium leading to long term bone loss. If you rely on red meats and other high-fat foods as your main source of protein, you are also at risk of high cholesterol and heart conditions related to high saturated fat levels. Moreover, too much protein will stress the kidney and the liver considerably.

Sources of Protein, Digestibility and Ratios
Our experienced weight-lifter who weighs 200lbs and has a bodyfat percentage of 12% needs about 264 grams of protein per day. 50% (132g) is consumed ingesting animal proteins, 30% (80g) is consumed ingesting whey protein and 20% (53g) is consumed ingesting whole eggs. Animal proteins are considered slow-digesting, which means they need to be consumed as a mid-morning snack, lunch, and dinner (132 divided by 3 = 44g of protein at each meal). Whole eggs and egg whites are both slow and fast digesting, so they’re best consumed at breakfast, 3 whole eggs (21g) and 8 egg whites (32g) for a total of 53g of protein. Whey protein is fast-acting, so it needs to be consumed before and after training (40g each for a total of 80g).
Individuals who don’t want to consume protein powder can increase there lean animal protein ratio by 30%. Make sure they’re lean animal proteins and not fatty cuts of red meat.

The same applies to females, but the last time I saw a female drinking a protein shake was never. Since the amount of protein ingested is not a lot to begin with, females may sub in other protein sources to fill in their requirements. The majority of females in Kuwait are more interested in aerobic activities such as jogging, aerobics, dance classes, and amongst other things; so I’ll be applying to them. Assuming a female that weighs 120lbs (55kg) with 20% bodyfat, this puts her at a requirement of 95g of protein per day. 20% (19g) of that amount goes to incomplete proteins such as legumes, nuts and grains, 30% (29g) goes to milk and egg proteins and 50% (48g) goes to animal proteins. Since incomplete proteins cannot digest completely, females need to mix and match, such as a 4 oz. grilled chicken breast with a few grams of beans. 95 total grams in a day need to be spread throughout 5 meals, which equates to 20g of protein per meal. I generally don’t go over 100-120g of protein for my female clients.

Conclusion
I apologize if the above calculations confused you, but this is how every nutritionist thinks or has to think. In addition, since proteins tend to tax our digestive system and organs, water is needed in order to filter out these toxins. Before any high-protein naysayers crucify me, I’d like to point out that diets high in protein are safe only when accompanied by other macronutrients, specifically fibrous greens. Never ever skip fibrous green veggies when eating any source of protein.

In my next post I’ll be discussing carbohydrates and fats. In Part III, I’ll be talking about how we can put all of this information together in order for each one of you to customize your own diet plan. Lastly, I’ll be introducing the “Core Fitness Diet Plan” for individuals 20+kg over their optimal weight limit.

Posted by Fahad AlYehya
Core Fitness – Kuwait