How Much Protein Do You Really Need?

It swims, it walks, it crawls, if flies, it does all of the above.

It’s your protein source.

This is hardly a secret to bodybuilding fanatics. While most of what you eat is generally from sources of carbohydrates, approximately one-fourth of the calories in your daily intake should consist of protein.

Otherwise, your workout hour will consist of anything but power.

Too often, dieters indulge in low-fat diets that deprive their bodies of much-needed protein. Thus, the body begins to devour its muscle tissue like a hungry vulture.

In order to nourish your body with the proper amount of protein, it is first necessary to determine what your body fat percentage is and then weigh your lean body mass up against your level of physical activity.

For example, if you are somebody who exercises on the average of an hour per week, then you’ll need to nourish your system with .7 grams of protein for every pound of lean body mass. So, if you have 140 pounds of lean body mass, you’ll need to take in 98 grams of protein per day.

If you are a more hard-core trainer who works out on the average of five hours per week, you’ll need to upgrade your protein intake to .9 grams per pound of lean body mass, which for the same person, would equate to 126 grams of protein per day.

Even couch potatoes need their protein, at least .6 grams for every pound of lean mass. Otherwise, serious health problems could result.

To engineer you protein diet, here are a few sources to guide you.

CHICKEN BREAST: This doesn’t necessarily come before the egg, but chicken breasts are among the most common of protein sources. Low in fat, remember to tear the skin off first while avoiding any fattening seasonings. Honey mustard is usually a great way to add some taste. The average chicken breast consists of 35 grams of protein.

EGGS: For a hard-boiled body, egg whites are tremendous in delivering the proteins that you need. Be sure to remove the yoke first (it’s loaded with cholesterol) before letting ‘em down the hatch. There are approximately 4 grams of protein in each egg white so you can load up on them throughout the day. Also, egg whites are fat free!

TUNA: Sparkle up your protein diet with Sparky himself. As long as you’re not mixing it with that fattening mayonnaise, tuna is an excellent dietary food that will provide you with the protein you need. There’s approximately 25 grams of protein in a can of low-fat tuna.

Bob Myhal is the writer of many bodybuilding and nutrition articles for men and women.
http://www.musclefeeder.com