How much protein do cyclists need?

Proteins have gained an unequal reputation over the last decade. Less than a decade ago, carbohydrates were the rule and proteins were seen as a source of energy that could generate unnecessary volume, but more recently, it has become nutritionally fashionable to increase carbohydrates. 39 protein intake to reduce carbohydrates and lose weight.

In all these discussions about the role of proteins in weight gain and weight loss, it seems that the most important function has been lost: proteins are essential to the process of muscle protein synthesis – the "motor of adaptive responses on exercise ". described by scientists who examined the link between process, nutrition and exercise.

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Protein is an essential element to include in your diet. This is crucial for recovery and without it you will not reap the benefits of hard work. But how much do cyclists need?

How much protein should you include in your diet?

In the UK, the recommended protein intake for adults is 0.75 g protein per kilogram of body weight per day.

However, for athletes – who break the muscles and need to rebuild them for training adaptation – nutritionists often recommend 1.2 to 2.2 grams per kilogram of body weight per day.

If you are in an intensive training phase, it will be helpful to look at the top of the ladder to make sure you get the protein your body needs to repair itself before the next session.

If you want to lose weight, you can use the days of recovery – when your carbohydrate needs are lower – to reduce your carbohydrate intake and increase your protein intake. This approach, often called "periodized nutrition", will allow you to satiate and ensure adequate recovery, with a lower calorie intake.

Regardless of the amount of protein you decide to inject into your diet, consider distributing it. Your body can not use more than 0.3 kg – or 20 g (whichever comes first) – of protein at a time.

It is a good idea to take a dose of 0.3 g / kg body weight or 20 g of protein as soon as possible after training, but the rest can be divided throughout the day between meals and snacks.

Where should your protein come from?

Proteins can come from many sources. Meat is the most common, 125g of chicken contains about 30g. However, vegetarians and vegans can find many good sources – 19 g in 100 g chickpeas and 18 g in three eggs.

Everything becomes a little more complicated when we examine the quality of proteins. Proteins are composed of amino acids, there are 22 in total. Nine are "essential" – these are histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan and valine.

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Essential amino acids are named because your body can not create them by itself, it must find them in food.

All meat, dairy and egg proteins are "complete" proteins, that is, they contain all the essential amino acids your body needs. Vegans and vegetarians should try a little harder. However, there are many good sources. Soybeans, for example, contain all the essential amino acids, like quinoa.

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Protein supplements are another option and they will be loaded with a wide range of amino acids to ensure fast and effective intake. In addition, the powders can be mixed with water or milk after a difficult race or a race with a minimum of hbadle.

Other benefits of proteins:

Protein reduces calorie intake

Adding a little more protein to a meal or snack can reduce calorie consumption during the day. Having a handful of unsalted nuts with a fruit could prevent you from looking for snacks later.

Adding protein to a snack appeals to you because it increases the release of hormones that signal a feeling of fullness, so you do not think about what to expect afterwards.

An apple does not become an apple-over-an-orange-over-a-cookie, as you get a feeling of fullness of contentment with the simple combination of foods containing protein and carbohydrates.

Studies to corroborate this effect show that a high-protein snack may even contain fewer calories than another carbohydrate-dominant, while resulting in a feeling of increased satiety. The data also indicates that for every gram of protein in a snack or meal, just under six calories will be consumed at the next meal.

This may seem minimal, but with a serving of protein from 10 to 20 g, you can effectively reduce intake during an upcoming meal of 60 to 120 calories.

If you wear this effect throughout the day by eating 10 to 20 g of protein at each meal, it may be easy to cancel 300 to 600 calories without being hungry. This seems to be an exciting new direction in nutrition science that places protein higher on the list of priorities when thinking about how to plan meals.

Proteins reduce cravings

Including protein in a carbohydrate-rich dish, moreover, will reduce the impact of this meal on your blood sugar. Meals that are high in carbohydrates and contain more sugars can lead to an increase in blood sugar, then to a subsequent dive, which can give you a feeling of lethargy and trigger cravings for eating sugary foods.

It's not just the type of carbohydrate that drives this response, but also the size of the serving. For example, switching from white pasta to whole grains, for example, will not change the glycemic response enormously if the portion is not changed. Ideally, consume a smaller amount of carbohydrates by leaving more room for protein in your meal to benefit from reduced cravings after eating and a feeling of increased satiety.

Protein increases energy expenditure

You may have heard sports nutritionists talk about how proteins increase caloric expenditure and research suggests that this is possible through several mechanisms.

First, your body spends more calories than carbohydrates to digest protein. If you keep weight in your current diet, a 10% reduction in carbohydrates and a 10% increase in protein while maintaining consistent calories should help you lose weight without eating less!

The second mechanism by which proteins increase calorie expenditure is to support lean muscle tissue. A diet slightly richer in protein (25% instead of 15%) will favor lean tissue retention much better than a low protein diet. As every muscle gram we need needs energy to survive, you will burn more calories each day if you have good lean body mbad.

We are not talking about huge numbers here, but if you consider that half an apple in calories could lead to progressive weight gain, even burning a few more calories each day will greatly facilitate weight loss.

Protein increases metabolic rate during sleep

Protein not only increases the amount of calories you burn throughout the day, but your sleep metabolism has also been shown to increase. The idea of ​​burning more calories while you sleep seems insane, but the evidence is clear.

Again, this is achieved with an increase in the percentage of protein in the total diet and has been illustrated with intakes between 25 and 30% of the total caloric intake and does not require any commitment to a diet " rich in protein that would compromise the intake of other nutrients.

Protein improves body composition

Many cyclists looking to climb a hill faster will realize that transferring a few pounds is often more effective and less expensive than negotiating bike parts for lighter options. Proteins can give you a head start here too.

Increasing the percentage of calories from protein while slightly reducing calories (with a maximum reduction of 500 calories compared to the need for maintenance) leads to greater fat loss compared to reducing calories in a diet Carbohydrate-dominant food, retaining more muscle helps you fuel these climbs.

Proteins will not increase in size if they are not accompanied by many more calories

Cyclists have been compared to models looking for an ultra-thin body, fearing anything that could make them heavier.

Often, cyclists avoid bodybuilding, believing that it will add muscle mbad that they do not want to wear on a sports car, but smart bodybuilding could improve their power and stability and help them avoid injury.

The same goes for proteins. Since high-protein meals are more often badociated with the muscular body of bodybuilding enthusiasts, I can see where the fear of the protruding muscles comes from.

Those looking to gain muscle do indeed need more protein, but this needs to be accompanied by a weighty routine that includes heavyweight on short runs (the opposite of what is likely to happen). Be recommended to cyclists) and the essential ingredient is more calories.
Ideally, a cyclist should consume between 1.2 and 1.5 grams of protein per kilogram that he weighs per day, while consuming enough calories to maintain his weight (or a slight reduction if you look to lose weight).

A fitness enthusiast looking to gain muscle should eat at least 500 more calories than he needs a day to gain more muscle, and it will take some time to add.

The reality for cyclists is that if you eat too many calories while consuming enough protein, you could gain muscle. However, if your calories are balanced, you maximize muscle retention while maintaining or losing fat, based on your calorie intake. The proteins are filling up. Therefore, if you take one, you are more likely to lose weight than to win because you are satisfied with fewer calories. It's all about balance.

Proteins can not work like magic

Of course, if you want to include a beneficial amount of protein in your diet, you still have to pay attention to the rest of your food choices. Although the protein will fill you up and help control cravings, if you combine a chocolate bar and nuts, the negative effect of sugar in your chocolate treat will probably cancel the beneficial effect of your protein.

A study comparing the effectiveness of different diets to maintain weight loss after a group had already lost a substantial amount of weight revealed that a moderately protein / moderate carbohydrate diet was more effective than 39, a high carbohydrate / low protein diet. restricted to low glycemic carbohydrates in their diet.

A third group was tested with the same protein as the moderate group, but with carbohydrates derived from simple sugars. It was the least effective diet to maintain weight loss. Therefore, if you want to take advantage of healthy protein, you should also choose healthy carbohydrates, selecting smaller amounts of starch-based carbohydrates and decorating your meals or snacks with vegetables, salad or fruit.