Protein intake is one of the most important variables that need attention and management during the lightweight period. This macronutrient plays an important role in the human body (especially when the available energy is limited), helping to maintain weak muscles.
In this article, we will discuss how to manage protein intake during the lightweight period. How much should be added? What is a good protein intake goal? These are the issues we will discuss in this article.
Why should we manage protein intake?
Generally speaking, a light body is for two reasons: 1) reduce weight, 2) reduce body fat. When we control and reduce caloric intake, the body's energy for growing, repairing, and maintaining lean muscle decreases.
Lose weight
For the first goal (weight loss), daily calorie intake plays a larger role in the process of weight loss. As we continue to diet and energy consumption continues to decrease, body fat and muscle will begin to decrease at different rates, and you can see that the number on the scale becomes smaller.
What factors affect weight loss?
The rate of weight loss varies from individual to individual and depends on many factors, including:
- Starting point (current weight)
- Current and controlled nutrient intake (the size of the calorie deficit)
- Duration of weight loss
- Current lean muscle level (how many muscles do you have?)
There is no beautiful general formula to lose weight. The above factors should be considered, and if you lose weight less quickly than you expected, you need to maintain objective and realistic expectations.
Reduce body fat
Everyone's light body speed is different. If we can focus on the important details and follow through, we can set a better way for ourselves to achieve long-term benefits. The speed of reducing body fat and muscle is different for everyone. During the light body period, a good goal we need to focus on is to reduce and limit the amount of muscle lost. This will bring us to the second goal-reducing body fat.
Reducing body fat may be more difficult than losing weight. It requires a strategy because everyone reduces body fat at a different rate, and the location of body fat reduction is also different. This is the importance of managing training and protein intake, and we will discuss how to change the latter.
Remember, muscles help the body burn more calories every day and support countless body functions. Therefore, everyone should keep lean muscle mass in a particularly important position of the light body.
Basically, if we can complete a light body phase and make extra efforts to maintain lean muscle mass, then we are ready for future success. There are countless benefits of having more lean muscle. These benefits depend on the lifestyle and vary from person to person.
How to determine protein intake when you are light
The general rule of thumb is: As the light body progresses, you need to increase your protein intake. When calorie intake continues to decrease, protein intake should continue to increase to maintain lean muscle mass.
This shift can help manage other macronutrients (carbohydrates and fats). When increasing protein intake, you usually have to "make room" for extra calories from protein so that you can still reach your current calorie deficit target.
At the beginning of the light body
When you decide to start getting lighter, it is important to establish a protein intake. This amount should be realistic for your diet and will make you successful.
As a starting point, studies usually recommend 2.3-3.1 grams per kilogram of lean muscle (ie, total body weight minus fat mass). This amount can ensure that you have enough protein to maintain lean muscle while reducing calories every day.
Then, as the light body progresses, you need to increase your protein intake accordingly. The factors to be aware of are:
- Body fat level
- Current protein intake
- Lean muscle: How much muscle do you currently have?
- The duration of the diet: and how long your calorie deficit has been maintained.
During the light-weight period, a particularly simple way to measure protein intake is to track body fat, and then adjust the amount of protein accordingly. When body fat is reduced, protein intake should be increased.
You can track body fat in various ways. A good option is to check your body fat level, in the same way, every 2-3 weeks.
Further, adjust protein intake
We have already said that as body fat levels decrease, you need to increase your protein intake, but how much should you increase?
In general, you can use the following ranges to help you further adjust your protein intake.
For men with a body fat content of 15% or less and women with a body fat content of 23% or less, a good rule of thumb is to consume 2.6-3.1 grams per kilogram of lean muscle.
If you notice that your body fat has decreased to or below the above number, you should consume a slightly higher amount of protein than your initial intake. For example, if your initial intake was 2.3 grams, then changing to 2.5/2.6 grams would be a good choice. Remember, you need to choose a number that is realistic and meets your daily needs.
If the body fat content is high, you can set a slightly lower range. For men with a body fat content of 16% and above and women with a body fat content of 24% and above, a good range is 2.5-2.8 grams per kilogram of lean muscle. Similarly, measure your intake based on the above factors.
3 ways to increase protein intake
If you are increasing your protein intake, you may want to know what is feasible. The following are three tips that I particularly like to help people increase their daily protein intake in a feasible way during the light-weight period.
- Spread your intake: One of the easiest ways to consume more protein is to spread your intake throughout the day. This means that every meal and snack must have a certain level of protein to help you achieve your daily goals.
- Try protein powder: To increase protein intake, protein powder can be a very good tool. Milkshakes are usually low in calories and rich in high-quality protein. This is very good, allowing you to free up more space for more calories from other macronutrients to help you pursue your lifestyle and performance goals.
- Ingest during exercise: Sometimes, high protein intake can be boring. To solve this problem, try to eat a higher amount of protein in a meal after exercise. This can help you repair and reach your daily intake, which is when your appetite is higher.
During the light body period, as body fat (and weight) decreases, it is important to increase protein intake. When body fat is reduced, we want to maintain as much lean muscle as possible, because this will enable us to succeed in all stages of weight gain, maintenance, and weight loss in the future.
7 good sources of protein
If your goal is to optimize overall health and body weight, some protein sources are more suitable for you. And if you have dietary restrictions, these restrictions will also affect your protein choices. Here are some excellent sources of protein:
Protein powder: If you eat dairy products, you can choose whey protein or casein. If you are a vegetarian or lactose intolerant, you can choose plant protein powder.
- Bone broth
- Protein bars: Look for brands that do not contain added sugar.
- Beans and Lentils
- Nuts and seeds
- seafood
- Organic meat and poultry
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