Here’s a dandy…

Researchers at the University of British Columbia have developed a new way to study how we absorb protein.  Basically, they *tag* amino acids with a carbon isotope that allows them to be traced on their journey through the various stages of our body’s metabolic process.

What does this mean for the average health and beauty seeker like moi and toi?

Let’s rewind.

First, we know that protein is an essential building block of muscle tissue.  And our proteins are in a constant state of turnover (you get new muscles every 2-3 months).  To keep reinforcing metabolism-boosting, and appearance-enhancing lean muscle, we need adequate protein intake.

But the average person is not meeting these requirements.

Our amino-branding experts at UBC conclude that most peeps are either under-eating protein, or not distributing their rations wisely.

You see, your body can only utilize so much protein at one time, and the rest is wasted.

With that in mind, Canadians tend to over-consume protein at dinner, but under-consume it at breakfast and lunch.  A better approach is to aim for 20-30 grams at each meal, and top this up with high-protein snacks in the AM and PM.   Dropping 4 ounces of chicken breast into your salad at lunch can give you a shot of 30 grams worth.

That’s easy enough.

Where I get a lot of resistance – and maybe it’s just me – is at BREAKFAST.  For a bunch of reasons, lack of time, no appetite, a cultural attachment to eating more in the second half of the day, people tend not to want to beef up their breakfasts (and I don’t mean by eating beef, although – good protein source).

The 30-BEFORE-30 rule has long been a key principle of my programs.

Aim for 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking up (the need for protein is intensified by the 6-8 hour overnight fast).

What does that look like?

6 egg whites with one whole egg, and a half-cup of whole oats will give you around 25 grams of protein, which is pretty damn close, and also a very reasonable quantity of food, I might add.

Where do you go from here?

Up to you.  Do with my advice what you will.

But I can tell you this…the hunger for protein is a habit hardwired into my brain since I was a scrawny 16 year old desperate to impress girls.  It wasn’t on my radar before that, and it took some very deliberate intention and focus (and learning to cook for myself) to embed it into my DNA.

Once I did, I almost always put enough protein in my system to recover from my workouts, get stronger, feel healthier, build muscle, and burn fat.

So there’s hope.

Having simple rules like *30-before-30* will help you ingrain the pattern.

For more simple yet powerful transformation tactics, there’s my 16-week program.  Call (416) 826-4844 to request your personal training consultation, and find out if it’s a fit.

And if you get really good, maybe one day you too can use blog titles to boast nonsensically about how new methods of scientific investigation validate your eating habits…

Happy Protein-Eating,

Conor Kelly

 

 

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