What You Need to Know About Protein Supplements

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Modern life can be so busy that taking a little time to look after yourself every day is incredibly important. You might just spend five minutes each morning getting yourself ready for whatever the day is going to bring while you shave, or you might have a dedicated health and fitness routine that keeps you feeling motivated when the going gets tough.

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If you’ve never tried dietary protein supplementation before, here’s what you need to know:

How Protein Can Help Build Muscle Mass

Proteins play a key role in rebuilding muscle and triggering metabolic reactions to help keep everything functioning properly. Your body naturally makes some proteins itself, but you need to make sure you’re getting plenty from your diet as well – especially if you want to build up muscle.

It’s recommended by the UK government that most adults consume 0.75g of protein for every kilogram of their body weight each day – for the average man who leads a fairly sedentary lifestyle, this is equivalent to about 55g per day. But if you’re exercising a lot, you’ll need to be consuming significantly more than this. Protein supplements are a great way to up your intake, as they can easily fit into your daily routine.

Research from the Journal of Sports Sciences recommends consuming between 1.3g and 1.8g of protein per kilo of body weight a day to boost your muscle mass and your body strength. Looking after both of these factors can help you to feel good right now, but it can also help you with maintaining a healthy body as you get older.

Proper nutrition and regular physical activity (particularly resistance exercise) are essential for holding on to muscle mass as you get older. Taking care of yourself in this way could help to reduce your risk of losing muscle function and becoming frail.

Managing Your Weight with Protein

Consuming a high-protein diet could help you with managing your weight too. This is thought to be because protein triggers an increased rate of thermogenesis (the level of energy your body uses after eating) than other macronutrients, burning calories quicker.

Protein is also really filling, meaning you’re less likely to overeat after consuming a high-protein meal, providing you with a different way to control your calorie intake. The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you’ll be burning every day, so make sure you’re bearing this in mind when calculating how much protein you’re eating.

How Protein Can Help You Tone Up

Increasing your protein intake could also help you to tone up and sculpt your body shape a little more, without getting too bulky. Again, resistance exercise and extra protein can help with this.

To lose enough body fat to boost how visible your muscles are, make sure you’re in a calorie deficit (you can do this by consuming fewer calories than you burn). However, it’s important to bear in mind that both your muscle mass and body fat will drop if you’re in a calorie deficit, unless you’re consuming enough protein to prevent this from happening.

A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that consuming 2.4g of protein for every kilogram of your body weight per day was an effective amount to tone up while resistance training and following a calorie deficit diet.

Why Take Protein Supplements?

While you can get protein from plenty of foods, protein powders can help you to boost your intake quickly, easily and without you having to spend too much money on meat, fish and other protein sources.

Remember – it’s important to pick the right kind of protein powder for your goal, whether that’s to build muscle, lose weight, tone up or get in shape. Visit myprotein.com to find out more.

This article is for informational and educational purposes only and is not intended to be taken as medical advice. If you have any concerns, always consult a health professional before taking dietary supplements or introducing any major changes to your diet.

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