Common sense and logic will normally drive people toward the answers they desire. Protein assimilation is one of those outstanding myths that still prevents average people from maintaining functional, athletic health, and also from people wanting to achieve a better body composition.
First off, Let's Start with Calories...
It has been done in other threads, by other people, and on other websites, by other people, but for the purpose of THIS thread I will reiterate that FAT or MUSCLE addition/subtraction comes down to ENERGY in and ENERGY out. Energy in is succinctly CALORIES. Energy out, however, isn't easily quantifiable. We have to account for:
~What your body needs to live
~What your activity level is
~What your body composition is
~What your goals are
Every person has a mainenance level. At that level, without any activity, a person will remain virtually the same.
For the purposes of my example, let's say it's 2,000 calories for maintenance of the average, inactive man. Spread over 5 meals, that's 400 calories. It seems like a paltry amount, but when you consider that our *test* man does nothing but work at his desk, what else would need more calories for?
And that's one of the rubs of American Society, most of our jobs are SERVICE jobs, in nice, plush corporate buildings, yet we consume HIGH sugar diets. There are vending machines in most offices, candy boxes, sugar-laden coffee products, and every other diabetes promoting food out there you could possibly desire. And that's the rub, people wonder, but the answers are available right before them. Perhaps if they were a Marathon runner, they might need such great quantities of sugar, but the average man doesn't need that much, especially to sustain his own life. That was why corporate people had some success with Atkins. Problem was, the only thing ANY diet is is a quick fix. These people lost massive wait, barely changed their lifestyle or habits, and figured they deserved the cheating habits once more. No, no, no.
Now That we Know about Calories, Let's Go to COMPOSITION
We could have 100% carbs.
We could have 100% protein.
We could have 100% fat. (this would probably be the toughest to find secluded as a single macronutrient, with the exception of drinking pure oil)
However, we know the faults with ALL those plans.
100% carbs misses the fact we need certain amino acids. We also know it leads to diabetes, ADULT ONSET DIABETES, to be exact, WHICH is cureable, IF you control and own WHAT you eat. I know many older people, who before retirement dumped their insulin, or stopped their diabetes by altering their diet. My cousin, who has TYPE I is not so fortunate, as he was born with it. Moreover, 100% carbs will INSURE you catabolize all your muscle in quick order, so there's no gain there in composition.
100% protein misses the boat, too, as we miss out on healthy fats that are necessary for hormone production and anabolic body activity. Healthy fats also regulate and assist the Cholesterol Levels in your body. Most people with a large % of BAD cholesterol, are averse to FAT because their doctors said so OR are just born with higher than normal cholesterol levels AND also have a poor diet that's low in fat, but high in carbs (fast sugars as opposed to slow). Protein diets that high would also leads to protein toxicity, and some guys who go to bodybuilding experience that when they get the gas and diarrhea, because they go so high, so fast, they don't consume ANYTHING with their 100% whey shake. You need to do that no matter what.
100% Fat would be tough to find, since most fat is found with protein. Unless of course you went to olive oil, of which I think there's protein anyways. So it negates the purpose. 100% fat would also not leave you a large selection of food with which to eat, and you wouldn't eat that much food in volume so you would end up hungry soon.
Now that we know 100% of 1 macro nutrient doesn't work, what % does then?
The MacroNutrient Options
Atkins gave you much fat, much protein, little carbs.
The zone gave you 40/30/30.
Body For Life gave you a bit higher protein, maybe a 50/30/20 blend.
But without GRASPING the basis, the % matters not. We know not for what we eat if we don't fix upon something of importance.
Carbs aren't greatly important. You can eat vegetables all you like. You'll fill up on vegetables before you exhaust any calorie supply their. And whatever vitamins you get in fruit can be found in fat/protein supplies, OR by pill form. Of course, you should enjoy fruit with some of your meals, but subsisting on it forever won't yield much in the way of benefits for your body or your life.
As noted by Warboss Alex, semag, Espi, and other's (if i'm forgetting someone, sorry) they've had success on Protein at 1.5g (MIN) per pound of weight. That isn't an absolute, you can adjust as needed, but here's what it's numb to think only 30g can be assimilated.
If you eat 30g x 6 meals, that's 180g, or in calories, 720calories. Where do some of the big boys, those over 200, 250, 300, who are at a reasonable % bf consume MOST of their calories? Would you have them eating TONS of carbs, although they're already big? Would you have them eat TONS of fat, when they're already big? I believe the answer would BE no to all the above. Don't you.
If you're a small fry, looking to get big, someday you'll weigh 200, 220, 250 maybe, and you'll be eating like a big person too. If you don't, then your muscle won't be with you long. This is one of those OBVIOUS things that sticks out that most people don't see. When someone obese has to begin working out, they have to increase their meal frequency, their focus on protein and good fats, and begin working out. They also have to eat right for their size, because calories too far below maintenance won't start ANY fat burning. That's something MANY obese people do. They go the gym, mostly on cardio equipment, barely up the protein, maybe buy a protein bar or drink 1shake, and then expect to lose weight. They can't, their body still feels in starvation mode, and worse, they're not doing any lifting so the body won't change its shape or composition.
If you're 1.5grams of protein per pound of bodyweight equates to ONLY 30 g at a meal, fine, but that most likely won't apply here, unless you're 5'5" or less and barely 150 soaking weight. If you want to GET BIG, you eat BIG protein, make sure there's fat present or good carbs when you do it. Protein are the building blocks of the body. They create everything at a cellular level. So why wouldn't you consume more of what has already bad you to begin with?
I've read it in other threads, particularly bodybuilding msg boards, and it's a fault stopping them from growing week to week in very small ways. You should return the GYM refreshed. A state of constant soreness or tightness isn't GOOD. It might feel cool, but you're no bigger while you feel it. When that soreness passes, THEN you can return the gym for those bodyparts. Sometimes the soreness will inhibit OTHER exercises as well. This doesn't mean LIE around, it just means doing strenuous lifting won't be able to occur UNTIL you heal completely.
It boggles my mind, guys want to get bigger than they are, get more muscle, become more flexible, etc. Well, it won't happen unless you provide the nutrients needed for that ADDED increase. You can start today. The added protein DOES signal "GROW MUSCLE", and excess carbs says "STORE AS FAT." The % you put in your body dictates what happens, but both CANNOT happen. If you consume too many carbs, you inevitably ARE NOT eating much protein, which means only your belly will grow. If you're consuming loads of protein, its tough to consume TONS of carbs without being REALLY full all the time, or consuming LOTS of sugary drinks. So by virtue of eating protein/fat in good quantity, you diminish the likelihood of eating TOO many carbs, because you're already full. Another trick to ditch too many carbs is by eating lots of veggies, salad, fats, and water. Salads will fill that belly of yours, but not weigh too much on the sugars. This isn't to say carbs, of the wheat, fruits, and vegetables, etc aren't good, but white past isn't great. Nor is white bread. Nor is soda. If anything, relegate them to your cheat meals KNOWING you're killing yourself slowly with the crap you put in your mouth.
A-Unit
First off, Let's Start with Calories...
It has been done in other threads, by other people, and on other websites, by other people, but for the purpose of THIS thread I will reiterate that FAT or MUSCLE addition/subtraction comes down to ENERGY in and ENERGY out. Energy in is succinctly CALORIES. Energy out, however, isn't easily quantifiable. We have to account for:
~What your body needs to live
~What your activity level is
~What your body composition is
~What your goals are
Every person has a mainenance level. At that level, without any activity, a person will remain virtually the same.
For the purposes of my example, let's say it's 2,000 calories for maintenance of the average, inactive man. Spread over 5 meals, that's 400 calories. It seems like a paltry amount, but when you consider that our *test* man does nothing but work at his desk, what else would need more calories for?
And that's one of the rubs of American Society, most of our jobs are SERVICE jobs, in nice, plush corporate buildings, yet we consume HIGH sugar diets. There are vending machines in most offices, candy boxes, sugar-laden coffee products, and every other diabetes promoting food out there you could possibly desire. And that's the rub, people wonder, but the answers are available right before them. Perhaps if they were a Marathon runner, they might need such great quantities of sugar, but the average man doesn't need that much, especially to sustain his own life. That was why corporate people had some success with Atkins. Problem was, the only thing ANY diet is is a quick fix. These people lost massive wait, barely changed their lifestyle or habits, and figured they deserved the cheating habits once more. No, no, no.
Now That we Know about Calories, Let's Go to COMPOSITION
We could have 100% carbs.
We could have 100% protein.
We could have 100% fat. (this would probably be the toughest to find secluded as a single macronutrient, with the exception of drinking pure oil)
However, we know the faults with ALL those plans.
100% carbs misses the fact we need certain amino acids. We also know it leads to diabetes, ADULT ONSET DIABETES, to be exact, WHICH is cureable, IF you control and own WHAT you eat. I know many older people, who before retirement dumped their insulin, or stopped their diabetes by altering their diet. My cousin, who has TYPE I is not so fortunate, as he was born with it. Moreover, 100% carbs will INSURE you catabolize all your muscle in quick order, so there's no gain there in composition.
100% protein misses the boat, too, as we miss out on healthy fats that are necessary for hormone production and anabolic body activity. Healthy fats also regulate and assist the Cholesterol Levels in your body. Most people with a large % of BAD cholesterol, are averse to FAT because their doctors said so OR are just born with higher than normal cholesterol levels AND also have a poor diet that's low in fat, but high in carbs (fast sugars as opposed to slow). Protein diets that high would also leads to protein toxicity, and some guys who go to bodybuilding experience that when they get the gas and diarrhea, because they go so high, so fast, they don't consume ANYTHING with their 100% whey shake. You need to do that no matter what.
100% Fat would be tough to find, since most fat is found with protein. Unless of course you went to olive oil, of which I think there's protein anyways. So it negates the purpose. 100% fat would also not leave you a large selection of food with which to eat, and you wouldn't eat that much food in volume so you would end up hungry soon.
Now that we know 100% of 1 macro nutrient doesn't work, what % does then?
The MacroNutrient Options
Atkins gave you much fat, much protein, little carbs.
The zone gave you 40/30/30.
Body For Life gave you a bit higher protein, maybe a 50/30/20 blend.
But without GRASPING the basis, the % matters not. We know not for what we eat if we don't fix upon something of importance.
Carbs aren't greatly important. You can eat vegetables all you like. You'll fill up on vegetables before you exhaust any calorie supply their. And whatever vitamins you get in fruit can be found in fat/protein supplies, OR by pill form. Of course, you should enjoy fruit with some of your meals, but subsisting on it forever won't yield much in the way of benefits for your body or your life.
As noted by Warboss Alex, semag, Espi, and other's (if i'm forgetting someone, sorry) they've had success on Protein at 1.5g (MIN) per pound of weight. That isn't an absolute, you can adjust as needed, but here's what it's numb to think only 30g can be assimilated.
If you eat 30g x 6 meals, that's 180g, or in calories, 720calories. Where do some of the big boys, those over 200, 250, 300, who are at a reasonable % bf consume MOST of their calories? Would you have them eating TONS of carbs, although they're already big? Would you have them eat TONS of fat, when they're already big? I believe the answer would BE no to all the above. Don't you.
If you're a small fry, looking to get big, someday you'll weigh 200, 220, 250 maybe, and you'll be eating like a big person too. If you don't, then your muscle won't be with you long. This is one of those OBVIOUS things that sticks out that most people don't see. When someone obese has to begin working out, they have to increase their meal frequency, their focus on protein and good fats, and begin working out. They also have to eat right for their size, because calories too far below maintenance won't start ANY fat burning. That's something MANY obese people do. They go the gym, mostly on cardio equipment, barely up the protein, maybe buy a protein bar or drink 1shake, and then expect to lose weight. They can't, their body still feels in starvation mode, and worse, they're not doing any lifting so the body won't change its shape or composition.
If you're 1.5grams of protein per pound of bodyweight equates to ONLY 30 g at a meal, fine, but that most likely won't apply here, unless you're 5'5" or less and barely 150 soaking weight. If you want to GET BIG, you eat BIG protein, make sure there's fat present or good carbs when you do it. Protein are the building blocks of the body. They create everything at a cellular level. So why wouldn't you consume more of what has already bad you to begin with?
I've read it in other threads, particularly bodybuilding msg boards, and it's a fault stopping them from growing week to week in very small ways. You should return the GYM refreshed. A state of constant soreness or tightness isn't GOOD. It might feel cool, but you're no bigger while you feel it. When that soreness passes, THEN you can return the gym for those bodyparts. Sometimes the soreness will inhibit OTHER exercises as well. This doesn't mean LIE around, it just means doing strenuous lifting won't be able to occur UNTIL you heal completely.
It boggles my mind, guys want to get bigger than they are, get more muscle, become more flexible, etc. Well, it won't happen unless you provide the nutrients needed for that ADDED increase. You can start today. The added protein DOES signal "GROW MUSCLE", and excess carbs says "STORE AS FAT." The % you put in your body dictates what happens, but both CANNOT happen. If you consume too many carbs, you inevitably ARE NOT eating much protein, which means only your belly will grow. If you're consuming loads of protein, its tough to consume TONS of carbs without being REALLY full all the time, or consuming LOTS of sugary drinks. So by virtue of eating protein/fat in good quantity, you diminish the likelihood of eating TOO many carbs, because you're already full. Another trick to ditch too many carbs is by eating lots of veggies, salad, fats, and water. Salads will fill that belly of yours, but not weigh too much on the sugars. This isn't to say carbs, of the wheat, fruits, and vegetables, etc aren't good, but white past isn't great. Nor is white bread. Nor is soda. If anything, relegate them to your cheat meals KNOWING you're killing yourself slowly with the crap you put in your mouth.
A-Unit
Tell it to 'em straight, A-Man.