Most of the info I've read has recommended about 1.5 g of protein per lb of body weight. Two grams per lb of target weight is a lot more than that. After a certain point won't excess protein just be wasted? Like if you consume it at a faster rate than your body can use it to build muscle?
Yes, the traditional protein recommendations appear to be 1.5g per lb of present bodyweight rather than my prescribed 2g per lb of DESIRED bodyweight .. and 90% of bodybuilders I know dabble in those levels of protein. Those who're extremely genetically gifted will grow off 1.5g, but the rest struggle to gain a few lbs a year. 2g per desired lb bodyweight will put your system into muscle-building overdrive, coupled with heavy training and plenty of rest.
Protein is made out of amino acids, and these are muscle building block in their basest form. But not all protein is digested (the surplus passes to the small intestine and is excreted or goes into adipose), and as a result less aminos are made available to the bloodstream. The more protein you eat, the more is digested, the more goes towards muscle building.
The body needs anything from 20-odd to over 30 calories to digest a single gram of protein, and all of this happens in the stomach. Carbs are part-digested in the mouth and then sit in the stomach, literally clogging up digestion (same for fats) - therefore even LESS aminos become available for muscle growth.
The human body is geared towards protein consumption - eating more protein increases basal metabolism and keeps it raised for much longer than eating carbs and fats would.
Depending on how serious you want to go, you could eat the protein FIRST before other foods. Say you're eating steak and rice. Eat your steak first, all of it, before even a mouthful of rice. All the steak will be first in the digestive queue, and will be processed as efficiently as possible, and the greatest number of aminos will go towards muscle growth. Plus of course the metabolic benefit - eating 500g of protein a day equals 2000calories, with roughly 500 calories burned just to digest these! Since the majority of your protein is getting digested and shuttled towards muscle growth in amino form, the calories will come from other places, glycogen and stored bodyfat. Hence why eating more protein first helps you get (and stay) lean.
Your body doesn't want to change! It wants to be a comfortable 140-180lbs with 20% bodyfat at least. It's geared towards survival, not being a massive hulk of muscular monstrosity. However by feeding it vast amounts of protein and boatloading the aminos in the bloodstream you're forcing it to build muscle, given sufficient training.
The science is contradictory and possibly a bit controversial and hey, I don't 100% understand it myself (the above is my rough take of things) - but I tell you this. Try 2g of lb desired bodyweight for a while (faithfully) and come back in three months time and tell me whether you'd want to mess about with lower levels again.
Also, you say I'm overtraining but then that my weights are good . Do you mean I'm doing too many different exercises? I'm already doing most of the exercises you suggested, though I will check out the new ones.
You're gaining strength, the neural efficiency of your muscles is increasing. Given a suitable diet you'd be gaining in size too! Just because you're getting stronger, if you're not eating and resting properly you won't grow - and the strength gains will stagnate at some point, it varies from person to person. You're doing well now, bottomline - but without suitable nutrition and recovery you won't see the rewards for your hard work. Overtraining can be subtle - you may not notice it until given a month of hard training, you've gained absolutely nothing. The central nervous system is a delicate beast, it needs its rest like everyone else.
Protein builds muscle, but aren't carbs your main energy source? Everything I've read so far has touted carbs as very important. Example:
I never said carbs were not important, you misunderstand me. They're extremely important, and yes, they're your energy source. You eat carbs to keep you going all day long, but never at the expense of protein! (see digestive stuff above) Eat carbs to see you through the day but don't go for 5g per lb bodyweight or 9g as I've seen quoted here and there, just as many as you 'feel' you need to get through your daily activities. Alex sits on his arse all day, he won't need as many carbs as Satori who works as a bricklayer. See what I mean?
I'll aim for more steak, since I'm not getting any beef really. However, ground beef seems unhealthy as it is high in cholesterol and undesireable fats.
The fats in beef aren't necessarily undesirable. Grass-fed beef may well have a high proportion of EFAs! Saturated fat isn't a good fat exactly (it can increase cholesterol), but it's not a BAD fat - it's vital to protect our internal organs and keep us warm, among other things. BAD fats are trans and hydrogenated fats.
In any case, once you've cooked your beef, chuck it in a colander and then run it under the tap (faucet) until the water runs clear - a good deal of the fat will wash off this way. Or buy lean beef, it's not that expensive really ..
Cholesterol: the government are SO paranoid about this. What they forget is that eating cholesterol does NOT raise your body's cholesterol levels. In fact, your body's rate of natural cholesterol production decreases because it's getting it from external sources! I don't know about the States, but here in the UK eggs for example have a very bad rep for cholesterol - absolute cack. I eat six or seven whole eggs a day and my cholesterol is fine. Cholesterol levels are all down to daily exercise and amount of saturated fat in your diet (which can be limited or burned off, see above).
Note that an exception is if you have some family history of high cholesterol levels, or you might be sensitive to dietary cholesterol - in which case don't listen to me, and consult your doctor. If you're healthy in that respect though, there's no harm whatsoever in eating cholesterol-rich foods. Just get your exercise (which everyone should ANYWAY).
I didn't do dumbell rows because I thought it might be excessive since I already have 3 major back exercises.
Now you're talking sense - I even think that 3 might be too many.
My initial weight ranged from 141 to maybe 143 throughout the day. Now it seems to range from 144 to 146.
Congratulations! But given what you say about your metabolism, I personally think that anything under 2g of protein per lb is shooting yourself in the foot.
Also I'll try to find some flax seed oil. Would nutrition stores carry that or do I have to order it? The grocery store didn't have any that I could find.
Most health food shops should have it - but don't buy the capsules. Flax powder is an alternative, sprinkle it into your oatmeal or drink it with milk or water or however you like.
Pullups also are great at working the back and bi's. But you need to do pullups probably first or second if you want to implement them in your workout at all.
I agree here, although I'm more of a fan of wide grip pullups or rack chins. It's difficult to measure progress on pullups since your own bodyweight increases. I also agree that you'd have to do them first - possibly an exercise for the future, since you'd want to build core strength and progress quickly for the moment.
You've got plenty of good people advising you here Satori, listen to us and you should end up very pleased with yourself!
