16/365 The Power of Protein

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

Let's talk protein. As a girl, I was intimidated and curious about protein. Who will I become if I start taking protein? Am I going to turn full meat head? Will I Hulk out?


First off, protein is essential for your survival. It helps restore "muscle glycogen, repair[s] muscle damage, attenuat[es] protein degredation, and initiat[es] protein synthesis. (Ivy and Ferguson)" What more will you need after you've been exercising? When you exercise, you use up a ton of glycogen to supply you energy. You also tear up your muscles so that they can rebuild and get bigger. Proteins are super important for exercisers of all kinds, from performance athletes to enthusiasts.

As a recovery drink, my double chocolate whey protein from Gold Standard mixed with water hits the spot. Unless you're a vegetarian, there's really no difference in drinking whey and soy protein.You ought to have your recovery drink within 30 to 40 minutes of your exercise to optimize it's uptake. You may not feel hungry but, your cells are. If you wait longer than that, your body takes a longer time absorbing all those nutritional goodies you feed it. Also, if you wait until you actually feel hungry (remember, blood gets shunted away from those organs and areas that don't need it), you will most likely ravenously scarf down your food.

So, take the leap, invest in some protein at your local GNC or Vitamin Shoppe. You won't feel as sore after your workout and your body will recover faster for your next bout. Also! Be sure to drink lots of water as the nitrogen in your protein will not be very nice to your kidneys.

In health,

Lauren

Ivy, JL, and LM Ferguson. "Optimizing resistance exercise adaptations through the timing of post-exercise carbohydrate-protein supplementation." Strength & Conditioning Journal (Allen Press) 32.1 (2010): 30-36. CINAHL Plus with Full Text. EBSCO. Web. 5 Aug. 2010.