Protein, Carbohydrates and Building Muscle

Myth: When trying to lose weight or build muscle, the more protein the better.

Truth: Protein should make up between 10-35% of your daily calories. Like all calories, eating excess protein will be stored as fat or partially used for energy (when fat or carbohydrates aren't available)

The body can only use so much protein and can only make so much new muscle tissue per day. Eating more protein than needed doesn't unlock some mysterious, hidden muscle building factory within the body. So eating more than you need will lead to fat gain.

For weight loss, about .73 to 1 gram of body weight is the recommended amount. Athletes who place greater demand on their bodies can consume between 1-1.5 grams of protein per body weight.

Don't be misled by protein supplement manufacturers who would have you believe that consuming as much of their product as you can is good for you.

So what about carbohydrates? where do they fit into the muscle building equation? Carbs are equally if not more important when trying to gain muscle or athletic performance. Yes, protein is used as the building blocks for new muscle but carbs are what fuels the resistance training needed to add more muscle mass. You can't workout to the level needed for new muscle growth without an adequate supply of carbohydrates to fuel your work. You want carbs to be the fuel source and not protein. You want to save the protein you are consuming so that it can do its job of providing the crucial building blocks.

Carbohydrates are often referred to as the protein sparing macronutrient.