Gym Newbie.....supplements?

[TUGGY2006]

Hi there. Recently started at the gym and my PT had recommended I increase my protein intake. I'm struggling to do this though and want some advice. He's gone on holiday so I can't ask him. I'm going to the gym to increase strength not to loose weight if that makes any difference.
What will happen if I don't take extra protein?

Will I still build muscle?
Thanks

I’m no nutritionist, but thinking about it logically. If protein is the building blocks of muscle, then the less you take in the less muscle you’re going to be able to make. Your thread mentions supplements. What supplements are your thinking of taking? I’m also curious why you’re struggling to get enough protein.

To build muscle you need about 1.5g of protein per kilo of body weight per day which is quite a lot. So for 100g that’s 2 whole chicken breasts and half a tub of Greek yogurt.

I didn’t want to be spending a fortune on meat so used to buy protein powder from my protein. 1 shake is 20g protein so an easy way to top up.

There are lots of conflicting views on this. Some say that nobody really needs more than 0.7g per kg body weight, others recommend well over 2g.

One key factor for me is timing - we can't store protein so spreading over multiple meals a day sems sensible. There are also different views on whether you need to prioritise it after exercise - lots of research (generally done on young men) claims to debunk this but I think women benefit more from getting protein as soon after a workout as possible to encourage muscle building. A final consideration is that with age we use protein less.efficiently so may need more as we age to stave off muscle loss.

Personally I try to get somewhere around 1.6g/kg spread out across the day, particularly after a tough strength session, to help make sure I am getting the most from my training and building muscle.

Finally, be wary of highly processed foods and supplements boasting about their protein content - it's best to get it from normal.food as much as you can. A bowl of defrosted edamame is a quick and healthy high protein snack. Cheese is also high in leucine which seems to play an important role in muscle synthesis.

The amount of protein you need also depends on your age; as female getting older, our muscle mass deteriorates hence the need for extra.
Strong muscles sets us up better for later life hence the importance of protein.
You can get protein yoghurts from places like Aldi which can give 20g easily.

It's roughly 1.5g protein p kg of body weight.
You don't necessarily need supplements, you can get plenty of protein through your diet.
Red meat, chicken, fish, eggs, oats, chickpeas are all good sources of protein.
Have a look online to find some inspiration?

Also have a look at the relationship between grammes of protein and calories.

A quick way of adding lean protein without too many calories is by using egg whites in an omelette with spinach or broccoli.

Greek yoghurt with berries and a scoop of protein powder is anotjer really quick easy way of adding protein in a calorie responsible way.

Cheese on the other hand, is a good source of protein but very high in calories - the ratio of protein to calories means that I use it as a flavouring (on eggs or vegetables) rather than a calorie source.

I'd look at diet before suplements.

Simple swaps such as eggs for breakfast instead of cereal are cheap, easy and nutritionally sound. If adding additional snacks in, keep an eye on not exceeding your energy needs

There's a lot of products on the protein bandwagon that are just ultra-processed junk food bragging about the nominal amount of protein requred to make a health claim, so I'd be cautious about "High Protein!!!!" snacks.

Protein sources/ supplements can come from a variety of sources, so check those. For me, it's a bit of an IBS minefield with intolerances to soya, milk and artificial sweetners.

Creatine is worth looking up. It's an amino acid that's basically a component of protein that's useful for facilitating muscle growth.

If you don't want to consume a load of extra calories (I know you are not trying to lose weight but am assuming you don't want to gain) then things like cottage cheese, eggs, fish and prawns are your friend. I personally top up with a protein shake before exercise and low fat kvarg or skyr during the day but otherwise eat normally. Assuming you are not vegan it should be pretty easy to increase protein with normal food.

It’s pretty easy to increase protein intake with abnormal vegan food too👌

Point taken. Sorry to vegans I have offended.