Muscles! It’s the one thing everyone desires at some point in their life. Building muscles doesn’t always mean ‘Bulking up’, it has much more to it. Gaining more muscle can have positive effects on one's health, looks, and confidence beyond just being a means to flaunt one's physique. Whether you’re an athlete or just a person who's looking to cut down on fats, muscle building is beneficial for everyone.
What is weight loss? Is it just a few reductions in the kgs. No, it's not! It's sad to see that people associate weight loss with such numbers. Rather it is the reduction in the body fat & gaining / maintaining the muscle mass. But how exactly do you build these muscles? Is it by training & shedding your blood & sweat in the gym? Well, it's partially correct. Exercise does play a very important role in meeting our health goals, but DIET is non-negotiable. The one key ingredient to muscle building is “Protein”.
Sources of Protein
There are several options for including protein. Thus, for optimum health, you can fuel your body with high-quality proteins. Consuming plant and animal protein has their own benefits & drawbacks. Plant protein is advantageous in lowering the risk of various heart diseases & other non-communicable diseases.
Looking at the numbers, you might find it difficult to achieve your daily Protein goals. But don’t worry, Prolicious is here to help you!
Prolicious serves a wide range of high protein foods, which can help to up the protein profiles of your meals. For example, the Oats Chilla mix, millet dosa, vermicelli can make up for a power packed breakfast, thins & khakhras for evening snack & high protein pasta for dinner.
But how much protein should you eat?
Protein is the building block of your body. According to the RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance), the daily protein intake should be 0.8g-1g/kg body weight. This means that a person weighing 70kg needs 56gms of protein, which is the minimal amount required to prevent deficiencies. But a higher amount is required to build the muscles.
Amino acids are like the building blocks of protein. Leucine, a branched chain amino acid, has been suggested as the essential amino acid for MPS (Muscle Protein Synthesis) stimulation. Leucine accounts for the majority of the anabolic effect (construction of molecule, in this case muscles) of a meal. It has been suggested that consuming 20–25 g of a high-quality protein will enhance muscle protein synthesis in young individuals. It has not yet been demonstrated that higher doses (i.e., >40 g dietary protein) will further enhance MPS.
An interesting study from 2021 shows that lean body mass can be increased or maintained by gradually increasing current protein consumption by 0.1 g/kg/d over several months in a dose-dependent manner over a range of doses from 0.5 to 3.5 g/kg/d.
Although protein requirements depend on the age, gender, activity levels, etc. According to the ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) dietary protein requirements for supporting metabolic adaptability, repair, remodeling, and protein turnover typically fall between 1.2 and 2.0 g/kg/d. According to a 2022 study, resistance training combined with 1.5 g/kg BW/d of total protein consumption may be the best choice for preserving and enhancing muscle strength.
So, grab these tasty, high protein foods and boost your muscle building!
About the Author
Prachiti Mali
MSc Sports Nutrition, P G Diploma Dietetics & Applied nutrition, CDE.
She is an enthusiastic expert in food and nutrition who is committed to making enticing meals healthy for a better future.
