How Much Protein Should I Eat After A Workout To Lose Weight

Sports nutrition recommendations may undergo a significant shift after research from the University of Stirling has found individuals with more muscle mass do not need more protein after resistance exercise.

Health and exercise scientists from Scotland's University for Sporting Excellence found no difference in the muscle growth response to protein after a full body workout between larger and smaller participants.

Kevin Tipton, Professor of Sport, Health and Exercise Science in the Faculty of Health Sciences and Sport, said: There is a widely-held assumption that larger athletes need more protein, with nutrition recommendations often given in direct relation to body mass.

How Much Protein To Build Muscle?

In our study, participants completed a bout of whole-body resistance exercise, where earlier studies -- on which protein recommendations are based -- examined the response to leg-only exercise. This difference suggests the amount of muscle worked in a single session has a bigger impact on the amount of protein needed afterwards, than the amount of muscle in the body.

Consuming 40 grams of protein after exercise was more effective at stimulating muscle growth than 20 grams. This increase occurred irrespective of the size of the participants.

Professor Tipton continued: Until now the consensus among leading sports nutritionists, including the American College of Sports Medicine and the British Nutrition Foundation, is that weightlifters do not need more than around 25 grams of protein after exercise to maximally stimulate the muscle's ability to grow.

How Much Protein Do You Need To Eat Per Day To Lose Weight?

In order for nutritionists to recommend the correct amount of protein we first need to consider specific demands of the workout, regardless of athletes' size. This throws commonly held recommendations into question and suggests the amount of protein our muscles need after exercise may be dependent on the type of workout performed. These results are limited to younger, trained men so we may see different results with other groups, such as older individuals or females digesting different amounts of protein.

Young, resistance-trained males were recruited for the study and divided into two groups, one with lower lean body mass of less than 65 kilograms and one with higher lean body mass of more than 70 kilograms.

Each volunteer participated in two trials where they consumed protein after resistance exercise. In one trial participants consumed 20 grams of whey protein and in the second, they consumed 40 grams of whey protein after exercise. Scientists measured the muscle's ability to grow at an increased rate with metabolic tracers and muscle biopsies.

What To Eat After You Work Out?

Disclaimer: AAAS and ! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to ! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the system.It's the most revered gym bro-science rule of all: if you want to get big, you're going to have to eat a lot of protein. But science says it all depends on how intense your workout is, and not your body size.

New research from the University of Stirling has found that the ideal amount of protein to consume after weight training is roughly 40 grams – regardless of how how big (or little) you are.

There is a widely-held assumption that larger athletes need more protein, with nutrition recommendations often given in direct relation to body mass, says Professor Kevin Tipton , who led the study.

High Protein Foods

The amount of muscle worked in a single session has a bigger impact on the amount of protein needed afterwards, than the amount of muscle in the body.

According to Tipton, it's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that big, muscly men need more protein after training – but really we should be looking at the type of lifting we do to determine our protein needs.

In order for nutritionists to recommend the correct amount of protein we first need to consider specific demands of the workout, regardless of athletes' size, says Tipton.

When It Comes To Protein, How Much Is Too Much?

This throws commonly held recommendations into question and suggests the amount of protein our muscles need after exercise may be dependent on the type of workout performed.

If you're hitting up the gym to train just your biceps or other isolated body parts, the researchers say 20 to 25 grams of protein is enough – but if you're working your whole body with squats, deadlifts and overhead pressing, then 40 grams of protein is far better.

To put that into context, 40 grams of protein is equal to five large eggs, three small cans of tuna, 100 grams of lean beef mince, 120 grams of chicken breast or a whopping 500 grams of tofu.

How Much Protein To Build Muscle? Ask An Rd

The researchers tested this by bringing a group of gung-ho young males into the lab, and splitting them up into two groups: group one had less than 65 kilograms of lean muscle mass, and group two had more than 70 kilograms of lean muscle mass.

Both groups of boys were then put through their paces with two whole-body exercise sessions. After first session, they were given 20 grams of whey protein to recover, and after the second session they were given 40 grams of whey protein to recover.

The results? It didn’t matter whether you were in the under-65kg group or the over-70 kg group – all boys gained a greater amount of muscle mass when they consumed 40 grams of whey protein post-workout.

How Much Protein Should I Eat Every Day? Protein 101 Guide

Until now the consensus among leading sports nutritionists, including the American College of Sports Medicine and the British Nutrition Foundation, is that weightlifters do not need more than around 25 grams of protein after exercise to maximally stimulate the muscle's ability to grow, explains Tipton.

These results are limited to younger, trained men so we may see different results with other groups, such as older individuals or females digesting different amounts of protein.By now you’ve probably been told that it’s a relatively smart idea to eat something after you lift weights. But the question is why? And what type of food? And how long after working out?

Why: As enjoyable as it may be, resistance training and engaging in moderate to high intensity exercise is a stressor on the body, which can cause acute damage to cells and tissues. Exercise also heavily relies upon the body’s pre-stored substrates as an energy source, thus leaving us in a more “depleted” state afterward. Therefore, consuming nutrients post-workout can help our bodily tissues recover and replenish and repair to be slightly stronger and more robust the next time we engage in a similar workout.

How Much Protein Should I Eat Per Day?

What: The nutrients that are of utmost importance during the post-workout period come from carbohydrates, protein, and hydrating sources. In terms of portion sizes, carbohydrate amounts should be individualised depending on your daily energy requirements. However, if consuming >60g of carbs within your post-workout meal, aim to consume a variety of glucose and fructose sources (e.g. oats with fruit, bread with jam, rice with sauce) as we can only absorb 60g glucose and 30g fructose per hour. For protein, aim to consume 0.4-0.55g/kg from an HBV protein source, and replace fluids by 1.5 x the estimated amount lost during exercise. Take note that while not a top priority, dietary fat is fine to consume, and it won’t drastically slow down your digestion or impair your ability to absorb carbs and protein. In fact, consuming a mixed meal with fat can often be advantageous, nourishing and satiating! Also, fruit and vegetables are always a bonus!

When: It turns out that the “30-minute post-workout anabolic window” is a myth. Rather, as long as you consume your pre- and post-workout meal within 4-6 hours of one another you’re in the clear for adequately fuelling and re-fuelling. This is great news and means that you don’t need to skull a protein shake in the locker room immediately after you finish your last set of bicep curls to confirm your gains!

We’re here to help set things straight with a few of our top tips for tracking as correctly as possible. This will ensure that if you invest time and effort into tracking your food, you will obtain a higher return on that investment in the form of accurate data and results!

How Much Protein Do You Need After 50?

It takes immense effort, time, strategy and dedication to acquire new skeletal tissue during building phases. Lifters should want to preserve this lean mass at all costs when they decide to enter into a cutting phase.

Swipe through the above to determine where you land on the “food focus scale”. Let us know what you would define as a sweet spot for having the perfect degree of food focus?