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Hey, I’m Kenta Seki with Team GNC. I’m a fitness trainer and nutritionist, and I am so excited to be bringing you my pro tips when it comes to living well. In today’s episode of GNC’s expert series, I will be answering your most searched questions about protein and will share with you my tips on how to get the right amount of protein for your various fitness and nutrition goals.
Proteins are an essential nutrient for the human body. It helps your muscles function grow and repair. And despite it being one of the most important nutrients, it’s also one of the most searched nutrients on the internet. So today I’ll be answering your most searched questions about protein, answer any questions you have about how much you need, why you need it, and how it can help you perform at your best.
All right, question number one is, what is protein? Protein is one of the three major macronutrients that we need to survive. It’s comprised up of amino acids, which are literally the building blocks of our cells. So that means it functions every part of our body, whether it’s the immune system, our eyesight, any of our senses, and yes, even building muscle.
All right, next question is, how much protein do I need? With protein, there’s what’s called an RDA or a recommended daily allowance that you should hit every day for your individual needs. What you want to do is multiply your weight in kilograms by 0.8. But if you don’t know how to find your weight in kilograms, instead just multiply your weight in pounds by 0.38. And that number should give you the amount of grams that you should be hitting a minimum of per day. If you have other needs, like if you’re an athlete or you exercise a lot, or you’re really trying to gain more muscle mass, then you might want to increase that number just a bit. What you want to do with that total number is divide that up based on how many meals you eat per day. So if you’re having three meals, divide that up in three, and that’s generally how many grams you should be hitting per meal throughout the day.
Protein deficiency is also a real thing. If you’re not getting enough protein in your diet, your body is going to find other places to get those nutrients from, like your skeletal muscle. And you can also even start to have some negative side effects, like fatigue or body aches or soreness or even nausea. So it’s really important that you make sure you’re getting the right amount of nutrients for your daily needs.
Next question is, what vegan foods are high in protein? Of course, one of the most commonly well-known vegan foods that’s high in protein is soy or tofu. That’s a great source. There’s also all other kinds, like all different types of nuts. There’s lentils. There’s chick peas. One of my personal favorites is chia seeds because it’s also really high in fiber.
But one thing you should really know when it comes to vegetarian and vegan sources of protein are that there are two types of protein. There are complete proteins and there are incomplete proteins. A complete protein means that it contains all nine essential amino acids. [00:03:00] Most types of meat and dairy sources of protein are already complete proteins, but most vegetarian and vegan sources are known as the incomplete proteins because they are lacking some of the essential amino acids. So it’s really important that you mix and match your incomplete proteins so that they can combine to a complete protein. A good example of this are beans and rice. By combining those two incomplete proteins, it creates a complete protein that your body can then readily absorb. So if you’re vegan or vegetarian, one of the most important things you can do is eat a variety of foods so that you end up mixing and matching and having a better diet.
All right, our next most searched question is, what types of protein powders are there? You should always be trying to make sure you get your RDA of protein first from your food throughout the day. But if you’re not able to consume your RDA of protein with your intake of food, supplements and protein powders are a great alternative to hit your daily recommendation of protein.
There are two main types of protein sources. Of course, there’s the animal based and the plant based. When it comes to animal based, whey is the most commonly well-known one. It’s a derivative of milk from dairy cows. The alternative to that is casein, also coming from a dairy source. There’s also beef protein. There’s egg protein.
And if we’re talking about the plant based protein, there’s another wide variety. Of course, the most well-known one is the soy. After that we have chickpea, we have brown rice. Let’s see. There’s hemp, there’s chia seeds, and there’s such a wide variety. Sometimes it’s important to try different ones to see what works best for you and your body and your needs.
We have a few options here at GNC. One of my personal favorites is the GNC Total Lean, Lean Shake Green. What I love most about this one, as I mentioned earlier, is it combines a bunch of different types of plant-based proteins all in one. So that way, if you combine them, you get that complete protein that I was talking about earlier. Another alternative is the GNC Amp plant isolate protein. It’s another great alternative. Again, make sure you try different ones to see what works best for you and your goals.
And your final most searched question about protein is, what are the best proteins for weight loss? When it comes to protein, guys, it’s really important that you understand that protein by itself will not necessarily lead to weight loss. You have to pair it with a good exercise program, as well as a good diet. And it’s really important that when you’re selecting your protein, try to find one that’s not too high in carbs or fats and comes from as much of a lean and healthy source as possible, potentially a natural source and maybe even organic if possible.
The best part about protein is that it takes longer to digest, so you potentially end up eating less food because you feel fuller longer. And if you pair it with a good exercise and workout program, you potentially can end up building more lean muscle. And the more muscle you have, the faster your metabolism will be, so the better your benefits of weight loss can potentially be as well.
Thanks for watching and listening to me answer your top searched questions about protein. Don’t forget to like, comment below and subscribe. I can’t wait to see you next time. Until then, continue to live well.
