Fadi
...
Mention the word protein to a bodybuilder and ask him, what is the first thing that comes into your mind? If he’s hungry and thinking of food, he may list for you all the foods that focus on protein, foods such as meat, fish, etc. If on the other hand his mind is in training mode, he would automatically and without any hesitation say: but muscle growth of course.
In both cases, our bodybuilding friend was right on the money, however there’s more to protein than meets the eye, and it’s something each and every bodybuilder needs to be mindful of. Before I delve into this crucial point, I’d like to ask you few questions regarding something I’m 100% certain you’ve heard about. The ketogenic diet, surely you’ve heard of it, and you most likely know of some bodybuilders who swear by its effectiveness in helping them achieve whatever it is they’ve set out to achieve. You most probably know also, (even though you may not be an advocate of such a diet), that the main macro of such a diet is fat, followed by protein, with carbohydrates coming in a very distant 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] (if it ever even appears on the radar of such a diet). I’m not here to judge either way, however I am here to make the point, the obvious point that the main fuel that this diet relies on comes from fatty acids (ketones) and not carbohydrates.
Why? Why does the ketogenic diet uses fat for fuel and not something else? Because the ketogenic dieter has re-programmed his body to use fatty acids in the absence of carbohydrates, that’s the simple way of putting it. Great, now that we’ve got this out of the way, let us now move onto the subject at hand: protein.
We’ve agreed that one of protein’s main functions in our body is to serve as a building block for new tissue. Now here’s where it gets interesting. What do you think occurs after your ingested protein does what it does best, in building new tissue etc.? Well, with such a high emphasis that is placed on the totality of protein amongst bodybuilders, you are guaranteed of a spillover effect, would you agree with me on that? By spillover, I mean a surplus amount of protein left over beyond what is required. Well, where to from here with that excess protein do you think? I can think of two avenues this excess protein can take, a) become oxidised / breakdown and used for fuel, and b) stored as fat. I can’t think of a 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] avenue this excess protein would take, however I can think of something a hell of lot more critical than what I’ve just shared with you so far: the re-programming of your body’s functions to “see” protein for something other than what it was mainly intended for.
If you ask me, the last macro I’d want to use for fuel would be protein. And if you (as a bodybuilder) insist on taking in loads and loads of this precious macro instead of relying on either fats or carbs to burn your fires, then I’m afraid you’d be doing what the ketogenic bodybuilder/dieter has done, in the sense of training his body to use fats for fuel instead of carbs, here you’d also be training your body (irrespective to what extent) in doing exactly the same thing, perhaps to a different degree, but this time using not only your dietary protein intakes, but also your stored amino acids, also known as hard earned precious muscles!
Some may say hey Fadi; you’re making a big deal out of nothing. So what if I use some of my ingested protein for fuel? My reply would be no big deal at all, unless you can insure you’re not sending your body the wrong signals. We are in the driver’s seat, and our body responds to what we ask of it to do and not the other way around. So if you’re cool with teaching your body a new trick in breaking down your proteins for fuel, either from a dietary source or hard earned muscles, then my suggestion to you would be to seat down with yourself and re-evaluate the balance of your macros.
I’ll leave you on a lighter note. A husband finding himself late for work, asks his wife to make him one of his quick “muscle protein shakes”. Did you know that it’s not high protein that boosts the size of your muscles, but rather the stimulation of your muscle fibers through some smart and effective exercising that leads to new muscle growth? You want proof? I’ll give you proof. Notice that new bodybuilder who has just commenced training on Monday. After a week or two, you look at him and see some new muscular development, with perhaps a new leanness to his overall physique. He tells you that he did not increase his food intake, nor changed his eating habits. What brought on these obvious changes? Muscle stimulation through resistance exercising, that’s what. Beyond that, this new trainee would have to increase his overall caloric intake if he wishes to increase his muscle size further. Overall caloric intake has never meant an over the top protein intake, or the singling out of one macro above all other macros haphazardly.
In both cases, our bodybuilding friend was right on the money, however there’s more to protein than meets the eye, and it’s something each and every bodybuilder needs to be mindful of. Before I delve into this crucial point, I’d like to ask you few questions regarding something I’m 100% certain you’ve heard about. The ketogenic diet, surely you’ve heard of it, and you most likely know of some bodybuilders who swear by its effectiveness in helping them achieve whatever it is they’ve set out to achieve. You most probably know also, (even though you may not be an advocate of such a diet), that the main macro of such a diet is fat, followed by protein, with carbohydrates coming in a very distant 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] (if it ever even appears on the radar of such a diet). I’m not here to judge either way, however I am here to make the point, the obvious point that the main fuel that this diet relies on comes from fatty acids (ketones) and not carbohydrates.
Why? Why does the ketogenic diet uses fat for fuel and not something else? Because the ketogenic dieter has re-programmed his body to use fatty acids in the absence of carbohydrates, that’s the simple way of putting it. Great, now that we’ve got this out of the way, let us now move onto the subject at hand: protein.
We’ve agreed that one of protein’s main functions in our body is to serve as a building block for new tissue. Now here’s where it gets interesting. What do you think occurs after your ingested protein does what it does best, in building new tissue etc.? Well, with such a high emphasis that is placed on the totality of protein amongst bodybuilders, you are guaranteed of a spillover effect, would you agree with me on that? By spillover, I mean a surplus amount of protein left over beyond what is required. Well, where to from here with that excess protein do you think? I can think of two avenues this excess protein can take, a) become oxidised / breakdown and used for fuel, and b) stored as fat. I can’t think of a 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] avenue this excess protein would take, however I can think of something a hell of lot more critical than what I’ve just shared with you so far: the re-programming of your body’s functions to “see” protein for something other than what it was mainly intended for.
If you ask me, the last macro I’d want to use for fuel would be protein. And if you (as a bodybuilder) insist on taking in loads and loads of this precious macro instead of relying on either fats or carbs to burn your fires, then I’m afraid you’d be doing what the ketogenic bodybuilder/dieter has done, in the sense of training his body to use fats for fuel instead of carbs, here you’d also be training your body (irrespective to what extent) in doing exactly the same thing, perhaps to a different degree, but this time using not only your dietary protein intakes, but also your stored amino acids, also known as hard earned precious muscles!
Some may say hey Fadi; you’re making a big deal out of nothing. So what if I use some of my ingested protein for fuel? My reply would be no big deal at all, unless you can insure you’re not sending your body the wrong signals. We are in the driver’s seat, and our body responds to what we ask of it to do and not the other way around. So if you’re cool with teaching your body a new trick in breaking down your proteins for fuel, either from a dietary source or hard earned muscles, then my suggestion to you would be to seat down with yourself and re-evaluate the balance of your macros.
I’ll leave you on a lighter note. A husband finding himself late for work, asks his wife to make him one of his quick “muscle protein shakes”. Did you know that it’s not high protein that boosts the size of your muscles, but rather the stimulation of your muscle fibers through some smart and effective exercising that leads to new muscle growth? You want proof? I’ll give you proof. Notice that new bodybuilder who has just commenced training on Monday. After a week or two, you look at him and see some new muscular development, with perhaps a new leanness to his overall physique. He tells you that he did not increase his food intake, nor changed his eating habits. What brought on these obvious changes? Muscle stimulation through resistance exercising, that’s what. Beyond that, this new trainee would have to increase his overall caloric intake if he wishes to increase his muscle size further. Overall caloric intake has never meant an over the top protein intake, or the singling out of one macro above all other macros haphazardly.
Last edited:
![kitava01[1].jpg](https://ausbb.com/data/attachments/8/8976-cf947dfea5c5471365c6baac3f5c749c.jpg "kitava01[1].jpg")
