When I got into exercise, weight lifting, in the year 2001, one of the first things I learned is that if I wanted to grow muscle, I needed to eat foods high in protein.
In fact, most people know about protein shakes. I used to take at least 2 shakes every day. I did not know much about the subject. Like many people, I followed the flow and believed the myths that others told me. Back then, I used to order my protein online. It was cheaper than buying locally. So I ordered protein for other friends as well. A particular friend, who I ordered for, said that protein would give him pimples. Sometimes we don’t use common sense. I had many pimples on my back, but I did not put the dots together. Back then one of my desires was to gain a lot of muscle, be big. So I did not care about any consequences of anything I ate. I used to eat 2 Big Macs at MacDonald’s for lunch often. I used to buy processed food and eat anything because the myth was to eat as much as I could to acquire a lot of protein to build muscle.
At one point in my life, I deeply suffered, but not from the junk food or protein intake. However, that pain opened my eyes. I noticed many things I was doing wrong, such as believing the protein myth. I started a deep research into foods. This led me to study the protein shakes' ingredients which are full of chemicals that are not made to digest. I continued studying foods and found out that junk food has a lot of chemicals and it was not made for nutrition, but for profit. I stopped drinking protein shakes and eating junk food, as well as fast food. My muscle mass did not decrease, nor did my strength. My energy levels increased, my skin cleared up from the pimples, my stomach problems stopped and I didn’t get sick anymore. It has now been almost 5 years since this specific change.
The protein myth is what I’m going emphasize today...
We tend to believe what the masses believe. If the masses, including school, tell us that diseases are genetic, we believe it. If they say that the economy is bad, we believe it, and if they said that the world is flat, we believe it. This is also true for the protein myth. We believe we need a high intake of protein, either from meat, milk, shakes, tofu or other products. However, many professionals now claim that we can get all the protein we need without eating meat and drinking other mammals’ milk. The reality is that many people are conscious about their protein intake. Even vegetarians look for some source of protein to meet their belief.
As a matter of fact, many people believe that toddlers need a good amount of protein to grow healthy. I read several researches that concluded that formulas weaken the infant immune system, cause stomach discomfort and are a factor for later cancer. The real food that Mother Nature provides for a toddler is the mom’s milk which makes the infant’s immune system stronger by protecting the infant against many diseases, infections and allergies; it helps with the developing of the brain and it decreases the baby’s predisposition to become overweight. In other words, babies who are breastfeeding are healthier than those who are not. Mother’s milk is 2.38 percent protein reducing to 1.2 percent six months later. In other words, when according to society we need the most protein is when we get the least and yet, we grow healthier. So, why is the myth so credible?
No one has an idea about how much protein we need...
Just as any other nutrient, including water, every body is different. Many people think that we need one gram of protein per each kilogram. But it is not only the size of the person, but the physiological needs of the person that determines the protein needed. In addition, Dr. Mark Hegstead’s research suggests that most human beings adapt to whatever protein intake is available to them. Also, new research shows that people do not need to combine foods to get complete proteins from vegetables and legumes. A report by the International Union of Nutritional Science claims that adult males consume 39 to 110 grams of protein. There is more research that claims that we don’t need animal protein to survive, be healthy and strong. In fact, much research shows that meats contribute to obesity and cancer among other disease. My point of view is that most meats are grown with hormones, antibiotics, certain grains and other products that are harmful for us. This is the reason why there is a link to health problems. However, the more I read about food, the more I found that protein from animals is not needed to have a healthy life.
The truth is the Western diet is loaded with animal protein and many of these products have been produced with hormones and other harmful ingredients...
I have cut my animal protein intake by more than fifty percent. I usually only eat meat at my dinner. People who have significantly cut their animal protein intake do lose weight drastically. Our success stories are good example. He cut his meat intake, started to exercise at CBF and lost just over 10 pounds on the scale in his first month, additionally increasing his energy and muscle mass.
Here is my recommendation, if you like animal protein and want to live a healthier life and lose weight, start reducing your meat intake. Eat animal protein, including milk, fish and eggs, only once a day. If you are worried about your calcium intake, you can find calcium in vegetables, such as the turnip greens which have more calcium than milk. Also, calcium is not the only mineral that you need to keep your bones strong; you will find the rest of most minerals in vegetables. In addition, buy local grassfed cattle. Artificially induced hormones do contribute to cancer and obesity. Find a competent dietitian who can help you understand your body needs. There are many people who have gone to a competent dietitian who has helped them to understand their bodies' needs and they usually ended up cutting meats, especially industrialized meat.
Custom Body Fitness is located in Glenwood Springs CO and Carbondale CO