Protein: Just how important is it?

What is protein?

Protein is made up of a chain of polypeptides which are made up of amino acids. Sounds smart but just what the heck does it mean?

 Every single cell in your body is made up of protein. Your brain cells are 10 percent protein. Muscle and red blood cells have as much as 20 percent. Protein is the second largest building block of the human body (Water is number 1) comprising approximately 15% by weight.

To keep your cells thriving, you must give them protein on a daily basis.  

Proteins are made of amino acids that are linked together in long chains. Our bodies can make certain amino acids however other types of amino acids must be consumed. 

In a nutshell amino acids are molecules made up of Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen and Nitrogen. 

Protein is a building block in muscle growth. I will explain muscle growth in a bit. 

Our bodies do not manufacture protein on its own. To get protein in our bodies we have to consume it. 

How much protein does the average person need?

Our protein needs depend on our age, size, and activity level. The standard method used by nutritionists to estimate our minimum daily protein requirement is to multiply the body weight in kilograms by .8, or weight in pounds by .37. This is the number of grams of protein that should be the daily minimum. According to this method, a person weighing 150 lbs. should eat 55 grams of protein per day, a 200-pound person should get 74 grams, and a 250-pound person should eat 92 grams.

What if I am looking to grow bigger muscles?

Although it is controversial, there is evidence that people engaging in endurance exercise (such as long distance running) or heavy resistive exercise (such as body building) can benefit from additional protein in their diets. One prominent researcher in the field recommends 1.2 to 1.4 grams per kilogram of body weight per day for endurance exercisers and 1.7 to 1.8 grams per kg per day for heavy strength training. 

You can use this Kilogram converter here to convert your body weight in pounds to Kilograms. http://www.manuelsweb.com/kg_lbs.htm

How do Vegetarians get protein in their diet?

Protein has been marketed to be synonomous with Meat and Dairy. However there are a variety of Plant based foods that contain protein and some of them are very high in protein. 

Protein Rich Foods: Quantity (grams) Protein Content (grams)

White rice, regular, cooked 100g 3g

Brown rice, cooked 100g 3g

Wheat flour, whole grain 100g  14g

Whole wheat bread 100g 10g

Cornmeal, whole grain, white 100g 8g

Oat bran, cooked 100g 3g

Almonds, roasted, without salt 100g  21g

Cashews, roasted, without salt 100g  15g

Peanuts, dry roasted, without salt 100g  24g

Pecans, roasted, without salt 100g 9g

Sunflower seed kernels, roasted, without salt 100g  19g

Pumpkin seeds, 100g  38g

Beans: Quantity (grams) Protein Content (grams)

Mung beans, boiled and without salt 100g 7g

Asparagus, cooked, boiled, drained 100g 2g

Pinto Beans, boiled, without salt 100g 9g

Navy beans, boiled, without salt 100g 8g

Kidney beans, boiled, without salt 100g 9g

Black beans, cooked boiled without salt 100g 9g

Lima beans, boiled and without salt 100g 7g

Soybeans, boiled, cooked, without salt 100g 12g

White beans, cooked, boiled, without salt 100g 9g

Baked beans, without salt 100g 5g

Chick peas, cooked, boiled, without salt 100g  15g

Refried beans 100g 5g

If you are trying to limit your intake of saturated fat and cholesterol then you can follow the vegetable protein list for good sources of protein. You can also supplement your diet with Vegan powdered protein. I bought mine through Amazon.com by searching for Vegan Powdered Protein. 

Is protein from animals bad?

No, not when consumed with in reason, but there are those who for personal, ethical and health related concerns choose not to consume animal based protein. It has been shown that a diet high in animal based foods leads to increased disease in the body. Diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabeties, some forms of cancer and prostate enlargement. (for the men: enlarged prostate is what makes it difficult to get and maintain an erection as you get older.) 

Is too much protein bad for you?

In a review of the research, the National Academy of Sciences reported that the only known danger from high-protein diets is for individuals with kidney disease. After careful study, they recommend that 10 percent to 35 percent of daily calories come from protein. People who have or are being treated for kidney stones should avoid diets high in protein. 

How are muscles made?

Strenght training effectively by using enough weight to sufficiently overload a muscle, micro trauma and micro tears are created in the muscle. The muscle then goes about repairing itself. It may take many strength training sessions, before you add one pound of pure muscle to your body. Nutrition, training, recuperation and stress levels all play a part in the process. If you eat excessively, your blood sugar will remain elevated and sabotage your efforts, so nutrition is truly an important component for success.

What happens if we don’t eat enough protein?

Unlike fat and glucose, our body has little capacity to store protein. If we were to stop eating protein, our body would start to break down muscle for its needs within a day or so. So having a daily intake of protein is essential. 

Shakeology is an excellent vegetarian source of protien. It has 18g of protein per serving. When you add an additional scoop of either Vegan or Whey protien to it you can easily meet your daily protein needs if you are a heavy lifter. 

To order Shakeology you can contact myself or your Beachbody Coach. 

http://myshakeology.com/esuite/home/coachcherokee

Heart Attack Waiting to Happen!

A few years back I was very over weight. At the time I was pushing 220 and rapidly working my way up to 230lbs. I worked as a Phlebotomist for the Kentucky Blood Center in Lexington KY. This was a very sedentary job. I worked in the mobiles department and 90% of my day was spent riding in a van to a blood drive. This was a rather boring affair and to pass the time we would eat and talk and eat some more.

If it was a slow blood drive then we would all sit around and wait for the donors to show up. So there was more sitting and eating. Little Debbie snack cakes were readily available and any opened boxes would just get thrown away. So we ate the left overs and any soda that was left would also get consumed.

I was easily eating one thousand calories over my daily requirement and yet I could not understand why I was gaining a pound or two a week.

The work hours were long and days off were a luxury.  That particular blood centers management had horrible people skills as well as deplorable managerial skills thus the turn over rate was very high. Those of us stubborn or stupid enough to stick around were worked like pack mules and to put in a 10 day work week was not uncommon.

I was too tired to do anything but sit when I got home. Combine that with a lack of healthy food choices and before I knew it I was having an odd tightening in my right shoulder that radiated to my arm pit and down my left arm. The politics and high school mentality of the staff created a lot of interpersonal stress at work. Home was not a bastion of tranquility as a single mom I had double duty.

I tried to get my work hours decreased and my schedule more in line with my kids school schedule. The only thing I got for that was the threatening words "consider yourself lucky to have a job, I can always hire someone else to take your place."

There were a few at home incidences with the babysitter not doing her job and then we were in and out of court and my D.M.V. ex husband was telling the courts that I was a bad mom and the kids should go to him. Oh and he wants 1,200.00 a month in child support. Twice what I was getting from him at the time.

This created more stress on top of stress.

The angina increased and I ignored it. The blood center did not offer medical benefits at that time and between court fee's and child care plus daily living expenses I had no money to see a doctor and seek medical attention.

I was very lucky that I did not have a heart attack. All the precursors were there and if I had not been introduced to Shakeology I would not be here to write this.

I was experiencing all the symptoms in WebMD: http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/guide/heart-disease-symptoms

I won my court battle for my kids but at a terrible price. My health, my spirit and my career were broken.

I had my kids to live for and after the traumatic year we had all spent I wanted to give my kids a healthy and vivacious mother. So I started taking care of myself. I signed up as a Beachbody Coach and got my Shakeology for a 25% discount. That discount also applied to Beachbodies award winning work out programs such as P90X, Insanity and all the rest that they offer.

I drank my shake every day for a month. After a month I had lost enough weight that I was able to do the Shakeology work outs. I continued to drink my Shakeology and work out. By the end of the second month all angina had ceased and I could do the work outs completely.

It has been 8 months since I started drinking Shakeology and I continue to drink it and work out. I have lost over 50 pounds so far and look and feel amazing.

I want you to know that you don't have to suffer from angina as I did. You can turn your health around with Shakeology. You can read more about it here: http://bestellar2.weebly.com/index.html

I wish you the best of success and would love to help you in your health and fitness journey.

Cherokee