It’s damn hard to get started on these articles. I know exactly what I want to say, but I’m never sure how to introduce the idea to you. Well, all right then—let’s get straight to it.
Why burn antique furniture for fuel??? The old hands probably know where this is going. But let’s explain it for anyone who has no idea what I’m talking about. To be honest, I’m not 100% sure myself, but as far as I understand, this saying—why burn antique furniture for fuel—comes from the veteran expert Indrek Otsus. He used it as an analogy for eating too much protein and raising its share of your diet to a pointlessly high level at the expense of other nutrients: carbohydrates and fats.
I’m not going to argue that this comparison is categorically right or wrong. Instead, I’ll draw on my knowledge and understanding to examine how well it holds up during different training phases. I should also say that I don’t know which training phase Otsus was referring to when he used this comparison, so I’m not criticizing anyone or insisting that the analogy is right or wrong. This is more an attempt to analyze it and unpack its meaning.
So, why burn antique furniture for fuel—or, in other words, why push protein’s share of your diet to unprecedented levels? Again…it’s hard to know where to start because there are so many factors to consider. First, it’s clear that anyone doing strength exercises needs protein. After all, strength training increases protein synthesis, which requires additional protein for that increase to translate effectively into muscle growth. Strength athletes also need slightly more protein than the average person to maintain the muscle mass they have already built. But how much??? Again, that depends on a number of factors. According to Lemon (Lemon, 2000), the factors that determine protein requirements are total energy intake, the proportion of carbohydrates in the diet, training intensity, duration and focus, the quality of the protein consumed, training experience, age, sex and nutrient timing. All of these factors need to be considered when determining a person’s actual protein requirements.
What Indrek Otsus is getting at is that, during a bulking phase—or if you simply do regular strength training without being in an energy deficit and so on—you shouldn’t let your enthusiasm for building big muscles drive your protein intake through the roof. Indeed, there has been plenty of discussion about how people who do strength exercises need more protein, but everything has its limits. The main factor setting fairly clear limits on protein intake during a bulking phase is total energy intake and energy balance. It’s clear that building muscle requires a positive energy balance. In other words, you eat somewhat more than you burn. But exceeding a certain daily protein intake—pushing it pointlessly high—simply means that the excess protein starts being oxidized for energy. Why waste it? Protein is expensive, whether it comes from protein powders or food…it makes no difference…protein costs money. Why fuel the stove (your body) unnecessarily with antique furniture (expensive protein)??? Let’s not eat protein just to provide energy for our workouts or everyday activities. Protein is the body’s building material, and supplying the body with energy is not this nutrient’s main function. Carbohydrates are the primary energy source for the body as a whole, including skeletal muscle. When the diet is short of carbohydrates, more amino acids are used for energy. This, in turn, increases the rate of protein breakdown and consequently raises the body’s need for dietary protein (Lemon, Mullin, 1980). In other words, if you’re a regular gym-goer and aren’t preparing for a competition, there’s no need to skimp on carbohydrates: they help spare protein. I’m not talking about pointlessly overeating carbohydrates. But if you’ve decided to follow a macronutrient ratio of, for example, 55/25/20, make sure you actually get that 55% of your calories from carbohydrates.
For any skeptics who still think the more protein, the better, let me present the evidence. Experiments have demonstrated quite clearly how total dietary energy intake affects protein requirements.
Pellot (cited in Millward, 2004) investigated the effect of different daily calorie intakes (2100 4200 kcal) on the body’s protein requirements. The conclusion was that protein requirements correlated directly with total calorie intake. When the participants’ energy intakes were 30, 45 and 60 kcal/kg, the amounts of protein needed to maintain nitrogen balance were 1.42, 0.87 and 0.32 g/kg of body weight per day, respectively. According to the researchers’ calculations, a 90 kg man with an average level of physical activity consuming 2700 kcal per day (30 kcal/kg of body weight) would therefore need 123 g of protein to maintain nitrogen balance. Increasing his total calorie intake to 4000 kcal (45 kcal/kg of body weight) would reduce his protein requirement for maintaining nitrogen balance to approximately 80 grams per day. Before you get too alarmed, let me draw your attention to the word “maintain.” Bodybuilders and other strength athletes are certainly interested in muscle hypertrophy, which means that the amounts of protein needed to maintain nitrogen balance may fall well short of what is required to achieve their training goals (Tipton, Wolfe, 2004). In other words, for athletes—particularly those in speed and strength sports, as well as bodybuilders—the amount needed to maintain nitrogen balance probably cannot be considered optimal, since it would likely be insufficient to support muscle growth. What this discussion does clearly illustrate, however, is just how much total dietary energy intake affects protein requirements.
So how much protein do you need during a bulking phase to ensure muscle growth without pointlessly “shoveling in” too much??? Honestly, no one can give you an exact answer. In a sense, we’re still in the dark, and by more or less following the main principles of nutrition, we can only hope that we’ve done everything we can to maximize muscle growth. Neither Otsus, Antson, Kalmus nor Kiivikas can give you a figure for protein intake that is one hundred percent certain. Even the scientists themselves cannot be 100% sure of these figures. Everyone mentioned above, including the author of this article, can only make an educated guess and “suggest something” based on various sources of information and experience.
Let’s let the science speak here. Personally, I have come across recommended protein intakes of 1.2 to 2.2 g/kg of body weight in various studies. The most commonly cited figures are:
1. Batheja et al. (Phillips, 2004) 1.2-2.2 g
2. Kreider (Kreider, 1999) 1.3-1.8 g
3. Lemon (Lemon, Proctor, 1991) 1.2-1.7 g
4. Lemon (Lemon, 2000) 1.6-1.8 g
5. Lemon (Lemon, 1991) 1.5-2.0 g
6. Wolfe (Wolfe, 2000) — no specific intake can be recommended because so many factors affect protein requirements.
7. Tipton et al. (Tipton, Wolfe, 2004) – no specific intake can be recommended because so many factors affect protein requirements.
8. Phillips (Phillips et al., 2005) 12-15 % of total energy intake.
***These findings are summarized in the review article “Contemporary Issues in Protein Requirements and Consumption for Resistance Trained Athletes”.
By my calculations, the average recommended protein intake range works out to 1.35 to 1.9 g/kg of body weight. This is the recommended range needed to achieve nitrogen balance (when the amount of nitrogen excreted from the body equals the amount consumed). Naturally, such a broad range leaves everyone dissatisfied. As I said, no one can give you an exact figure… no one simply knows what it is. Still, I will venture to join those who maintain that if you reach that upper limit (2.2 g/kg of body weight) each day and your carbohydrate and fat intakes are also right, your potential for muscle growth will not suffer at all, and you won’t be “burning the furniture” either.
So, if you weigh 100 kg, you need to consume 220 g of protein a day. 220 g provides 880 kcal. If you weigh 100 kg and determine that you need, for example, 4000 kcal a day, subtract those 880 kcal from 4000 kcal and divide the remainder between carbohydrates and fat.
To be continued …
Author: Janar Rückenberg
Come and train! ArtGym
