New Rule for Bodybuilding #11

11. Don't increase your protein intake haphazardly (randomly; or at whim), because "everyone else" seems obsessed with eating much more dietary protein.

Protein should make up about 25% of the total calories consumed in a day. The 25% or thereabouts, is true for everyone, from couch potatoes to bodybuilders.

Protein must be eaten with carbohydrates, ideally including some fiber. Drinking a protein mixture or shake without also eating carbs is not effective. The protein gets used up for energy and not for rebuilding muscle fibers. So have some nice bread with that shake. One of the best and easiest things to eat after a workout: a bowl of cereal. Make mine with soymilk, please :)
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Competitive bodybuilders recommend eating 1.0 g to 1.5 g of protein, per pound of body weight, per day (they have"special" dietary requirements).

Nutritionists, dieticians recommend for normal bodybuilders, eating 0.7 g to 0.9 g of protein, per pound of body weight, per day.

Protein:

"Too much of a good thing can be, well, a bad thing. "Your body can use only so much protein, and then some of it is just converted into fat instead of going to your muscles," says Mike Bracko, Ph.D., C.S.C.S., an exercise physiologist at the Institute of Hockey Research in Calgary, Alberta. He recommends consuming no more than 0.5 to 1 gram of protein per pound of your body weight each day."

So vary protein from 0.7 to 1.0 g per pound of bodyweight and see what works best. Excess protein gets stored as fat. 1.5 grams is a lot of protein.

Hard-gainers should eat more carbs with their 0.7 g to 1.0 g of protein, per pound of body weight, per day.

Digesting excessive and large amounts of protein is apparently not as hard on healthy kidneys as many describe, unless there is pre-existing kidney disease (or obesity).

Whey protein from the nutrition store (or online) is supposedly better than soy protein. Whey protein comes from milk. It is not the same thing as weight gainer shakes (which contain carbs and fats).

Runners (3x a week): 0.5 g to 0.7 g
Sedentary people: 0.4 g
(sedentary is from Latin, means "sitting," as in sedimentary rock layers)
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-You don't lose muscle mass while sleeping, contrary to popular misconception. So eating large amounts of protein before bed, or waking up to drink protein is excessive, despite what the competitors say.

You may only be imagining losing muscle. As you use your muscles, blood enters them and stays there. As you sleep, that extra blood leaves your muscles. When you wake up in the morning, your muscles, like everyone's muscles, are "flat." They don't look as impressive while you brush your teeth, as they do while you're hitting it hard in the gym. So you may get the impression that you lost something but the muscles themselves are not smaller, they're just not "pumped up."