The Macro Myths
Now, to stand a chance of making any genuine changes to your diet with this article, it is important that we first address the commonly accepted myths that are associated with Fats & Protein. Not to mention how they affect our food selection. What am I talking about? Well, Fats– “They’ll make you fat, right?” And Protein– ‘That’s guaranteed to get us all Jacked Bro – the more the merrier!’.
If either of these statements echoes your own inner-monologue, then I implore you to read on…
So, Let’s Get Into This – Fats
If fats had a PR manager, he would have been fired long ago. We, unfortunately, associate the nutrient ‘fat’ with the unwanted wobbly bits we have on our bodies, and they are simply not the same thing. Fat IS an essential component of a healthy diet!
For a start, we are completely unable to process the vitamins A, D, E & K without fats in our diet. These are known as the ‘fat soluble’ vitamins, responsible for our immune systems, reproductive function, bone development, skin health, cell membrane structure, blood clotting and the maintenance of our vision! Fats are essential in the composition of our nervous system too. The ability for us to effectively send and receive signals throughout our bodies is on pathways built and reinforced by Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs). Signals responsible for such things as; muscle fibre contractions, internal organ activity, our sensations and even brain function. Like it or not, we are bio-electrical beings with all communications taking place in our bodies having first been stimulated by an electrical signal. An electrical signal that required a pathway laid down by fats.
To further add to the ‘Consume Fats’ argument… and this is a compelling one… the more fats we consume, the more our bodies learn to burn them as fuel! Well, to be specific, if we consume almost purely fats and protein, without carbohydrates, then our bodies will go into a state of ‘Ketosis’. This is the scientific term for when fats are burned to produce our energy.
So you’re saying Fat is Amazing, right?
Now, don’t get me wrong, there are some bad fats out there. Trans Fats for instance, maybe something you’ve heard of? This type of fat is present in ALL processed foods. As part of the ‘processing’ stage, your food will have been through a step called ‘hydrogenation’. This is where the food, or its ingredients, were super-heated to allow it keep longer and in this process the fat molecules will have been ‘de-natured’. This essentially means that they have altered in molecular structure and are now completely unrecognisable to the human body. Think of it like your car, except someone’s altered your car key. It was really useful. But now you can’t drive it, it doesn’t do anything and worse still it’s just going to take up space on the drive… or in terms of our bodies – sit around our gut. Trans fats are worse still as they are highly carcinogenic too (known to cause cancer).
So what fats should we be eating?
A simple rule for this is Sat Fat – Bad. Unsat Fat – Good! However, even Sat fats can be good for you when from reliable meat sources! Yep, I said it. Meat fat can be good fat!
You see, the fat of an animal, other than organ meat, is the bit that holds on to the most nutrients. Unfortunately, it also holds on to the most toxins too! So, the key here is – know where your meat has come from and what it was fed! You are not what you eat… You are what you eat, ate. If it’s grass-fed organic free-range beef – nail it! If its corn-fed chicken – Nope! (chickens didn’t evolve to eat corn). Get the picture? Combine that with healthy fats from nuts, seeds, avocados and fish (again, making sure it has not been raised on grains) and these fats will do you very well indeed!
On to Section Two – Protein
Now we’re talking… As everyone who has ever lifted a dumbbell knows, Protein is our ‘Growth & Repair’ nutrient. The problem is with this being the case, lots of people have then allowed their imaginations to run away with them and assumed that protein is all you need to build muscle mass. Then businesses jumped on the back of this wave of Protein-mania, fuelled the fire and created literally millions of products all reinforcing the same point. So it’s got to be true, right? Not exactly.
First of all, there are MANY different forms of protein, so we should not be naive enough to think that they are one and the same. The most common in the supplement world is ‘Whey’. (Whey, for those that don’t know, is a cast off from the dairy industry; think of that liquid that forms on top of your yoghurt that’s been left in the fridge too long– that’s whey!). It is widely considered to be one of quickest ‘up-taken’ into the muscles after training. However, as it is a dairy product, it will have been through a large number of ‘processes’ in order to make the contents ‘safe’, (even if it says ‘unprocessed’) and to prolong its expiry date. Hardly what your body is craving.
Other Protein Supplements
There is numerous other options including vegan ones, the best sources of which being Hemp or Pea due to their numerous other nutritional benefits (especially hemp!). Or if you’re not that way inclined, then protein supplements based on either bone broth or quality grass-fed-red meat are considered best. These are the most similar to the tissues that we are hoping they will “grow & repair”. What better component to build a muscle structure with, than a food that already has the exact molecular blueprint built into it?! There is much debate also about the impact on your intestines and microbiome of meat consumption, but again, this is something I will delve into in a later article.
There is scientifically considered to be an optimum amount of protein to take in for muscle growth. For the muscles to have all the protein that they require it is considered we should consume 0.82grams of protein per pound (lb) of Fat-Free Mass (FFM) per day. E.g. for a 180lb individual who is 10% Body fat, the equation would look like this.
180 (lbs)/100 (1%) x 10 (%BF) = 18 (Weight of Body Fat in lbs)
180 – 18 = 162 (Fat-Free Mass in lbs)
162 x 0.82 = 133 grams of protein per day – simples.
There is also some old-school bro-science floating around saying that we can only uptake somewhere between 20-40grams of protein per sitting, the rest just becomes expensive piss… Pleeease! Do you really think that when we were cavemen (some of us still are – Luke Sale), hunting Sabretooth Tigers & Woolly Mammoths, that if we got one we would only benefit from 20-40 grams of protein from that animal and waste the rest?! Not a particularly strong recipe for survival hey?! If you consume it, your body will process it.
That said, however, there are some compelling arguments in the industry for ensuring that, at all times, we have amino acids (the building blocks of protein) in our bloodstreams. This is so that, should we require some tissue repair, the necessary tools are ever-present. This, in turn, will encourage muscle growth (because our body knows it has what it needs, remember the ‘consistency’ argument in Part 1). This will also prevent the body from breaking down and utilising other valuable tissues in order to facilitate any required repair.
I know I am missing out carbohydrates, but with this article only getting longer and not wanting to do the topic an injustice, I will leave that for the next installment.
Should you have any questions regarding something you have read in this article, please feel free to contact us here at Graspp Fitness and we will be happy to answer your query.
Stay Awesome,
Coach Dorrington.
Author - Alex Dorrington - Personal Trainer & Mentor
Like what you read? Want to know more?
If you have a question about anything Health & Fitness that you want to see answered in a future article, or even fancy treating your brain & body to a whole day with one of our brilliant Mentors. Please contact us – we will endeavour to get back to you within 24hrs!
Remember – It is never too late to bulletproof your future self.