Resistance training and protein are both critical to muscle growth. Consume ~0.4 g/kg within a few hours post exercise. Meals should be spaced out 3-5 hours apart. Consuming protein within 1-3 hours before bed can prevent overnight reductions in muscle protein synthesis.
General Recommendation: If you're using protein shakes to supplement your diet, waiting about 2 to 3 hours between shakes is typically a good guideline. This allows your body to digest and absorb the protein effectively.
Hence, the two-hour rule: 20 grams of protein immediately after working out and another 20 grams two hours later. According to Dr. Kim White, senior scientist at the Gatorade Sports Science Institute, muscles fully absorb the initial 20 grams of protein within two hours post-exercise.
No, there's no maximum, your body will just break the proteins down into the amino acids that make up that particular protein, and will choose to utilize them based on whatever your metabolic needs are at the time that they've been made available.
Most people aim to consume some protein within the 15- to 60-minute anabolic window after strength training. Some studies show that timing protein consumption for the evening could help improve muscle mass.
Since carefully spreading out protein throughout the day is vital to our health, dieticians recommend the "30-30-30" rule for our daily intake: 30 grams at breakfast, 30 grams at lunch and 30 grams at dinner.
People who exercise regularly also have higher needs, about 1.1-1.5 grams per kilogram. People who regularly lift weights or are training for a running or cycling event need 1.2-1.7 grams per kilogram. Excessive protein intake would be more than 2 grams per kilogram of body weight each day.
Focus on getting around four high-protein meals in throughout the day — ranging from 20-40g of protein depending on your body weight — or a dose of protein every three hours. Most of this protein ought to come from food sources as they have other key nutrients your body needs.
Protein timing was defined here as a study where at least one treatment group consumed a minimum of 6 g essential amino acids (EAAs) ≤ 1 hour pre- and/or post-resistance exercise and at least one control group did not consume protein < 2 hours pre- and/or post-resistance exercise.
Protein: Protein contains amino acids that help your body repair and rebuild muscle tissue. Animal-based foods, like beef, chicken, fish, and cheese, are good protein sources. Several plant-based foods, including beans, nuts, and seeds, also contain protein.
Both Tafur and Dr. Calder agree that it's best to limit protein intake to 30 grams per meal. "Excess protein consumption in roughly amounts greater than 30 grams per hour are not stored," says Tafur, so consuming more than that generally will not offer additional benefits and can even strain your kidneys.
It recommends the consumption of 20g of protein within 20 minutes of exercising. The body is most receptive to amino acids in this period and can optimally utilise them to repair muscle tissue that has been damaged during exercise and maximally stimulate protein synthesis (muscle building).
Within the “golden hour” after exercise, which is described as the 30 to 60 minutes after a workout has ended, your body is most effective at absorbing carbohydrates and protein. This is because muscle stores of glycogen are at their lowest level, and muscle fibers have been depleted.
Your body uses the nutrients from your meal or snack to build muscle for somewhere around four to five hours, says Brad Schoenfeld, assistant professor in exercise science at Lehman College. “That means that to stimulate muscle growth throughout the day, you should consume protein every four hours or so,” he says.
The body can't store protein - unlike other nutrients like carbohydrates and fats, your body doesn't 'build up' protein over time. The lifespan of a protein in the body is approximately 2 days. That means that a truly protein-perfect diet has to include regular (daily) intake of protein-supplying foods (source).
Extra protein helps speed up muscle repair and glycogen replacement, helping you to recover faster. Exercise can damage muscles in a good way, meaning they grow back stronger. Protein provides the amino acids to help repair the damage, helping the muscles grow back stronger.
Resistance training and protein are both critical to muscle growth. Consume ~0.4 g/kg within a few hours post exercise. Meals should be spaced out 3-5 hours apart. Consuming protein within 1-3 hours before bed can prevent overnight reductions in muscle protein synthesis.
Protein before bed can help supply the body with important nutrients while we sleep, which is our most important recovery phase. A growing selection of relatively small studies have pinpointed muscle-building benefits of consuming protein before bed, particularly by drinking protein shakes.
How Long Does Protein Stay In Your Body After Eating? After consuming protein, the amino acids can circulate in your bloodstream for up to six to seven hours, but most of the absorption occurs within the first two hours.
The 10 to 1 Protein Ratio Rule is a straightforward guideline for checking if your protein source is lean and healthy. The rule states that for every 10 calories in a food, you should get at least 1 gram of protein. This means, if a food item has 30 grams of protein, it shouldn't contain more than 300 calories.
You probably also noticed that “protein timing” isn't as important as some people think, either. That is, you don't have to eat protein every 2 to 3 hours to maximize muscle growth or avoid “going catabolic.” Eating sufficient protein every day is what matters most, not the frequency of your feedings.
Consuming more protein than the body needs can cause symptoms such as intestinal discomfort, dehydration, nausea, fatigue, headaches, and more. Chronic protein overconsumption can also increase the risk of conditions such as cardiovascular disease, blood vessel disorders, liver and kidney issues, and seizures.
In general, most people can process around 20–40 grams of protein in a meal—so “I wouldn't recommend eating more than about 45 grams of protein in one sitting,” Levi says. (For context: One 100-gram steak contains about 25 grams of protein, so eating two—while delicious—might lead to a little discomfort.)
Common signs that your body is extremely low on protein include: Brittle hair and nails, often the first sign of deficiency. Feeling weak or hungry, since protein supplies energy and satisfies the appetite. Getting sick often without protein to boost the immune system.
Examples of high-protein foods
Proteins that come from animal sources, such as meat, eggs, and milk, as well as soy and quinoa, are called complete proteins. This means they contain all the essential amino acids the body needs and are the highest-quality protein sources.