gh protein to carry out the body’s day-to-day functions and fuel muscle recovery. Daily requirements for active people have been disputed for years between sports-medicine professionals and those who set the U.S. Recommended Dietary Allowances. My personal opinion, supported and accepted by many sports nutritionists and bodybuilding experts, is 1–1 1/2 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight per day. Any less and your recovery and growth will suffer; higher amounts don’t seem to offer any additional benefits. Remember, your protein intake should be approximately 30%–35% of your total caloric intake. A 200-pound man who eats 2,600 calories per day, then, should consume about 215 grams of protein each day. This equals roughly 33% of his total calories. A 105-pound woman who eats 1,575 calories per day should consume roughly 130 grams of protein daily, or about 33% of her total calories. Divide your protein intake fairly equally throughout all your meals. If our 200-pound man consumes six meals a day, he’d want to consume 30–40 grams of protein per meal. If our 105-pound female eats six meals daily, she’d want to consume 20–25 grams of protein per meal. Good sources of protein include lean turkey and chicken, white fish, lean red meat, egg whites and protein powders. CARBOHYDRATESCarbohydrates are the body’s preferred energy source. For the purpose of this article, we can break them down into two categories: simple and complex carbs. Complex carbs should represent the majority of your dietary carbohydrates, except in postworkout meals. Complex carbs break down slowly and elicit a mild blood-sugar response; they don’t result in a rapid release of insulin by the pancreas. Eating simple carbs elicits a rapid rise in blood sugar, which can result in increased insulin secretion and a commensurate fall in your blood-sugar levels. This can make you feel sluggish and tired, but during th...
