I’m aware of essential and non essential proteins, but pretty ignorant beyond that. For example, what proportion of your intake needs be essential protein?
In: Biology
Someone has probably cited the 1.5g protein/kg bodyweight guideline. That’s a good place to start.
Animal protein will generally be more “complete” than plant sources, in that they’ll contain the full spectrum of amino acids, including the EAAs (essential amino acids).
In general, though, splitting hairs over the details isn’t helpful. If you’re trying to gain muscle, ensure each meal has two palm-sized serving of high-quality protein. Chicken breast, fish, etc. I wouldn’t make it more complicated than this until you have a specific goal that requires it. [Good source here] (https://www.precisionnutrition.com/calorie-control-guide).
Protein isn’t the whole story, though. If muscle growth is your main goal, carbohydrates are a crucial element, as well, as they initiate the insulin response that causes muscles to take up the nutrients that need to grow. In addition to the two palms of your protein of choice, have a handful or two of some sort of carbohydrate, ideally:
– Rice, quinoa, or a similar grain
– Potatoes or other tubers
– Fruits
… Etc. This is also discussed in the link above.
Finally, people are sure to mention EAA and BCAA supplements, as well as nutrient timing (ie, post-workout meals, etc.)
To this, I’d say, the supplements are _supplements_. If your meals include enough high quality protein from food, feel free to add the supplements — they may aid in recovery. If your meals are regularly missing protein, the supplements are unlikely to make up the difference. Takeaway being: Focus on your *food*. Supplements will only make a meaningful difference if your diet is in place. And, if you choose to use them, I recommend EAAs over BCAAs, as they’re more “complete”.
As for timing — it’s definitely true that consuming carbs and protein immediately after a workout helps your body use the nutrients more effectively. If you can eat your normal meal within two hours of your resistance trainings, do so. Alternatively, the common “post workout shake”, and a meal later, works just as fine.
Again, though, “when” will be much less important than “what”. Make sure your meals contain the right amount of protein an carbohydrates for your goals. When your meal composition is consistently on point, fine-tune the timing.
More “advanced” strategies are useful for specific situations, but nailing the above _consistently_ goes a long way. Ultimately, there’s no “best” strategy for everyone (that we know of). Consistent meal composition and consistent progressive overload in your training will get you where you want to go, but I wouldn’t stress much over precision unless you’re a figure athlete, competitor, or have some other specific reason to do so.
If you’ve got a food log or representative sample of how you eat on a given day, we can probably give some more specific notes. No worries if not though!
Good luck on everything!
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