Protien Sets?

[neilc1]

let me see if I can ask this correctly,

I've read here about protein(P) maxes per meal ~50g(?)
and waiting 2 - 5 hours between meals to allow for max uptake and or metabolism of P.

my question is,
what would be a max time, from one P to the next, before it becomes 2 feedings?
or,
if, after lifting, I suck down a P shake, then eat dinner or a meal, say a half to a full hour later,
is this one P meal or 2?

and forgive me for being so far into the weeds,
I know the short answer is just eat, and hit the macros,
but, I wanna know.

thankyou coach,

[Robert Santana]

let me see if I can ask this correctly,

I've read here about protein(P) maxes per meal ~50g(?)
and waiting 2 - 5 hours between meals to allow for max uptake and or metabolism of P.

my question is,
what would be a max time, from one P to the next, before it becomes 2 feedings?
or,
if, after lifting, I suck down a P shake, then eat dinner or a meal, say a half to a full hour later,
is this one P meal or 2?

and forgive me for being so far into the weeds,
I know the short answer is just eat, and hit the macros,
but, I wanna know.

thankyou coach,

Thanks for posting! This concept is often misunderstood. The short version is that your body can only use a given amount of protein (~30-70g) from a single feeding for muscle protein synthesis. Now remember, muscle proteins are not the only proteins in the human body. We have transport proteins (I.e. GLUT transporters, zinc transporters etc), scaffolding proteins (I.e. collagen and elastin), channel proteins (ie. sodium, potassium, and calcium channels), receptor proteins (I.e insulin receptors, etc), and many others in the long list of proteins found in the human body. So when we consume a protein rich meal, only a portion of the protein consumed is used to assimilate muscle proteins (actin and myosin).

Second, the theory behind post-exercise protein supplementation is that you are going to stimulate "muscle protein synthesis." I use quotations because this is a broad term that can refer to multiple markers (nitrogen balance, serum leucine concentrations, etc). The reality is that these acute changes in muscle protein synthesis have not been correlated to long-term changes in body composition (LBM, FFM, muscle mass) or muscular strength (1RM, 5RM, 10RM). So the question remains: How valid or important are these measures? We don't really have an answer and there is a lot of room for exploration for the muscle physiologists. The point is that it won't be the end of the world if you don't immediately consume protein after lifting weights.

Now for the practical, and more important answer to your question. If you are going to eat a meal ~30-60 minutes post-exercise then the protein shake is pointless and not entirely necessary since you'll be eating relatively soon after the session. If you eat your next meal >1 hour post-exercise then a shake can be helpful.