You Need a Protein Shake Right After a Workout
Previous studies suggested the presence of an “anabolic window” — a time of somewhere between 30 minutes and an hour after a workout during which you had to down protein or else you would miss out on muscle-building benefits. However, we now know that this window is much larger.
After you exercise, your body benefits from having protein. It doesn’t need to be immediate, but best practice would be within a few hours and then regularly at each of your meals after that.
There Is No Such Thing as Too Much Protein
Although many experts agree that we should be eating more than the recommended daily protein intake , you don’t want to go too far. There is no good reason to eat more than around 30 to 35 percent of your calories from protein in many cases.
Beyond that, you can give your body better sources of energy in the form of fat or carbs. Plus, eating too much of any one macronutrient can lead to nutritional deficiencies, as you’ll have to cut back on other foods, such as vegetables, fruit and healthy fats.
Your Body Can’t Handle More Than 30 Grams of Protein a Meal
This myth comes from the fact that your body needs 30 grams of protein in order to maximally stimulate muscle protein synthesis (the repairing of damaged proteins and building of new proteins). And while 30 grams per meal is a good amount, more doesn’t lead to additional benefits.
If you are looking to lose weight you also need to be mindful of how much of it you eat. Like carbohydrates , protein contains 4 calories per gram whilst fat is 9 calories per gram.