If you are doing P90X and following the Nutrition Guide, you are probably asking yourself this very question. Seriously, why so much protein? It makes Phase I – Fat Shredder – hard to follow and represents a massive change from the modern American diet of starchy carbs, high fat foods and high fructose corn syrup (items commonly found while staring out the window of your car and shouting into a box).
Here are a few of the top reasons:
1. Protein boosts your metabolism. It takes twice as much energy to break down proteins as it does carbohydrates. Your body can charge through carbs pretty easily, but it has to work to break down proteins. This means after you eat a high-protein meal your body must burn calories to break it down. Some studies have shown people with high-protein diets burned up to twice as many calories in the hours after their meals, than those on high-carb diets.
2. Protein flips your “satiety” switch. Huh? That’s a fancy way of saying it makes you feel full. Would you keep eating if you felt full? Probably not. High fructose corn syrup has the exact opposite effect, which is why they make a 64 oz big gulp. That’s between 800 and 1,000 calories, but you don’t feel full after you drink one. “Satiety”…important stuff. You shouldn’t want to eat a bag of chips and a hot dog after consuming 800 calories of anything.
3. Protein is the building block of muscle. This is oversimplified, but true. Lean protein helps promote muscle growth. Muscle burns fat. Huh? Adding muscle mass requires your body to expend energy to sustain that muscle. Adding one pound of muscle requires your body to burn up to 50 calories a day to maintain it. That’s one pound folks. Try adding 10 and you can see why people that add about 10 pounds of muscle look the way they do. Their bodies are simply working more efficiently.
So, that’s a nutshell of the benefits of protein. There are more, but I want to keep this simple right now. In addition, we reduce high fat foods and reduce carbs with Phase I of this plan. Trans fats and most saturated fats tend to be stored in the fat cells very easily. We are trying to change that. Some fats are healthy for you, and we’ll talk more about that elsewhere. Suffice it to say now that we want to reduce the traditional American diet types of fats that are getting put in our bodies. the reasoning behind reducing starchy carbs is a little more complex. When the body takes in a lot of starchy carbs it treats them like sugars. The body responds by producing insulin to process those sugars in your blood. That in turn causes the body to store more fat because it just does not have any where to store those carbs. In addition, this insulin response actually tells your body to store fat as a precautionary measure. Keep that up long enough and you are headed for diabetes. Here’s a video illustrating this principle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNYlIcXynwE&feature=player_embedded
When you eat a lean chicken breast, you make your body work for it and it pays you back by building muscle. It also makes you feel full when you’ve consumed an appropriate amount of calories. When you eat a burger meal the fat gets stored as excess fat, the fries and bun create an insulin response and the high fructose corn syrup in that yummy soda keeps you from feeling really hungry even though you’ve gobbled down a huge meal from a caloric perspective. That’s just not a good mix. The soda also increases the acidity of your blood, which you can read more about here: http://www.thefitclubnetwork.com/2009/11/how-diet-soda-makes-you-fat/
So, given the range of alternatives and the benefits of protein is it any surprise that the P90X Nutrition Plan focuses on it so much in the first Phase of the diet? Hopefully, all that makes sense. If not, shoot me an email at dave@thefitclubnetwork.com.
Dave
About Dave
You left out the SINGLE MOST important reason for all that protein– on any calorie-limited plan a high-protein diet is, by definition, LOW CARB! (Protein and Carbs having the same cals per gram.) Why are you eating so much protein? Because what else are you going to do to get enough calories without consuming carbs, drink pure fat?
I realize strength training athletes don’t like to hear that they are on a “low carb (aka “soccer mom” diet), and prefer to call it “high protein,” but it is all semantics. There are mountains of data to show that low carb does have a metabolic effect, and none to show that OVERfeeding on protein contributes to increase in lean body mass. (Certainly UNDERfeeding can have a negative effect on lean body mass, but “more” is not “more” in this case, as long as you’re getting enough.)
Of course, the issue with low carb becomes sustainability (ie: The reason they only want you on Fat Blaster for a limited time.)
If you feel better thinking it’s all that protein you are eating that’s effecting your metabolism, go with whatever works for you– but really it’s the carbs you AREN’T eating that is causing the metabolic change.
I think we have a distinction without a difference here. Whether you choose to label the plan as “high protein” or “low carb” the result is the same. The metabolism sees an appreciable benefit from this type of plan. Phase I is protein heavy and I don’t recommend that anyone do it for more than three weeks. I know people that have done it for a couple of months because they were seeing good results and actually enjoyed eating this much protein. My analysis was focused on the benefits of protein, rather than the evils of carbs. As an endurance athlete that is learning to accept change I’m not going to completely vilify carbs. They play an important role in my diet and in a well balanced diet. I did think it was important to get the message that smurfcore stated across, which is why I included the comparison to a not so happy meal and the video demonstrating the metabolic process associated with excess carbs and the insulin response associated therewith.
Further musings on protein here: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/dietary-protein/
I think we have a distinction without a difference here. Whether you choose to label the plan as “high protein” or “low carb” the result is the same. The metabolism sees an appreciable benefit from this type of plan. Phase I is protein heavy and I don’t recommend that anyone do it for more than three weeks. I know people that have done it for a couple of months because they were seeing good results and actually enjoyed eating this much protein. My analysis was focused on the benefits of protein, rather than the evils of carbs. As an endurance athlete that is learning to accept change I’m not going to completely vilify carbs. They play an important role in my diet and in a well balanced diet. I did think it was important to get the message that smurfcore stated across, which is why I included the comparison to a not so happy meal and the video demonstrating the metabolic process associated with excess carbs and the insulin response associated therewith.
Further musings on protein here: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/dietary-protein/
Protein is also great for the brain. The brain will use carbs if it has to, but it actually prefers – and runs better, on protein.
i have a question, i have to drink my protein while im at work and its kind of difficult to blend the powder without a blender, i made betty crocker brownies and added protein powder so i could have about 10 gr of protein in each brownies serving, what tips can you give me for things like this?
That’s original. How many grams of sugar in the brownies? I’d get a good shaker cup. If you go to any vitamin store they sell ones with a small metal ball sort of think in it. It looks sort of like a wisk. That really helps to break up the powder and make it easier to consume. What type of protein are you using? Some don’t mix that well.
Hi Dave,
I’m starting P90X on Monday and have downloaded your excel spreadsheet to keep track of my intake. It’s calculated that I should consume 2700 calories, yet I recall on your youtube video P90X was designed to build muscle and tone down. However, my goal is to lose weight (40-50lbs in the long run).
Should I go ahead and eat 2700 calories or deduct? If so, how much should I deduct? If I want to lose 1-2lbs a week, should I consume around 2000? I’ve been eating around 1200 already and have lost 20lbs. I am lost on what to do. Please help meeee!
Thank you
Did you receive my email? I replied to you directly. To lose weight you do want to cut calories. 1,200 is going to be way too low to attempt something like P90X. You may burn up to 600 calories doing the workout, which is going to leave you with only 600 to process your bodily functions and that’s just not enough. It could cause your body to shut down a bit and start storing fat. You are a lot better off shooting for around 2,000 calories and just eating healthy foods. Hope this helps. Let me know if you didn’t get my email. I can help you with this stuff.
Hi Dave,
What are some ideas I can follow to maximize weight loss while doing P90X?
Thank You