Sippin’ and Synthesizin’: Barflies and Protein Pioneers

It has been an absolute whirlwind of madness around these parts with all the crazy-a$$ traveling, but I freaking love it. Most days I have to pinch myself to make sure it is not a dream.

As you damn well know, last week I hopped on the flying germ tube from Costa Rica and flew my a$$ directly to ISSN, just in the nick of time to grace those pencil-necked nerds with my presence at the Presidents Dinner. Baw hahaha.

Yes that is a joke as I love all the people there. Oh yeah, free grub and booze while shooting the poo with all my ultra geeky friends.

Now, let me regale you with a tale I overheard while I was playing fly on the wall. It involved two of the biggest protein researchers on the planet (although they would never make that claim). I won’t drop their names as I gotta protect the innocent, you know how it goes. But here’s a snippet of what went down:

Person #1 – The Head Honcho at ISSN: “Hey doc, why the hell did you tip that bartender twenty bucks? That was mighty kind of you.”

Researcher #1 the protein legend: “Well, that dude was a real sweetheart, pouring me glass after glass of thirty-dollar whiskey on the house all night long.”

Person #1: “Well, I reckon I’d have tipped him the same if I were in your shoes.”

Now, let me set the scene for you.

Researcher #1 was already a couple of drinks deep when this $hitstorm of a discussion erupted, all about the priority of protein intake for athletes.

Now, y’see, I’m a fanatic when it comes to packing in more protein, just like I covered in the Flex Diet Cert with the 4 x 40 method. So naturally, I had to ask about the importance of protein distribution and frequency. I am always looking to disprove my own ideas in order to get better.

What ensued was an hour-long debate between these two research junkies that spilled out of the bar (they were shutting it down on us, those bastards -hahah) and right into the hotel lobby down the street.

In the end, both of these über-nerds reached an agreement on the following order:

Total protein amount is #1.

You gotta pump up that protein intake throughout the day, hitting around 0.7 to maybe even 1 gram per pound of your sorry-carcass bodyweight. That’s the top priority. Can I get an Amen!

Yeah, I know those PubMed ninjas will come at me with their grams per kilogram data, but let’s face it, most folks still roll with grams per pound.

Now, how you break down that total protein amount over the course of the day might still be important, but it’s a joke compared to the total amount.

Here’s the kicker, though: if you’re following the simple 4 x 40 method, that puts you at a total of 160 grams of protein per day, meaning you gotta divide that protein up throughout the day.

And if you’re feeling like putting on your propeller hats and going ballZ deep into nerd territory, here’s a direct quote for your needy neurons:

“As for protein distribution, the majority of the data indicates a consistent small increase in MPS (muscle protein synthesis – aka stuffing amino acids into muscle tissue).

​Just that statistical significance gets in the way, thus it’s the classic case of statistical vs clinical significance. I think there is a small but consistent effect.

​The more important question is if you eat 1.4 – 1.6g/kg/d, sleep, and exercise how important is distribution?

​The fair argument to that statement is if you’re taking in 1.4 – 1.6g/kg/d, you’re probably evenly distributing or at least eating enough protein at 3 or 4 discreet eating occasions to maximize the response.

​Further, how intake effects outcomes measures (strength and mass) is probably more relevant than MPS. Okay my rambling is over” -Uber protein researcher nerd #1

There you go, straight from the researchers mouth.

Summary

Get in a bunch of protein first, then worry about how you going to split it up over the course of the day.

No need to worry about all the tiny stuff like having 37 grams of protein at breakfast and then exactly 41.7 grams post training.

Protein priority for the win!

Much love,

Dr Mike

PS- if you want more info on protein, pick up the Flex Foundations Audio course for only $37 clams that includes “The Top 5 Myths of Protein” along with 38 hour bite sized lessons on how to get leaner and increase your performance.

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