Where do you get your protein?

We live in a protein-obsessed society. With good reason, protein is a powerful macronutrient. It’s a component in every cell in the body and your hair, skin and nails are made of protein. It’s used to construct and repair tissues, build strong bones and muscles and make enzymes, hormones and other chemicals.

A protein molecule is a nitrogenous organic compound consisting of long chains of linked building blocks called “amino acids." Peptide bonds link together amino acids into chains of many different forms and combinations. The body requires 20 different amino acids, nine of which cannot be synthesized in the body, which makes them essential from the diet. Eleven are nonessential, meaning they are synthesized from other compounds already inside the body. For athletes, the three Branch Chain Amino Acids have several important roles during exercise.

Proteins can be further classified as complete or incomplete, depending on the quality. Complete proteins, typically found in animal sources, contain all essential amino acids in the quantity necessary to fulfill daily body functions whereas incomplete proteins, found in plants, lack one or more essential amino acids. Eating a variety of proteins will ensure you are meeting all of your amino acid needs.

There are many different protein options available and depending on where you live, some protein selections are more readily available (and socially consumed) than others. And when your grocery store trips are limited due to a public health crisis, you may be looking at your diet and wondering "am I getting enough protein?"

Common protein sources include:

• Animal sources: Meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, dairy
• Plant sources: Legumes (ex. beans, lentils, peas), processed soy products (ex. tempeh and tofu), grains, nuts, edamame and seeds.
• Protein powders, bars and engineered “high protein” foods.

Although animal protein sources typically make up roughly two-thirds dietary protein intake in the standard diet, whole grains, soy and legumes are excellent sources of plant protein. To your surprise, you don’t have to be a vegan to consume and to enjoy plant-based proteins. And now may be an excellent time to experiment with plant-based proteins - especially ones that are shelf-stable.

Your body doesn’t store protein like it does with carbohydrates and fats so it’s important to distribute your protein intake throughout the day. Ideally, around ~25-30g protein per meal. The DRI (Daily Reference Intake) is set at 0.8g protein per kg/bw which is only 54g protein for a 150 lb individual - equivalent to 4 sausage links, a cup of milk and 2 eggs (which for some is a standard breakfast).

I feel this number is too low (especially for athletes) and most people (without an underlying health issue) would benefit from cosuming at least 1.2g/kg/bw a day of protein. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends athletes to aim for 1.2-2.0g/kg/bw to help repair and rebuild the muscle that’s broken down during exercise. Only 5-15% of total energy expenditure during exercise comes from protein so if your body is using protein as a direct fuel source (likely from inadequate glycogen storage), you’ll lose muscle instead of gain it. Training in a carb depleted state also places great stress on your immune system.

To help you navigate the grocery store shelves during your next food shop, here's a list to help you understand how much protein you are getting from certain foods:

• 3 ounce beef – 22g
• 3.5 ounce chicken breast – 30g
• 3 ounce canned tuna – 25g
• 1 Beyond Meat veggie burger - 20g
• 3 ounce ham – 19g
• 1 cup edamame – 17g
• 3 ounce salmon - 17g
• 3 ounces seitan - 15.5g
• 1 cup beans – 15g
• ½ cup cottage cheese – 15g
• ½ cupextra firm tofu – 10g 
• 1 ounce cheese – 8g
• 1 cup cow or soy milk – 8g
• 1 cup cooked quinoa - 8g
• 1 cup yogurt – 8-17g
• 2 tbsp Peanut butter – 8g
• ¼ cup almonds – 8g
• ¼ cup flaxseeds – 8g
• 1 cup green peas - 8g
• 1 large potato - 7g
• 1 large egg – 6g
• 1 cup cooked bulger - 6g

(As an easy reference, there’s ~7 grams of protein in one-ounce cooked meat) 

Dietary protein options - take your pick

We have all heard the question that starts the age-old vegetarian protein debate "Where do you get your protein from if you don't eat meat???" If adequate energy and an assortment of plant foods, rich in essential amino acids, are consumed throughout the day, physiologically processes shouldn’t be compromised in a plant-based diet.  For all athletes, diet variety and adequate energy consumption are both key to ensuring that your body stays in great health. This includes eating a variety of carbohydrates, protein and fat.

Depending on your dietary protein choices, consider a variety of animal and/or plant protein sources in your daily diet as each protein source has more than just protein to offer to your body. Vegetarian athletes should make an extra effort to consume nutrients like calcium, iron, zinc, omega-3, vitamin D, B12 and niacin, particularly if the diet is lacking in food variety. 

Understanding that many essential nutrients are required in the countless metabolic pathways that support a body in motion, a chronic nutrient deficiency (or absorption issue) may result in health and/or performance complications. Although a real-food approach should be prioritized over nutrients found in a pill or powder, supplements and engineered fortified foods are an option to protect against (or to fix) a nutrient deficiency. If consuming 1 scoop whey isolate or vegan (pea/brown rice) protein powder (25-30 grams) per day helps you meet your protein needs more easily, that's what supplements are designed for - to supplement what you can not consume (or properly digest/absorb) in a real-food diet.

In addition to meat, eggs and fish, here are some additional plant-based protein sources below. You don't have to call yourself a vegetarian to eat plant-based proteins.
And for vegans, check out this link.

For extra credit reading - a few of my vegetarian articles: Eat right, your way everyday. Fueling the Vegetarian athlete Vegetarian athlete interview Plant strong Thanksgiving

Are you eating enough protein?

(picture source)

As an endurance athlete, you should not overlook the importance of protein in your diet.

Sadly, in our society, we tend to go from one dietary extreme to another when it comes to eat this, don't eat that. Therefore, when one macronnutrient is heavily emphasized or de-emphasized, it's easy to overlook other important nutrients that are necessary to optimize health and athletic success.

In the wake of some pretty extreme, unhealthy and unrealistic eating habits among endurance athletes, it's important for athletes to understand that a low energy and/or low carbohydrate diet is not healthy or performance enhancing.
Certainly "low" can be defined differently among athletes and nutrition experts.

Seeing that protein supports muscle and tissue growth, assists in immune system health, helps with tissue structure and supporting enzymatic reactions and fosters healthy endocrine functioning, without sufficient protein in your diet, your active body can suffer.

Therefore, any athlete who is following a low energy or low-carb diet should take the necessary steps to fine-tune the diet to ensure that dietary protein intake is adequate (otherwise, health and performance issues could arise).

I'm not advocating low-carb or low energy diet but if you choose this dietary route, be sure to not skimp on dietary protein.

Endurance athletes should aim for 1.2-1.7g of protein per kg body weight per day. If you weigh 130 lbs (59kg), this equates to 71-106g protein per day.

Here are a few take-home dietary messages:

• If you are intentionally trying to lose weight, you will want to focus on the higher end of your protein needs to preserve lean muscle mass as you lose body fat. 

• On longer duration or high intensity workout days, daily protein needs should be higher to optimize training-induced muscle adaptions.

• For all athletes, don't miss out on the great opportunity to recover post workout by including protein with your post workout snack or meal.

• Although the recommendations for post workout carbs/protein will vary based on the individual, workout intensity/duration and fitness goals, here are a few suggestions for post workout fueling:

-If you are eating only a snack post workout, aim for 10-15g of protein and around 20-40g of carbs. As a example, 10g whey or vegan protein + 1/2 cup cow's milk (or almond milk) + water (as needed) + 1 banana.  
At your next meal, aim for around 15-25g protein and 40-60g of carbs.  As an example, 2 eggs + 1 egg white (or 3 ounce lean meat) + 3/4 cup oatmeal + 1/2 cup berries + 1 tbsp maple syrup + 1/2 ounce chia seeds.
If only eating a meal (and no post workout snack), aim for 25-30g protein and 50-90g carbs. (higher end of protein and carbs after long duration or very intense workouts)
These are guidelines, not rules. Certainly, it is important that you find the best combo and nutrient timing that works for your workout and life regime.

• As an athlete, it is important to get familiar with the best (and easy to find, prep and consume) sources of protein and carbs in your diet so that recovery nutrition is not an afterthought but instead, easy to execute on a daily basis. 

(For the record, I am absolutely not anti-fat but for the purpose of this blog, I am specifically focusing on protein in the athletes' diet).

• It's important to spread your total protein intake out throughout the day (example 25-30g each meal) so that each meal helps to fulfill your total protein intake needs. Plus, protein (along with fat) increases satiety which can help with overeating and cravings.

• If your typical breakfast is oatmeal and fruit or toast with avocado and an orange, add 3/4 cup Greek yogurt, 20-25g vegan protein powder, 2 egg whites + 1 whole egg or 4 ounce lean meat or fish to your meal for a more balanced meal with adequate protein.

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Some of my go-to plant strong protein sources are:
Organic 1% milk
Tempeh
Tofu
Beans
Lentils
Edamame
Cottage cheese
Eggs

Whey protein
Greek Yogurt

Cheese

I also get protein from nuts, seeds, nut butter, chia seeds, hummus and grains.

Are you eating enough protein in your diet?

Where do you get your protein?

When it comes to a vegetarian diet, there are many critics who believe that meat consumption is a necessary part of a "healthy" diet.  In April, I will be celebrating 24 years of following a meat-free diet. I consider myself to be in great health as a female endurance triathlete but it took time to learn how I can make my vegetarian diet work for my active lifestyle. Clearly, my lacto-ovo vegetarian style of eating is not a fad. I love animals way too much to eat them. As a vegetarian athlete and dietitian, this puts me in a tough situation because it is easy to assume that because I do not eat meat, I will encourage other athletes to not eat meat. Well, Karel eats meat and fish...and vegetables, and fruit, and tofu, and tempeh and grains. I don't lecture Karel when he eats meat because meal time is a happy time for both of us. Thankfully, it wasn't a deal-breaker that I was a vegetarian when Karel and I started dating in 2006. Sadly, because much of the U.S. diet is rich in meat, it's easy for critiques to say that a vegetarian diet is "restrictive" and "unhealthy." The truth is that we can't really call a vegetarian diet “restrictive” because in America, it's very obvious that our society has a very unhealthy relationship with food.....all types of food. In the U.S., we don’t really have a traditional American diet that we can use as a “healthy” reference so how can we confidently say that a vegetarian diet is unhealthy?

As a board certified sport dietitian and triathlon coach, I work with a variety of athletes for a variety of reasons (training, nutrition, sport nutrition, weight loss/body composition changes, etc.).

I'm not one to debate about "where do you get your protein" because I only want the best for my athletes and every athlete has different needs and dietary choices.
With a team approach, I'm going to suggest what I feel will work best for the goals of the athlete that I am working with, but with practical, healthy and safe advice.  
Oddly, in working with so many athletes with all types of athletic and body composition goals, I find that non-vegetarian athletes have similar dietary struggles and health issues as vegetarian or vegan athletes, specifically when it comes to eating "enough" quality protein at meals, using sport nutrition properly, timing nutrition with workouts, eating a varied diet and enough "enough" energy to support metabolic needs. As it relates to endurance athletes (my population of athletes), you should be happy that there are many different dietary strategies that you can follow to keep your body in good health while training. Thankfully, there is no gold standard diet for athletes. Lucky you - you can create a diet that works best for you! Meat or no meat, with all the talk these days with sugar, carbs and fat, it's important that you remember the importance of protein in your diet to support lean muscle mass and to promote muscle and tissue repair.
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Sport nutrition for endurance athletes - part II

Research studies are great especially when it comes to improving athletic performance. When the human body is required to work so hard for a specific amount of time, it's important to understand how to properly fuel the body, train the body and recover the body for health and performance gains. Effective research studies (or studies reflective of the masses) are great sources to learn from and can be a valuable tool for athletes and coaches. 

But current sport nutrition guidelines and research can only take an athlete (or coach) so far because the key is knowing how to properly apply the information into the real world. 

It's important to always consider the pros and cons when it comes to applying research into your real world for just because a research study (or the abstract which most individuals have access to) states that something works in a controlled, laboratory setting, doesn't always imply that that same message will apply to your setting. Additionally, just because a research study doesn't state something to be true or false, it doesn't mean that you won't benefit from changing your behavior/habits to help yourself reach personal health and performance related goals. 

There are many variables that can affect a research study just like there are many variables that can affect you, as the athlete. 

Never lose sight of your individual goals when you are working hard to reach them.
The best performances follow patience, hard work, no short-cuts (or cutting corners) and a smart training, pacing and fueling plan. 

As promised, here's part II of recent sport nutrition highlights:

Energy and nutrient deficiencies in female endurance athletes, Melinda Manore, PhD, RD from Oregon State University

Weight issues are prevalent among female athletes. A study involving 66 elite women indicates that 50 percent want to lose weight and 20 percent use pathogenic eating behaviors. 

Elite runners can experience amenorrhea and not have an eating disorder. Some female athletes simply do not eat enough food. The shortage of energy generally also means a shortage of calcium, magnesium, iron and vitamin D. 

Inadequate energy intake reduces estrogen. Low estrogen reduces bone mineral content; bone breaks down faster than it gets rebuilt. This happens with post-menopausal women as well as with athletes. 

Studies of women who resume menses indicate they may gain about 4 lb in the process of restoring their health. Women who lift weights and continued to train while consuming the increased energy intake were less likely to gain fat versus lean tissue. 

Marathon training strategy; periodization and diet, Trent Stellingwerff, PhD from the Canadian Sports Centre

"Training low" (low glycogen stores) is not fun; it is challenging both psychologically and physiologically. Training low is for elite athletes who have come close to maximizing their performance potential. It is not for junior athletes who have yet to maximize their athletic potential, athletes who get injured easily, power athletes who want to build muscle or athletes at risk of an eating disorder. 

Regarding weight management, Stellingwerff recommends that runners be at their racing-weight only one or two times a year. Being 4 percent to 6 percent racing weight contributes to functional weight training. 

Dietary protein and muscle reconditioning, Luc Van Loon, PhD from Maastricht University

Muscles are continually broken down and rebuilt; muscle tissue protein turns over at a rate of 1 percent to 2 percent each day. That implies that muscle tissues is renewed every 2 months. 

Protein consumed pre-exercise can be rapidly digested and will be available for protein synthesis during as well as after exercise. 

After exercise, athletes do not need to co-ingest carbohydrates with protein to augment muscle synthesis. However, carbohydrate intake is required to replace depleted muscle glycogen stores. 

A 20-25g dose of high-quality protein (such as milk, eggs or meats) ingested after exercise will effectively increase muscle protein synthesis rates. Although the optimal amount is likely dependent on the body weight of an athlete, more research is needed to determine the optimal amount of dietary protein required to maximize post-exercise muscle protein synthesis rates in various athletes in various sports. 

Clinical issues in endurance athletes, Nanna Meyer, PhD, RD from the University of Colorado

An estimated 45-85 percent of athletes complain of GI issues. 

Stress fractures escalate in runners; the higher the mileage, the higher the risk of experiencing a stress fracture. 

Cyclists are at risk for bone loss because 1) they perform a sport that is non-weight bearing and 2) they lose calcium in sweat. In 2 hours, they might lose 135 mg calcium - and this adds up over the course of months and years. 

Because calcium can be lost in sweat, athletes should consume a calcium-rich food prior to exercise to help counter sweat-calcium losses. 

Women need 30 kcal/kg fat-free body mass to support normal menstruation. They will typically resume menses in about 2-3 months. 

Protein and Weight management in long distance runners, Stuart Phillips, PhD, McMaster University

Protein is satiating. Dieters tend to eat fewer calories with a high protein meal plan as compared with a higher carbohydrate plan. 

Runners who want to lose body fat should have a higher protein intake because they will not only feel less hungry but also will experience less loss of muscle when restricting food intake. During times of energy deficit, protein needs increase. More research is needed to determine the best dose of protein to counter muscle loss. 

Consuming diets rich in dairy protein may contribute to slightly more fat loss compared with diets with low dairy protein, perhaps relating to the calcium intake. In addition, consuming dairy foods rich in calcium and vitamin D may help prevent bone mineral loss. 

Four meals a day, each providing about 20-25g protein is a wise strategy for preventing muscle loss during a weight reduction program. 

Food trend - plant strong athlete

If you are like most individuals, you are not surprised by the number of new, trendy, hip or cool foods on the market. From fresh to processed, our culture loves to eat trendy foods, companies love to profit it off of them and the media loves to talk about them. (perhaps I have reversed this timeline as the media has a major influence on how, what and why we eat). 

Coconut, kale, gluten-free, greek yogurt, juicing, quinoa. Just a few that come to mind when you think of the recent foods that are most talked about when discussing "healthy eating" or dieting. Anyone remember Olestra?

Did you know that there are over a dozen types of lettuces? I wrote a blog a while back on the many types of green leafy options that you can add to your current diet. 

How come the media isn't obsessing about Mâche, Mesclun or Mizuna and how come the grocery stores aren't carrying them for us to enjoy? 

When I work with individuals on the diet, specifically for performance or health purposes, it is very important to me that I treat each athlete/fitness enthusiast as an individual. But in our quick-fix society, it is so easy to want to be like the masses - do like others to receive the same results. 

In the past 20 years, I have "worked" on my diet to create a diet that gives me food freedom and peace with food. Comfort with my food choices without obsessing about calories or portions or food preparation. I have worked on mindful eating the most in that keeps me constantly in the moment when it comes to eating. I know how it feels to overeat and it doesn't feel good. So I don't do it. I don't get cravings or drops in blood sugar because I have tweaked my diet in a way that prevents these issues from happening. It may not work for others how I eat but my body is happy and my body is healthy. Why should I try to  follow a food trend or diet if I have created my own diet that allows me to function well in this world (and performance to the best of my ability during training/racing)? 

 At age 10-11, I decided to not eat meat for animal reasons and since then, I have learned how to eat as a healthy and active athlete/health conscious individual. I call myself a vegetarian because I don't and will never eat meat. It isn't a fad or a temporary trend. 

I know how to maintain my diet when traveling, eating on the road, eating at events and eating at home. I am always excited to better myself with my food choices, especially when it comes to bettering my health and performance but I am not "trying" new ways of eating as if I need to fix what is not broken. I have never fasted, cleansed or detoxed for my body never gets out of whack. 

I see nothing wrong with trying new things and tweaking the diet. Some styles of eating that are trendy (Ex. Mediterranean, vegetarian) actually come with a host of health benefits but that doesn't mean that you have to follow them strictly to still receive health benefits. That is how I work with others for I believe that learning how to create a healthy relationship with food is best mastered when you recognize what foods make YOU feel the best and enhance your lifestyle. Although adding kale and greek yogurt to your diet will not override other dietary choices, certainly there are many great foods out there that without the media, perhaps we would have never seen in the grocery store or recognized at farmers markets. 

When you think about the food trends in 2012, I am sure you have tried those foods or have adopted a diet that includes those foods (some or all). Nothing wrong with that as I hope that you are still working on your diet to support your individual needs and goals and not eating something temporary or for a quick-fix because the news, a celebrity, coach or nutrition guru told you that if you eat this, you will be "healthy". 

As I mentioned above, my plant-strong diet is with me for the rest of my life. It is not something that I will deviate from but instead, enjoy it as it helps me live an active lifestyle. But in the past 20 years, I have worked at it and I invite you to do the same for your own diet. 

Elimination diets are very trendy and I am not a fan. I feel that spending your energy on what not to eat is only going to set you up for failure and restriction in the diet and lack of flexibility with eating (especially around others). Banning food is not the way to go if you want to "be healthy" so instead, I invite you to think about what you aren't eating, possibly what you could be eating instead, as a way to create a positive relationship with food and perhaps, stop blaming the outcome or effect and instead, direct your positive energy to the missing link(s). 

I love writing about plant strong eating because not only do I practice what I preach in consuming a plant-strong diet for health and performance benefits but also, because we all need to do a great job, every day, of making sure we nourish our bodies with real food, mostly plants. If you feel you have "bad" food in the diet, perhaps you just don't have room for other foods (or not making room or the time to consume them) and it is within those other foods that you can make a positive impact on your health, mood, body and performance. It isn't as if one food is better than the other and certainly, no food is "bad" when consumed on occasional eats/treats but take some time - a few weeks at the minimum, to give a little thought to your diet to make sure that you are not "working" on your diet to be like others or to "fit-in" but instead, create a diet that works for you and is here to stay.

Is Plant-Strong "Healthy" for an Athlete? By Marni Sumbal

Healthy eating can be confusing when it's aimed to the masses. With many research-supported guidelines for "healthy" eating, a plant-strong diet is often celebrated as the most effective way to reduce risk for disease and manage a healthy weight. Although it is not required that you give yourself a dietary title as to what you don't eat, consider a variety of health promoting plant-strong foods to fuel and nourish your active lifestyle.

Protein is essential to assist in growth and repair of muscles, bones and tissues, keeps hair, skin and nails in good health, is helpful for the immune system and helps to keep the metabolism, digestion and brain in optimal health.

For most athletes, meeting recommendations for protein (1-1.5 g/kg/d) can easily be accomplished through a varied diet. To ensure a decrease in fat mass (and not lean muscle mass) if striving for weight loss/body composition changes, do not neglect quality, portioned controlled protein at meals, snacks and for workout recovery. 

For proper digestion and absorption, satiety and control of blood sugar with carbohydrates, all individuals should aim for around 20-30g of protein per meal and addition protein with workout recovery/daily snacks to meet your individual daily recommend protein intake.

Nutrition plays a major role in your training regime and the choice for a specific dietary regime (or any variation) should not sabotage your training plan. Because you can't out-train a poorly planned diet, your diet should keep you healthy, active and happy. If your eating today is restrictive based on how you ate yesterday, ditch the diet plan mentality. 

Maintain a healthy relationship with food and consider a more plant strong, balanced diet as you enjoy the creativity, freedom and flexibility that come with eating a variety of whole foods.

Meat or no meat, choose foods that are simple to prepare, convenient, safe, wholesome and pleasurable as you support your healthy lifestyle with consistent fitness/performance gains.

Here's a protein-rich, plant strong meal which has an extra bonus:  many valuable vitamins and minerals within this meal aside from protein!

1 cup mushrooms - 2 protein
2 cups cooked broccoli - 8g protein
1/2 cup farro - 4g protein
1/4 cup black beans - 3.5 g protein
3 ounce tofu - 7g protein
1 cup cherry tomatoes - 1g protein
1/2 cup peas - 3.5g protein
1/2 ounce pumpkin seeds - 2.5g protein
Total: 31.5g protein

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