Lift and Let Die by Guns and Poses: Will Protein Power Help?

Special thanks to Evan Rechsteiner and Will Kmiecik for this suggestion.  It’s like I am becoming a motherfucking celebrity here.

Protein.  It’s that thing frat boys do not shut the fuck up about when they go to the gym.  But what is it?  In short, it is a nutrient that provides Calories, and is the building block of a fuckton of stuff going on inside your cells.  Everything from things that help make energy, to growth and repair of your body, protein got it going on.  Normal people only need a select few grams of protein in their diet daily.  The formula goes 0.8 grams per kilogram of weight.  Or, for my American readers who are unfamiliar with metrics, 0.8 grams per 2.2 pounds of body weight.  For skinny motherfuckers like me (a whole whopping 148 pounds) my daily need is 0.8 grams * (148/2.2).  Which, because math sucks so I will save you from it, I only need about 54 grams of protein a day.  Which is only about 215 Calories.  Since I live in America, home of fast food burgers and excess consumption, reaching that amount is not a struggle.  Most people also do not need to supplement protein (as in adding powder to their work-out smoothies) because of this.  Those who do need more protein can find all they need in other protein rich foods.

One problem with protein as a whole, be it in powder or diet form, is when enough of it gets metabolized as energy.  When the body uses proteins in place of carbs, it produces a toxic byproduct.  Fortunately, the body is not as dumb as you’d think, and it makes it into a less-toxic thing to get flushed out by the body.  However, high volumes of this compound can really tax the kidneys, and can actually make your blood more acidic.  So that joke about not eating carbs is dumb, because all that is happening is a health problem.  In fact, carbs are beneficial for those wanting to work out, because it a) provides muscles with energy to work out, and b) carbs help your cells intake the parts of protein that can be reused.  Protein powder actually comes with some carbs in it for this reason.

Long story short, if you eat a balanced and healthy diet, and work out, chances are protein supplementation is not needed.  Also, just drinking protein powder will not make you strong overnight.

So, what do you think?  Do you use protein powder?  Does it make you feel more swole after drinking it?