The #1 Fitness Mistake - Not Enough Protein

Here is the video

Introduction
I talk to a lot of guys.
Aside from being free of pain and having energy, most men I talk to want one of three things: more muscle, less fat, or both

I think most men would agree – there are only two levers that matter for fitness:

• Output (your exercise)
• Input (what you eat)
• I would say these are equally important.

For output - most guys track their workouts – in their heads, or record on paper or an app.
Miles ran, kilometers biked, laps in the pool, weight lifted, repetitions, etc.

For input – it’s a completely different story
I often ask guys how many grams of protein or carbs they typically consume in a day.
99% of the time I get a strange look, like it’s a ridiculous question, and “I don’t know.”

Yet, we agreed there are two fitness levers:
Most guys track one (exercise)
But are oblivious to the other (nutrition)
I think that’s the biggest mistake men make when it comes to their fitness.

As we age, we need to maintain muscle mass. And for that we need enough protein.
I think most older guys are protein deficient.
Not enough protein means not enough muscle.

That’s what I want to talk about today. And I want to suggest a way to fix the problem.

We need to maintain muscle mass for many reasons
- Boosts metabolism
- Good for cognitive health
- Supports longevity
- Strengthens your heart
- Helps balance, bones, mood, sex life, and reduces belly fat

Maintaining muscle mass is vital as we age.

Peter Attia, MD
If you don’t know him already, I suggest you look up Dr. Peter Attia.
He’s a longevity expert. I have links below.
His work is impressive. Very research and data driven.

In his book Outlive, when he talks about nutrition and diets, he says:
“There’s so much ideological bickering and utter bullshit out there.” I agree with him.
Keto, paleo, low-carb, fasting, plant-based, etc.

So many self-proclaimed experts, nutrition gurus.
I went on to Amazon yesterday, typed in “diet books,” 70,000 items came up.

I have friends who heroically tell me they fasted for 16 hours…and then rewarded themselves with pizza and beer. Bravo.

Dr. Attia says maintaining muscle mass is key to regulating glucose, which reduces risk of cardiovascular disease, most cancers, Alzheimer’s disease, and type 2 diabetes.

He says optimal protein consumption is critical for maintaining muscle mass. Here are his recommendations compared to the RDA recommendations: 

Dr. Attia recommends double the RDA amount
Dr. Attia is critical of the RDA recommendations for protein.
He says it’s research is based on a very narrow sampling of the population.
It's not enough protein for older adults who require significantly higher levels of protein.

He says “adequate” is not the same as “optimal.”
He says the data reveal that the majority of people are not consuming a level of protein that is consistent with maintaining muscle and healthy aging.

Using a food app
Building muscle and getting leaner are only dreams if you don’t know what you are consuming.
That’s why a food app is useful. If you don’t measure it, you can’t manage it.

There are many reasons why guys don’t measure what they eat:

• They are oblivious to the extreme connection between food and fitness levels, and energy
• It never really crossed their minds to track food intake
• It’s a lot of work to track food (but after you become familiar with an app it takes only a few minutes a day)
• They think it's not manly to count calories, protein, carbs, etc.
• They are afraid to quantify all the crap they eat

See Calculator.net
A good starting point is to measure your recommended daily calories, body fat, and BMI.
I like the Calculator.net app. There’s a link below. It’s free.
You put in your height, weight, neck and waist size, and activity level and then it does the calculations for you.
It will be honest with you.

Example from MyFitnessPal app
I wanted to share with you the data from the app I use.
It's the MyFitnessPal food tracking app.
I have the free version. The Link is below.

When you set up the app, you first have to provide data for your personal profile:

• Starting weight
• Goal weight
• Height
• Workouts per week/minutes per workout

Here’s what the app recommends for me.
First, I show my maintenance plan from the app.
Second, I show my plan if I want more muscle.

What's remarkable is how well this works for me if I want to gain muscle mass and get leaner.
It works like magic if you are disciplined and clear about your goals.

Conclusion
I think most older men are protein deficient, losing muscle mass faster than they think.
Personally, sometimes it’s hard to get enough protein, but for sure I feel better when I consume plenty of protein.

And to be honest, I’m not interested in the debate about meat versus plant-based protein.
I need meat. I feel better when beef is part of my diet. I feel it gives me more more energy.
I also eat a lot of fish, chicken, pork, eggs, and tofu.

I’m not trying to be a body builder. I’m too old for that.
But I am trying to maintain muscle mass as I age.

Suggestions
Don’t overthink this.
For more protein, start early in the day.
For example, for breakfast, Greek yogurt and two scoops of collagen is 20 + 20 = 40g of protein.

Spread protein consumption evenly throughout the day.
Have a plan for your post-gym meals. Otherwise, don’t bother.
Hitting the weights and then eating pasta or pad thai is not moving you towards your goal.

There are lots of food apps:

• As Peter Drucker once said: You can’t manage what you can’t measure
• You need to know what you eat
• A food app can hold you accountable
• Gives immediate feedback
• Makes you mindful about what you eat

If I want to build muscle and get leaner, the formula is simple: Consume more protein, less carbs, and increase weight training.

I hope that was helpful.
Thank you for watching the video or reading the blog.

Links:
Here is the video

Calorie Calculator

Dr. Peter Attia's book Outlive

Dr. Peter Attia's website

MyFitnessPall app