There are high protein diets and then there are high protein ketogenic diets.
Bodybuilders are the guardians of the high protein diet - most of them, using a kind of cyclical ketogenic diet.
Are either right for athletes?Well, that depends on whether you are a performance athlete or an aesthetic athlete.
Okay, sorry.
Bodybuilders aren't just aesthetic athletes - they require scads of energy in the gym.
However, true performance athletes aren't going for a particular physical aesthetic - merely an end result, such as a time, a certain amount of endurance or some performance standard that can be measured.
And while other athletes ingest higher protein than the average person, they may not dip into ketosis or utilize the same techniques as a bodybuilder going for hypertrophy and physical aesthetic.
The alleged benefit of a high protein diet is that you lose less musclebecause your body doesn't need to break down as much protein from muscles as you burn as energy.
The other allegation is that because protein boosts metabolic rate, fat burning is easier on a high protein diet - whether it's accompanied by a lower carbohydrate ratio or not.
Protein builds and repairs tissues, and makes enzymes, hormones, and other body chemicals.
Protein is an important building block of bones, muscles, cartilage, skin, and blood.
No arguments there.
Question is, will high protein diets sustain any athlete for extended periods - whether a cyclical ketogenic type of diet or merely a high protein diet?Performing high intensity training, as bodybuilders do, means that glycogen is depleted rapidly.
A diet of mostly protein - or primarily protein - will not allow replenishment of glycogen stores.
Glycogen, stored in all muscle cells, is energy and helps the muscle retain water and fullness.
It's what allows you to have a pump during and after a set.
The combination of energy and water in muscle is crucial for higher intensity performance.
This is why a high protein, combination ketogenic diet, is utilized during a diet cycle, or pre-contest cycle, because training during that time isn't as intense or heavy as it is in the off season.
Glycogen keeps workouts going.
Without it, workouts stop abruptly because the tank is empty.
Endurance athletes couldn't survive on high protein and lower carbohydrate diets.
In fact, their protein needs are inverted in comparison to strength athletes.
Strength athletes, however, are proponents of high protein diets because the idea that protein cultivates more muscle tissue in recovery is hard to shed.
But according to research in the sports medicine community, high intensity, big muscle contractions (via heavy lifting) is fueled by carbohydrates - not protein.
In fact, neither protein nor fat can be oxidized rapidly enough to meet the demands of a high intensity workout.
Further, the restoration of glycogen levels for the next workout depend upon ingesting enough carbohydrates for muscle storage.
Inadequate carbohydrate percentages in the diet can cause the following: ~ Decrease glucose levels ~ An increased risk of hypoglycemia ~ Reduced strength and quick burst ability ~ Decreased endurance ~ Reduced uptake of vitamins and minerals Experts say strength athletes would benefit more from a higher carbs, medium protein, moderate fat diets because glycogen loading is crucial to strength.
If strength is the precursor to size, then high protein diets might be a failing proposition for an all-year-long program for bodybuilders.
However, bodybuilders not only build muscle via heavy lifting, they also do cardiovascular work to keep a lean profile.
It's in cardiovascular training that high protein can be of immense benefit.
Endurance breaks down muscle tissue.
Protein builds it up.
Problem is, bodybuilders do a wide variety of cardio to keep fit and lose body fat.
What kind of cardio are you doing, and what are your protein needs?If you are doing higher intensity, interval training cardio, your protein needs will be higher because you are traversing anaerobic and aerobic thresholds and are cultivating both fiber types found in your muscles.
Like a resistance workout with weights that is intense and gets your heart rate up, protein needs are higher for repair.
Low intensity cardio, such as long, brisk walks and slow cycling that goes on for 45 minutes plus, require less muscle repair, and therefore, don't require the same protein.
But there are concerns about the effects of protein AFTER it feeds muscles in repair mode.
High protein diets cause the body to produce ammonia when it breaks down.
Long-term risks of higher levels of ammonia in the body are unknown.
Also, there is evidence to suggest that people who eat high-protein diets typically excrete excess calcium in their urine, as a means of counteracting an increase in acids cause by protein consumption.
That means vulnerability to bone breaks and connective tissue injuries.
Is there any sense in all of this?For a bodybuilder in a pre-contest season cycle, a high protein diet, in small measure, is the best reparative diet when calories are decreased because it maintains lean tissue while boosting metabolic rates.
For a bodybuilder or powerlifting in a strength cycle, too much protein, and too few carbs, are a disadvantage.