Protein Timing Matters
Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app.
A study of older men found that with resistance training, the typical strategy of getting most of the day’s protein with dinner is not the most effective one. Dividing the day’s total protein into four equal amounts, and eating a serving at breakfast, lunch, dinner, and as an evening snack, resulted in greater loss of fat and increase in muscle, which reversed the typical pattern of losing muscle and gaining fat as people age.
Researchers recommended a daily protein total of 0.6 grams per pound of body weight (or ideal body weight where weight loss is sought); for example, 108 grams for a 180-pound person. The study was published in the American Journal of Physiology Endocrinology and Metabolism.