Some diet experts believe you’re wasting time counting calories or focusing on fat, instead, they say you should aim for 100 or more grams of protein a day.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggest women eat about 46 grams and men eat about 56 grams of protein daily.
However, health and fitness expert Gabrielle Lyon said that’s too few daily grams. Eating the minimum will leave you feeling hungry, and it won’t carry you into old age healthy and strong. Dr. Lyon explained the recommendation is set at a minimum to prevent deficiencies.
“If someone were to say, you know, ‘I’m not feeling well, I am going to take the recommended amount of vitamin C,’ you would probably say that if you weren’t feeling well, you would take more,” Dr. Lyon points out. “High-quality protein sources like lean beef, chicken, eggs, whey protein, dairy, they have the right ratio of these amino acids that will stimulate muscle.”
Other protein options are:
- Shakes
- Fish
- Eggs
- Whey protein
- String cheese
- Greek yogurt
The risk of losing muscle mass as you age is that it will make daily tasks like walking, dressing, and cleaning difficult. It increases your risk of falling and fractures and it increases your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and dementia.
Although you can start to lose muscle mass in your 40s, it really accelerates as you hit 60.
You can counteract that by using Dr. Lyon’s simple formula:
“When we think about aging, we see our parents get smaller, our grandparents get smaller. The minimum will not protect against that. So, thinking about closer to one gram per pound of ideal body weight will support a better body composition, improve fat loss, improve blood markers. It’s probably the most critically important thing that we can do for nutrition,” Dr. Lyon explained.
Additionally, the number one exercise for healthy muscle mass is resistance training.
You can hear more from Dr. Lyon and other health experts talk about diet, exercise, and healthy living at the Forever Strong Summit in Austin this weekend. Forever Strong Summit | Dr. Gabrielle Lyon (drgabriellelyon.com)