A little knowledge is a dangerous thing!
I had some idea of the amount of protein I should eat every day, but I had the measurements all skewed. I am supposed to eat about 140g of protein per day and I translated this measurement into food weight. Wrong! Instead of calculating the grams of protein in chicken for example, I was simply weighing the amount of chicken. There are about 30g of protein in 100g of chicken and I would measure out about 120g of chicken which equates to about 35g of protein. I finally figured it out - I was eating about 40g of protein per day and not 140g. BIG difference I say.
The next difficulty I faced was how on earth was I going to get 140g of protein into my daily diet. When I added up all the protein, carbs and fats I had to eat I found that it was simply impossible to eat it all! The penny finally dropped; this is why athletes use protein shakes, because it is so easy to get lots of protein in this way. A decent protein shake can deliver 42g of protein which equates to eating about 7 eggs!
I always turned my nose up at these shakes in the past but it finally makes sense to me. Watching a documentary on the amazing Bruce Lee together with the realisation that I was really not getting the proper nutrition did it for me. Bruce Lee was the pioneer of the protein shake. He would blend raw steak, about 12 eggs and other stuff I can't remember, and drink it. Everyone was shocked at the time because no-one was doing it. I am sure everyone knows about Bruce's 'one inch punch' and his lightening speed and if that's what protein can do, then I want more of it.
I had a protein shake this morning after my endurance run (to help the recovery process I believe is the correct terminology!)
It will be very interesting to see if any differences manifest in strength, speed, endurance and body fat.
Watch this space!
Diana Elsmere
