Which athlete type am I?

Whether you are a housewife or bodybuilder, when it comes to fitness and the optimal diet, you can quickly get to the subject of proteins. Sure, protein is important for muscle growth and maintenance and there are some differences between the different varieties. Especially with the aim of optimizing your own diet with the help of protein shakes, you should know which protein best suits your individual needs. This guide shows you what is important.


Which athlete type am I?

First, we have to clarify what sport you do and how intensively you do it.

Intensive weight training:

Anyone who does intensive strength training then needs a "fast" protein in combination with just as fast carbohydrates. The fastest proteins are whey and soy. Both can be covered by normal foods such as whey drinks and tofu. But there are also as protein powder. Be sure to additionally eat enough carbohydrates. The glycogen stores are empty after a hard workout and need to be replenished as fast as possible to initiate regeneration and muscle building. That happens through carbohydrates. If you only eat the protein, it will convert the body into carbohydrates to fill the stores and can not put it in your muscles. Therefore drink, e.g. Grape juice or eat a serving of noodles.

Moderate weight training:

Even after a moderate session strength training, fast protein is appropriate. Just reduce the amount of carbohydrates here because their stores are not likely to be completely empty.

Intensive endurance training:

After intensive periods of endurance, carbohydrates are the alpha and omega. It is best to add them during exercise. Protein should also be eaten. It is best to have a portion of fast protein right after your workout, and then slowly slower proteins.

Moderate endurance training:

Do you rather gentle to moderate endurance training in sports such as jogging, cycling or swimming, you need after training not necessarily the large protein portion. Here are some quick carbohydrates. Before going to bed, a casein shake would be a good choice to keep the body constantly supplied with amino acids during the night.

Allround athlete:

Anyone who is more of an all-rounder and always tries different sports is well advised with a multi-component protein. This is composed of several types of protein and combines their properties. It is therefore suitable for practically all purposes and occasions.

What is my goal?

The personal fitness goal does not always match the chosen sport. It's fun to do sports, right? Hence the protein recommendations for the two most common fitness goals.

Muscle Building:

For the development of the musculature a permanent supply with amino acids is crucial. It is particularly important that after the training as fast as possible with the regeneration and the structure can be started. Therefore, they should optimally use whey or soy after training.
In addition, you should take protein portions of 20 - 30 g throughout the day. Studies have shown that this amount is optimal because more protein per meal does not lead to higher protein synthesis. In principle, every kind of protein is suitable for this. It is best to vary your protein suppliers and combine different foods. If this is not possible then a protein shake from a multi-component protein is recommended as a snack.

Lose weight:

Who wants to lose weight usually has the goal to lose fat and not also reduce muscle. That would be reasonable anyway, because otherwise it quickly comes to the well-known yo-yo effect due to the lower energy consumption. Numerous studies have shown that a higher protein content in the diet during a phase of the calorie deficit leads to a better maintenance of the muscles. In addition, study participants were less hungry and generally felt better during their diet.
Ideal for this purpose is the casein. It is processed very slowly by the body and thus provides constant amino acids over a long period of several hours.
To satisfy the craving for sweets during a diet, one can resort to a good multi-component protein. Here you should pay particular attention to a good taste of the product. Then you actually have a delicious, sweet and low-calorie alternative to the sweet sins.

Individual features

Each person is different and so our dietary habits and things we tolerate and do not tolerate. Therefore, even with proteins in general, everyone has to try for themselves which do well and which do not. A few tips are still possible.

Lactose intolerance:

Those who can not tolerate lactose must be careful with protein powder, which is produced from milk. More specifically, the whey protein and casein. For both varieties, however, there are products in which the lactose content has either been reduced so much that it is no longer problematic for most lactose intolerants or the enzyme lactase has been added. Lactase breaks down lactose and is known to many sufferers in the form of tablets, which they can eat before a lactose-containing food.

Vegan:

For people who eat vegan, only the vegetable protein preparations from soy, wheat, rice, peas or hemp come into question. However, most vegetable proteins have much lower biological valences because they are less similar to human body protein than animal proteins. Soy protein with a valence of 85 forms a positive exception and thus lies e.g. over the value of casein of 77. Soy protein is therefore the clear recommendation for vegans.

No additives:

If you want to avoid the additives that are usually abundant in protein powders, such as sweeteners and flavors, you have two options.
One is to choose a tasteless protein powder that actually consists of 100% protein. There are high quality products that are absolutely recommended. This possibility, however, has a catch - and the taste.
The second option is a bio protein powder. There are more and more providers who bring the organic trend to the market for dietary supplements. Again, there are great products with exclusively natural organic ingredients with some delicious, mostly subtle flavors. For these products, the catch is unfortunately the price.

Protein varieties at a glance

Animal proteins in general:

Are quite similar to the human body protein and can therefore be processed well (high biological value). However, many animal, protein-containing foods also contain a lot of fat. The animal fat is less healthy for the human body. An exception is fish. With many omega-3 fatty acids, this fat is rather healthy.

Vegetable proteins in general:

They are less similar to human protein and thus can usually only be used to a lesser extent. However, if you combine different protein suppliers, their amino acid profiles will complement each other and become higher quality. Also in plant foods such as beans, chickpeas and lentils other important substances such as vitamins, minerals and fiber are included, which make them widely recommended foods.

Whey protein (whey protein):

Very high biological value, is processed quickly by the body, ideal for use immediately after training

Casein (milk protein):

Mediocre biological value, processed very slowly by the body, is ideal as a "Night Time Protein" for the long-term supply of amino acids and to support diets

Soy Protein:

relatively high biological value, is processed quickly, is ideal after training and for vegans

Egg Protein:

high biological value, is processed rather quickly, as protein powder has an inedible bitter taste, optimal for definition phases

Multi-component protein:

very high chemical scores, combines the properties of the proteins contained, ideal all-rounder and protein-rich snacks