Ginger Cochran, MS, RDN, CDCES, CEP-ACSM
Building muscle strength requires much more than just lifting weights. Giving your body the building blocks it needs through nutrition is equally important when building muscle. Today we’re going over the six keys to designing a diet that promotes building muscle strength
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Eat Protein at Every Meal And Snack
Our bodies need complete proteins containing all essential amino acids before and after exercise to increase muscle synthesis and reduce tissue breakdown. Eating protein at each meal and snack is vital to gain the most from your workout.
Luckily Designer Wellness created Designer Protein Smoothie to fit this quick pre and post-snack need. Each smoothie contains 12g of complete protein from high-quality whey protein isolate. Snack options include a smoothie with high-quality proteins like all of our protein powders, a piece of chicken, or a glass of ultra-filtered dairy milk,
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Pick Complete Proteins
Proteins that include all nine essential amino acids are considered complete proteins. These amino acids are necessary because the body can not make them on its own, so they must be eaten daily. Complete proteins include dairy, meat, fish, eggs, chicken, soy, tofu, edamame, tempeh, quinoa, and buckwheat.
Designer Wellness proteins are all complete proteins. We created Designer Egg, Designer Plant, Designer Whey, Aria Women’s Wellness, Designer Soy, Designer Lite, and Designer Protein Smoothie with the highest standards of care and ingredients to help you meet all your protein needs.
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Pick Well Absorbable Proteins
Picking quality proteins that are well absorbed and utilized by the body will benefit muscle strength. The two most well-absorbed proteins are eggs and whey protein isolate. Whey protein isolate is 92% used by the body, and eggs are 94%. On the other hand, soy protein is 61%, and meats are 73%.
Designer Wellness includes whey protein isolate in our Designer Whey, Designer Lite, and grab-and-go Designer Protein Smoothie. You can find egg whites and whole eggs in our Designer Egg.
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Eat Enough Protein
Enjoying 30g of protein at each meal can increase muscle synthesis by 50%! Research shows that quality protein distributed throughout the day at 30g at each meal is critical for gaining muscle strength. More isn’t necessarily better though our bodies don’t utilize more than 30g of protein at each meal, and excess protein will be used as energy.
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Choose Proteins High in Leucine
Leucine is the ‘trigger’ amino acid in proteins that tells the body to build muscle after exercise. Eating rich leucine foods after strength training is vital to building muscle strength. Rich leucine sources include whey, eggs, fish, dairy, peas, chicken, soy, peas, and pork.
All of Designer Wellness products contain excellent leucine-rich proteins to help you meet your muscle strength goals.
Bottom Line
Choose quality proteins like Designer Protein Powders and Designer Protein Smoothies, chicken, dairy, beans, tofu, and fish at every meal and snack to promote muscle strength and maintenance. Choosing the Designer Protein that best meets your needs is easy. We have quality proteins rich in leucine to meet every dietary preference and restriction from plant-based, gluten-free, kosher, low FODMAP, and more. Check here for our complete list of quality proteins.
Sample Menu
30 g protein three times/day
10g+ protein snacks two times/day
Breakfast (30 g protein)
Smoothie: 1 scoop Designer Whey (20g), 1/2 cup Greek yogurt (10 g), one banana, sliced, ½ cup cherries, 1 cup water, and 1 cup spinach
Snack (12 g protein)
Mixed Berry Protein Smoothie (12g)
Lunch (33 g protein)
Whole Wheat sandwich with 3-ounce tuna fish (28 g); 1 slice Swiss Cheese (5g); Lettuce; tomato; 1 cup blueberries
Dinner (36 g protein)
3 oz chicken (28 g); 1 cup farro (6 g); 1/2 cup zucchini (1 g)
Snack (12 g protein)
Strawberry Banana Protein Smoothie (12g)
Sources:
Mero A. Leucine supplementation and intensive training. Sports Med. 1999 Jun;27(6):347-58. doi: 10.2165/00007256-199927060-00001. PMID: 10418071.
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Stephan van Vliet, Nicholas A Burd, Luc JC van Loon,
