I eat protein at every meal—including whey protein, if possible, or BCAAs. Most personal trainers will encourage clients to maintain a positive nitrogen balance via protein intake every two to three hours to enable muscle growth and disable lean-tissue catabolism. What most clients don’t know, however, is that solid food can take many hours to digest, which leaks protein into the bloodstream much too slowly.
Studies show that with many foods you assimilate only four to seven grams of protein per hour. That’s a recipe for crippled nitrogen balance, which leads to slower recovery and growth.
For a faster anabolic response, it’s best to have a small whey protein shake or at least some branched-chain amino acid capsules along with most of your solid-food meals. Those fast protein sources flood your bloodstream and start rebuilding muscle immediately.
How about between solid-food meals?
We recommend a whey-egg-and-casein blend so you get the benefit of all protein fractions and a fast-and-slow muscle-feeding effect. And don’t forget fast carbs and fast protein immediately after you train to jump-start anabolic recovery.