Protein: Why It's Important And How It's Going To Help You Hit Your Health Goals

So many nutrition clients come to Rebuild Health and Fitness and are not getting enough protein. We see it all too often. It’s a crucial component in a healthy diet as the building blocks of body tissue. Protein helps your body repair and create cells. It aids not only muscle recovery and growth, but helps you feel full, fuel your body and has been shown to benefit even your hair and skin. If you’re not getting enough protein, you're probably going to feel like shit.As an absolute base you should be eating 1.2 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight. That means if you’re 80kg, you should be eating 96g of protein per day – as a bare minimum.  And all too often, people are not getting even close to that. Whether you want to lose or gain weight, protein is key.  “Whether from a dieting perspective, or muscle gain, having a higher protein diet is really, really important,” says Sean. “Not only for the muscle mass side of things, but helping you feel full and satisfied longer.” And protein isn’t just for muscle building, it’s crucial if you want to lose body fat too.  “One thing that clients coming to us have in common is their protein is always terrible. They can't believe how much better they feel when they start focusing on it. Things like skin - people's skin starts clearing up and they feel so much better, when their protein intake increases. All these little things that you don't realise that protein intake can help with.”How much is enough though? James says 1.2 grams per kg is an absolute minimum – and people should be aiming for 1.6 grams per kilogram of bodyweight as a baseline. “Some people that we deal with are eating around 0.8 grams per kilo of body weight. That's what they serve in nursing homes to 90-year-olds. Some people literally eat this and much and they're training in the gym and they are wondering why they're getting injured and they're not recovering. And they're sick all the time.”You should be integrating additional protein into your diet wherever you can, particularly if you’re looking to get results in your health journey. If you’re stuck for how to get enough protein, Rebuild Health and Fitness recommends True Protein shakes. These whey and vegan options contain roughly 25g of protein per shake. You can get them at Rebuild Health and Fitness for $60 per bag.