Everybody seems to be talking about protein lately.
How much do I need? When should I eat it? Should I drink a shake? Is this yogurt going to save me?
Protein matters.
But I think we’re starting the conversation in the wrong place.
Your body doesn’t keep muscle simply because you ate enough protein.
You have to give it a reason to keep the muscle.
That reason is using it.
There’s some interesting research behind this. Studies looking at older adults have found that things like grip strength and walking speed can tell us a lot about future health and independence. Simply measuring how much muscle somebody has doesn’t tell the whole story.
That makes perfect sense to me.
I don’t particularly care how impressive your muscle mass looks on a scan.
Can you get out of a chair?
Carry your groceries?
Climb the stairs?
Catch yourself when you stumble?
Get down on the floor and get back up?
Can you use the muscle you’ve got?
That’s the strength I care about.
Walking is wonderful. I walk all the time and think most of us would benefit from doing more of it.
But walking isn’t the whole answer.
Your muscles also need resistance. They need something that says, Hey, we’re still using these. Better hang onto them.
That doesn’t necessarily mean going to a gym and throwing a barbell over your head.
Stand up from a chair several times.
Carry something heavy.
Climb some stairs.
Push against a wall.
Work in the garden.
Use resistance bands.
Do Contracted Stretching.
There are hundreds of ways to ask your muscles to work.
And here’s something else I’ve learned after years of teaching.
Strength doesn’t have to look like strength training.
We’ve had people come into RiversZen who would never describe themselves as people who “work out.” But get them moving against resistance, controlling their own body weight and challenging muscles they haven’t asked much of lately, and they’re doing strength work whether they call it that or not.
Then protein becomes part of the conversation.
You need the raw materials to maintain and build tissue. I personally eat quite a bit of protein because that’s how I eat and it works well for me.
But eating another steak while asking your muscles to do absolutely nothing isn’t much of a strength program. 😄
So before worrying about whether you’re getting the perfect number of grams of protein, ask yourself a simpler question:
Did I give my muscles a reason to stick around today?
Pick up something.
Push something.
Pull something.
Stand up without using your hands.
Use your body.
Then go eat dinner.