Why building muscle is the key to better energy, hormone balance and meeting your fitness goals.

Stop fearing muscle mass

What if female-identifying folks were encouraged to aspire to be stronger, not smaller?⁠⁠⁠! What if we could become obsessed with what our bodies can DO, rather than how they LOOK? If you add one goal to your preventative health plan this year, it should be to gain lean (muscle) mass.⁠ ⁠ Here's why:⁠

• Muscle mass starts to decline after age 30 if you're not doing anything to prevent it⁠ ⁠

• Strength training is your ticket to metabolic health, independence, bone health and cardiovascular health.⁠ ⁠

• Actively maintaining or building muscle mass around perimenopause and menopause helps mitigate body composition changes associated with this hormonal stage

3 Necessities for gaining muscle mass

So you’re on board and ready to gain some muscle? High five! But what does it really take to gain muscle? Take a read through to find out.

1. Resistance Training ⁠ ⁠

This is an absolute requirement for muscle protein synthesis. Whether this means home workouts, cross-fit or lifting weights at the gym, the goal is to complete exercises that you can only do 6-10 repetitions of. If you're able to complete more of what your currently doing, increase the weight you are lifting to make it more challenging! The challenge is what creates gains in strength.⁠ ⁠

2. Adequate Protein Intake ⁠

⁠ You might be surprised to know that ideal protein intake for muscle synthesis is in the range of 1.4-2.0 grams/kg/day. This is much higher than the 0.8 grams/kg/day which is the recommended daily allowance (basically the minimum you need to not have a protein deficiency!). Most of my patients are consistently below this target! ⁠ ⁠

—> To find your individual needs multiply 1.4 by your weight in kg, and 2.0 by your weight in kg. Your protein intake each day should be somewhere in that range.⁠

3. ⁠No Caloric Deficit⁠

⁠ A caloric deficit means your taking in less energy than you're expending. Your body cannot gain muscle tissue if you don't fuel it!⁠ You may be intentionally dieting, restricting or just misunderstanding your body's needs. When our body doesn't have adequate nutrition calories, it will pull from our own muscle as a source of fuel - super counter productive here!! So making sure to meet your energy needs, not just your protein needs, is a must. ⁠ ⁠ ⁠

How to think about protein consumption

As mentioned above, protein consumption is a stimulus for our body to synthesize new muscle. There are 4 essential categories of protein consumption I want you to think about. This hierarchy is how I think about protein in my own life and in those of my patients. Most important is total protein, followed by protein distribution, protein quality and protein timing.

Foundations: Total protein⁠

This refers to how much protein you are eating over the course of the day. This varies by your size and activity level, but for many lies in the range of 70-140g/day! ⁠

Intermediate level: Protein distribution⁠

This refers to how your protein consumption is spread out throughout the day. A common pattern I see is very low protein breakfast and lunch, and a huge protein load at dinner. This is not as optimal as having moderate protein meals spread out throughout the day! ⁠

Advanced mode: Protein quality⁠

This refers to what type of protein you are eating. Plant based proteins are incomplete proteins, meaning that they don't contain all 9 of the essential amino acids required by humans in the diet. Animal sourced proteins contain all 9. Remember amino acids are the building blocks for structural proteins, hormones, and neurotransmitters in our body. Ensuring you are getting all amino acids whether your eating plant based or as an omnivore is absolutely possible!⁠

Expert: Protein timing⁠

This elite maneuver refers to optimizing the consumption of protein around activity in your day to get the best bang for you buck when it comes to fitness goals! Consuming protein within 2 hours of finishing exercise drastically improves your muscle recovery. I look over my patient's schedules with a fine toothed comb to make sure they are maximizing strategic protein windows. ⁠

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I hope this article was helpful and that you now feel armed to tackle your goals. As always send me a message if you have any questions!