Does excess protein in a meal just turn into sugar or get stored as fat ? Let's bust some myths and get to the truth about single meal protein consumption in today's episode of Quick Wits . Welcome to the Whits and Weights podcast .
I'm your host , philip Pape , and this twice a week podcast is dedicated to helping you achieve physical self mastery by getting stronger , optimizing your nutrition and upgrading your body composition .
We'll uncover science backed strategies for movement , metabolism , muscle and mindset with a skeptical eye on the fitness industry , so you can look and feel your absolute best . Let's dive right in . I received a question in our recent 21 day body recomp challenge about what our body does when we have quote unquote too much protein in a single meal .
Let's say you have 80 grams or 100 grams or 120 grams , and our body only utilize or metabolize a certain amount of protein per sitting , and then does it turn the excess into sugar ? You may have heard of a concept called gluconeogenesis . First off , let's address the idea that there is a strict limit to how much protein your body can process in one sitting .
This notion has been floating around for a while . The truth is , it's more complex than a single number . Your body can use a certain amount of protein at a time for muscle building . It's MPS , muscle protein synthesis . Studies suggest anywhere from 20 to 30 grams per meal , maybe a little bit more , maybe if you're larger , for optimal muscle protein synthesis .
But that doesn't mean that the excess is wasted because , like with all of these things , the body is an incredible machine . It's capable of storing nutrients and utilizing them as needed . Excess protein doesn't just disappear . It also doesn't automatically turn into sugar . It's metabolized differently .
It can be used for energy , it can be used for other bodily functions , it can be stored , but it's not directly converted into sugar . Now , there is a process by which that happens , but we don't want to oversimplify it . The body can convert some amino acids , which are the building blocks of protein , into glucose through a process called gluconeogenesis .
But this is a demand , not supply driven process . It's demand driven . It mainly happens during periods of fasting or low carb intake . Low carbs Go listen to my episode about carbs . We talked about that protein sparing . It doesn't just happen because you had an extra chicken breast at lunch .
It really has to do with your overall nutrient utilization and energy intake .
What's important is overall protein intake throughout the day , for the day as a total , in fact over several days , not just per meal , because your body's ability to use protein is influenced by your total daily intake , the type of protein you consume and , of course , your activity , your training and all that good stuff .
So don't sweat it if you occasionally have a high protein meal . I'd rather you get your protein for the day . However , you can Focus on consistent , balanced nutrition throughout the day if you can Spread it out , if you can , but if not , a bigger protein meal is just fine . Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Wits and Weights .
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