Oh Reeeally? Jack Fats up do ya?
I swear I read a study about protein assimilation, etc. in which it was stated that protein intake above one's physiological "requirements" was converted to glucose at something like a 59% rate.
I know, I read something like that somewhere... if you find it, post it up, will ya'?
I really think this matters more for some folks than others. It seems to matter to me, for satiety, but then I'm a pussy and hate that "starving" feeling.
Are you saying you increase the grams of protein on a cut? Not just the macro increase as a result of the decreased carbs?
For instance, if you bulk with 200g protein you might increase it to 230?
Can you give an example of how your macros and total calories change from bulk to cut, please?
I personally crank protein a little higher for cutting than bulking, yes. I might hover nearer something like 130-150g per day for protein while bulking, but may go higher than 200g for cutting, depending how deep the cut is and how low the carbs go. In either case it's over a gram per pound lean mass, I'm sure it's sufficient either way.
For me, it's mostly for comfort but to be fair, I'm not likely to catabolize muscle for energy while running a surplus, right? I don't need that much excess dietary protein for protection if I'm looking to remain "nitrogen positive" - that is to say, if I'm looking to make sure I have at least or more protein entering my system than being removed from it.
However, for the "ordinary" dieter who isn't eating much protein anyway, cutting everything back is a very, very bad idea.
For instance, suppose I'm following the usual "55% of cals from carb, 15% from protein and 30% from fat" guideline we're told is "healthy eating".
For me, at 2000 calories a day (my approximate maintenance), 15% of my calories is 300 calories, and that works out to 75g of protein.
Suppose I reduce calories by a third, to lose weight. If I reduce everything by a third, I am now getting 50g of protein a day for my roughly 120 lbs of lean mass.
Something tells me this isn't a good idea.
Make sense?