Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor or physician so use this knowledge as one of your references and always do your own research and consult with a qualified physician, nutritionist, doctor to be 100% sure.
Should I or should I not? That’s probably the question that pops up inside your head when considering to consume protein powder. The direct answer to your question would be, it depends. One person needs for protein might be different from another person. It could depend on their age, activity level and physical goals. A 65 years old grandpa who rarely does physical activity has a different protein requirement intake compare to a young 19 years old athlete who trains almost every day.
On average a normal person would need 1.2 – 2.4grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. An athlete or football players with a high intensity of training might be categorized at the upper end of the range. Ideally, adequate protein intake will help you as a footballer to provide growth or repair of muscle tissue as well as helping you to supplement the recovery process. With this being said, the recovery process should be prioritized by getting enough sleep and could be supplemented with ice baths, foam rolling, stretching, etc.
Going back to the protein intake process, to give you an example of how much a footballer should consume protein, here is the table provided:
| Athlete | Weight | Activity Level | Calculation | Total Protein Intake |
| A | 60kg | Moderate | 60 x 1.2g | 72g |
| B | 75kg | Vigorous | 75 x 2.4g | 180g |
The more intense or the higher the frequency of your training, the higher your protein intake will be. It also applies when you are injured (especially muscle injury related), your protein intake would likely shifting towards the upper end of the given range. Additionally, if you want to cut fat and maintain lean muscle mass, your protein intake preferably would be in the higher end of the range.
Food Choice
As a footballer or an athlete in general, protein can be consumed through various healthy meal. It doesn’t require someone to take protein powder. An example of healthy with high protein food could be:
- Meat i.e. chicken, lamb, beef, etc.
- Fish i.e. tuna, salmon, sardines, etc.
- Nuts i.e. almond, cashew, edamame, etc.
- Eggs
- Greek yoghurt
- Natural protein bar
- Hummus
- Cottage Cheese
The difference in having protein powder is that it is less time consuming, you can easily prepare for it in less than 5 minutes and you get a high amount of protein in one go. This is very beneficial for people who have a very busy life schedule and do not have very much time to prepare food for themselves.
If you manage to complete your daily protein intake from whole food then you don’t have to buy protein powder. However, if you struggle to meet your required intake and you live a busy life. Then, you might want to consider buying it.
My Experience
Having said that, I’d recommend going to MyProtein website. Personally, I use their product for my daily protein intake as I’m juggling my university study as well as my football, it has helped me complete my required daily intake of protein. I personally love their natural vanilla flavour. Also, they have a ton of choices for flavour from apple crumble custard to salted caramel, they have everything. The best thing is they have a lot of promotion going on, so it will make your purchase affordable.
Last time, I managed to get a 5kg protein powder just for £45, which is I think a really good bargain. If you guys decided to purchase the product through the link I provided, you’ll receive 3 months free delivery if your order is £35 and above. Even if you decided not to spend that much, you’ll still manage to get a really good deal as they constantly put a discount code and promotion.
I’d really appreciate if you guys could purchase your needs through the link. As it will help to support this platform to keep growing, reaching more people and eventually help more people! Other than that, I hope you guys could take away something valuable from this blog. Stay safe and keep ballin’!
