Delivering your body a constant supply of protein throughout the entire day is essential for optimum muscle growth.  Protein is made up of amino acids.  Amino acids are the building blocks of your muscles and body.  Without them, it would be impossible to build, repair or even maintain muscle tissue.  No matter how hard, heavy, and intensely you train; muscle will not grow without proper amounts of protein reinforcement.

Protein is made up of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen.  Having a sufficient amount of protein will put you in a positive nitrogen balance, or an anabolic state.  Being in an anabolic state will allow you to build muscle.  On the contrast, if you have a negative nitrogen balance you will be in a catabolic state.  Your body actually fuels itself by breaking down your hard earned muscle for energy.  So it is extremely important to get an ample amount of protein intake.

You should consume approximately 30-40g of protein each meal throughout the day.  It has been proven that your body cannot absorb much more than this at one time.  So this will ensure you have an adequate supply of protein without consuming a surplus of calories.  Further, you will be an anabolic state all day long.

Your body needs all the necessary amino acids in order to build muscle.  It can produce some of them on their own; the others have to be obtained from the foods we eat- these are called essential amino acids.  Some foods contain complete protein, meaning they provide all of the essential amino acids necessary to build muscle.  These include: eggs, meat, fish, milk and soy.  However, even these foods contain different amounts of usable protein.

Soy protein for example is only utilized by the body at 61%.  Fish, on the other hand, is utilized at 80%.  So there is a difference in how much protein a food contains and how much can actually be used to build, repair and maintain muscle.  Soy protein, however, is good for heart function and lowering cholesterol.  It is also extremely beneficial to women by raising their estrogen levels.

Whey protein has the highest biological value of the proteins, at 100%.  This means it is absorbed completely by the body.  For this reason, I recommend you have a protein drink after your workout.  One that contains a pure whey protein concentrate and/or isolate protein.  These protein sources are broken down easily and digested rapidly in the body.

Other protein drinks contain a combination of proteins or a blend.  These protein drinks are not as quickly absorbed and stay with you longer.  A good time to consume these would be in the morning and/or before bed so you have a steady release of amino acids.  Casein protein, egg albumen and glutamine peptides are common in long acting protein powders and bars.

Bill Pearl was a legendary bodybuilder in the 60s and 70s.  He was a vegetarian, so he was not able to consume complete protein sources.  To overcome this, he had to find foods that could be eaten together in order to make them complete.  He had to combine incomplete protein in order to build muscle mass.  By combining grains with food groups such as seeds, milk products, or legumes, he was able to obtain the essential amino acids his body needed to maximize usable protein.  A nutritional guide can provide you with which of the eight essential amino acids are missing in any particular food.  Then you can combine the protein sources accordingly.

Everyone that is striving to build and maintain muscle as a bodybuilder should consume at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight.  That means if you weigh 180 pounds, you should eat approximately 6 meals a day and consume 30g of protein each meal.  There has been some controversy as to if consuming high protein intake is detrimental to your kidneys.  It has proven that if you drink plenty of water while on a high protein diet, it will not be a risk to your health now or in the future.

In conclusion, find protein sources that are complete with all the essential amino acids.  Consume 30-40g of protein every 2-3 hours throughout the day so you are in a positive nitrogen balance and anabolic state all day long.  Lastly, have a whey protein drink after your workout to build and repair muscle tissue- this will be easily absorbed and digested.