Max Lowery says you should only eat meat four times a week

A personal trainer has revealed you don’t need to eat meat everyday if you still want to build muscle and lose fat.

Max Lowery, 27, of London, says he only eats meat four times a week at most and sometimes eats even less.

Despite this, the hunky former sprinter has put on 4kg of muscle in the two years since reducing his meat intake – proving you don’t need to supplement your diet with extra protein if you want to bulk up.

Max says he only eats meat four times a week and has three meat-free days despite training with weights six times a week

We don't need to eat as much protein as many fitness influencers would have us believe, according to Max

We don’t need to eat as much protein as many fitness influencers would have us believe, according to Max

Max, the founder of the 2 Meal Day Intermittent Fasting plan, who has 33,500 Instagram followers, wrote on his blog yesterday: ‘I am now having at least three meat-free days per week. 

‘Since doing this I now seem to crave meat less, yet I am doing more strength training than ever (six Olympic Lifting sessions per week) with absolutely no negative side effects – even though I am consuming about a third less protein.

‘And I do not take protein shakes! I have actually put on about 4kg of muscle since reducing meat and increasing strength training.’

Max is currently Olympic weight lifting in the gym six times a week but says he has still managed to build muscle despite not eating meat everyday

Max is currently Olympic weight lifting in the gym six times a week but says he has still managed to build muscle despite not eating meat everyday

For Max, it’s an ethical and environmental decision. 

While not a vegetarian, it’s important to him that he sources high quality meat from farms and producers that treat animals fairly.

He says the demand for meat in the western world has led to the unethical treatment of animals raised for slaughter, and therefore, we should decrease our meat intake where possible.

However many influencers in the fitness world promote the message that we should increase our protein intake if exercising regularly to make sure we build muscle and lose fat.

It has led to countless health brands and now even confectionary brands adding extra protein to energy bars, porridge oats and even chocolate treats. 

But Max says that we don’t need to eat nearly as much protein as many have led the public to believe. 

Max says that you only need 60-75g of protein if you don't exercise regularly and 1.2g-2g per kilo of body weight on training days if you do

Max says that you only need 60-75g of protein if you don’t exercise regularly and 1.2g-2g per kilo of body weight on training days if you do

He points to recent studies that have shown that the average untrained person needs as little as 60-75g of protein a day.

‘Meanwhile the average person who exercises three times a week needs 1.2g-2g of protein per kilo of body weight on their training days, and less on their rest days,’ he says.

However protein doesn’t have to come from meat. Eggs, nut butters, tofu, and cheese are just a few alternative vegetarian sources.

He adds: ‘What most people don’t realise excessive protein can actually be quite detrimental to your health. 

‘Eating more protein than your body needs can interfere with your health and fitness goals in a number of ways, including weight gain as too much protein can actually be broken down into sugars that create an insulin response which can facilitate fat storage this is called gluconeogenesis.

‘It can also cause stress on your kidneys and lead to the leaching of important bone minerals.’ 

If meat is an important part of your diet, Max recommends cutting down your intake by having at least one or two meat-free days a week at first. 

He says: ‘It is completely unnecessary to be eating meat at every meal time.

‘All it takes is a little imagination in the kitchen and you can become very creative on your meat-free days.’

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