How much protein should I be taking?

ChrisRendon1128

I am currently 211 lbs. I am trying to lose more weight. I have lost nearly 76 lbs so far.

I am trying to maintain as much muscle as I can while losing fat.

I do almost an hour of cardio daily and a little bit of strength training..

How many grams of protein should I be taking per day?

tillerstouch

Different people will recommend different amounts, personally i think 1 gram per pound of lean body weight is best.

Strength training is probably more important tho for retaining muscle. If you really want to minimize muscle loss id recommend getting on a good strength training program.

cmriverside

40%Carbs/30%Fat/30%Protein seems to be a good setting in your Goals for weight loss.

With that said, I used the defaults since day one. (50/30/20)

sardelsa

The typical recommendation for retention of muscle mass is 0.8-1g per lb goal weight or lean body mass.

Also I would go from doing a little bit to making strength training a priority

RonnieTiajuana

Read this, you may have to scroll down:

https://www.outsideonline.com/2065466/how-much-protein-do-you-really-need#article-2065466

not_a_runner

I agree with .8-1 gram per pound of lean mass.
(One way to figure this without knowing your lbm/body fat could be to check your "ideal" weight for your height with something like BMI and eat .8 per pound of that number.)

Going by a % of calories isn't a very accurate way to go, as that would have you eating less protein while in a deficit/as your calories get lower, and more protein when calories are higher. Kind of the opposite of what is actually needed.


And I would also make lifting more of a priority than "a little bit." Using the muscles is what keeps them, not just eating high protein.

ChrisRendon1128

Thank you everyone for your insight. I will definitely increase my strength training from now on.

tillerstouch

ChrisRendon1128 wrote: »

Thank you everyone for your insight. I will definitely increase my strength training from now on.

Get on a good program. A common beginner one is stronglifts 5x5. If you dont have access to barbells im sure you can find a good dumbell program, or you could do a body weight program.

ChrisRendon1128

I'll look into that, thank you. Just started going to the gym with my mom and sister so that should get the ball rolling.