Is the emphasis on protein over-hyped?

Ducks47

I heard we should eat 1/3 of our weight (pounds) of protein in grams a day. I am eating either just at that amount or below with a protein shake. There are people that eat 100+ grams but is it really necessary?

Teabythesea_

How much depends on your goals, really, but protein in and of itself is important regardless of whether you’re gaining, losing or maintaining. If your looking to gain muscle then many people take in .8-1g per pound of body weight or more. It’s definitely important for maintaining muscle in a deficit as well. I get over 100g a day without really trying. Outside of the benefits of maintaining or growing muscle, protein is also essential for healthy hair, nails, bones, skin, helps heal injuries quickly and has even been shown in some cases to reduce blood pressure.

quiksylver296

I have never heard the 1/3 of your weight thing. Always heard 0.8 grams per pound of lean body mass. Where is the 1/3 of your body weight idea from?

zeejane03

Teabythesea_ wrote: »

How much depends on your goals, really, but protein in and of itself is important regardless of whether you’re gaining, losing or maintaining. If your looking to gain muscle then many people take in .8-1g per pound of body weight or more. It’s definitely important for maintaining muscle in a deficit as well. I get over 100g a day without really trying. Outside of the benefits of maintaining or growing muscle, protein is also essential for healthy hair, nails, bones, skin, helps heal injuries quickly and has even been shown in some cases to reduce blood pressure.

It's actually per kilogram, not pound. It works out to .36 x how many pounds you weigh (RDA recommended formula).

ETA here's a calculator you can use to figure it out https://fnic.nal.usda.gov/fnic/dri-calculator/

cwolfman13

Ducks47 wrote: »

I heard we should eat 1/3 of our weight (pounds) of protein in grams a day. I am eating either just at that amount or below with a protein shake. There are people that eat 100+ grams but is it really necessary?

never heard of the 1/3 thing. The RDA for protein is a minimum for health and also assumes a more or less sedentary lifestyle. People who are active need more because they're constantly breaking down muscle and protein helps to rebuild it. People who are trying to put on muscle mass also need more. It is also beneficial to eat more when dieting because it helps preserve muscle mass in a calorie deficit...when you diet, you lose both fat and muscle...loss of muscle mass can be mitigated by more protein and resistance training.

deannalfisher

zeejane03 wrote: »

Teabythesea_ wrote: »

How much depends on your goals, really, but protein in and of itself is important regardless of whether you’re gaining, losing or maintaining. If your looking to gain muscle then many people take in .8-1g per pound of body weight or more. It’s definitely important for maintaining muscle in a deficit as well. I get over 100g a day without really trying. Outside of the benefits of maintaining or growing muscle, protein is also essential for healthy hair, nails, bones, skin, helps heal injuries quickly and has even been shown in some cases to reduce blood pressure.

It's actually per kilogram, not pound. It works out to .36 x how many pounds you weigh (RDA recommended formula).

ETA here's a calculator you can use to figure it out https://fnic.nal.usda.gov/fnic/dri-calculator/

but it should be noted that the RDA is for bare minimim intake and if you workout/exercise frequently, then an increase in protein will help with maintaining lean muscle

additionally, in a caloric deficit, research has indicated that an increase in protein will help in maintaining muscle (especially as the deficit is increased)

cwolfman13

zeejane03 wrote: »

Teabythesea_ wrote: »

How much depends on your goals, really, but protein in and of itself is important regardless of whether you’re gaining, losing or maintaining. If your looking to gain muscle then many people take in .8-1g per pound of body weight or more. It’s definitely important for maintaining muscle in a deficit as well. I get over 100g a day without really trying. Outside of the benefits of maintaining or growing muscle, protein is also essential for healthy hair, nails, bones, skin, helps heal injuries quickly and has even been shown in some cases to reduce blood pressure.

It's actually per kilogram, not pound. It works out to .36 x how many pounds you weigh (RDA recommended formula).

ETA here's a calculator you can use to figure it out https://fnic.nal.usda.gov/fnic/dri-calculator/

The RDA is the minimum for health and avoiding protein deficiency.

zeejane03

deannalfisher wrote: »

zeejane03 wrote: »

Teabythesea_ wrote: »

How much depends on your goals, really, but protein in and of itself is important regardless of whether you’re gaining, losing or maintaining. If your looking to gain muscle then many people take in .8-1g per pound of body weight or more. It’s definitely important for maintaining muscle in a deficit as well. I get over 100g a day without really trying. Outside of the benefits of maintaining or growing muscle, protein is also essential for healthy hair, nails, bones, skin, helps heal injuries quickly and has even been shown in some cases to reduce blood pressure.

It's actually per kilogram, not pound. It works out to .36 x how many pounds you weigh (RDA recommended formula).

ETA here's a calculator you can use to figure it out https://fnic.nal.usda.gov/fnic/dri-calculator/

but it should be noted that the RDA is for bare minimim intake and if you workout/exercise frequently, then an increase in protein will help with maintaining lean muscle

additionally, in a caloric deficit, research has indicated that an increase in protein will help in maintaining muscle (especially as the deficit is increased)

Yes, if someone is more active then they should adjust accordingly. For me personally, being fairly sedentary during the winter months, I don't worry about getting in a higher amount than what the RDA calculator puts me at.

lemurcat2

For health, I think .8 g per kg of a healthy weight is recommended (or .36g/lb -- I expect that's where your 1/3 estimate comes from). So for someone 125 lb, that would be only 44 g.

That's not a maximum, and there are other reasons someone might want to eat more protein. One, relevant to people cutting calories, is that it tends to be the most filling macro, although people, of course, vary as to what satiaties them.

Another is that higher amounts can be beneficial if you exercise a lot or are cutting calories (this time for retaining muscle), as well as if you are trying to build muscle. And that gets more important as people get older.

Here's one good source: https://examine.com/nutrition/how-much-protein-do-you-need/

There are discussions of studies and explanations at the link, but to summarize:

"The U.S. Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein is 0.8 g/kg. This is considered to be the minimal amount of protein a healthy adult must consume daily to prevent muscle wasting when total caloric intake is sufficient. According to recent studies, however, the RDA for protein may not be sufficient for healthy young men,[1] older men,[2] or older women.[3][4] These studies point to 1.2 g/kg as the minimum intake before the body starts downregulating important non-essential processes, from immune function to muscle protein synthesis.[5] Even a reanalysis of the data used to establish the RDA suggests the minimum intake should be at least 1.0 g/kg.[6]"

1.2 kg per lb for the 125 lb woman is 68 g. Personally, I think of this as about my minimum, although I usually eat more.

Also:

"If you’re physically very active, you need more protein daily than if you were sedentary. The American College of Sports Medicine, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and the Dietitians of Canada recommend 1.2–2.0 g/kg to optimize recovery from training and to promote the growth and maintenance of lean mass when caloric intake is sufficient.[8] This recommendation is similar to that of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (1.4–2.0 g/kg).[9]

Importantly, it may be better to aim for the higher end of the above ranges. According to the most comprehensive meta-analysis to date on the effects of protein supplementation on muscle mass and strength, the average amount of protein required to maximize lean mass is about 1.6 g/kg, and some people need upwards of 2.2 g/kg.[10] For those interested in a comprehensive breakdown of this study, please refer to our Examine.com Research Digest, Issue 34, Volume 1."

And most important for the usual discussion on MFP:

"More protein helps preserve lean mass in dieters, especially lean dieters. An early review concluded that, to optimize body composition, dieting athletes should consume 1.8–2.7 g/kg.[15] Later studies have argued that, to minimize lean-mass loss, dieting athletes should consume 2.3–3.1 g/kg (closer to the higher end of the range as leanness and caloric deficit increase).[16] This latter recommendation has been upheld by the International Society of Sports Nutrition[17] and by a review article on bodybuilding contest preparation.[18]

Note that those recommendations are for people who are relatively lean already. Several meta-analyses involving people with overweightness or obesity suggest that 1.2–1.5 g/kg is an appropriate daily protein intake range to maximize fat loss.[19][20][21] This range is supported by the European Association for the Study of Obesity, who recommend up to 1.5 g/kg for elderly adults with obesity.[22] It is important to realize that this range is based on actual body weight, not on lean mass or ideal body weight."

So because I am a woman in my late 40s, active and would like to lose a bit more fat, gain some muscle, and currently maintaining a small calorie deficit, I see the recommendation for me as closer to 2 kg/lb (discounted since I'm not really an athlete and not especially lean). For the 125 lb woman, that becomes 114 g.

I'm not that focused on it, and eat a range of about 80-120 depending on the day.

Personally I think a good general recommendation unless you have super specific goals is around .65-.8 g/lb of a healthy goal weight.

ragsibobs

Very interesting read @lemurcat2
I’ve been reading up on protein recommendations today because I want to lose fat but still keep as much of my muscle mass as possible (ideally all of it). I have never cared before about my macros and have been happy as long as I lose weight. This time it’s slightly different. I’ve started rowing and do this competitively (not too seriously) and I train HIIT at the gym and run to support my rowing and to keep fit. Now I’ve started thinking that I might need to consider my macros so that I don’t lose muscle - I need the muscle to perform well in training and competitions. Currently I’m eating 70-100g of protein a day, so a little bit on the low side from what I’ve been reading for my weight/gender.

Teabythesea_

zeejane03 wrote: »

It's actually per kilogram, not pound. It works out to .36 x how many pounds you weigh (RDA recommended formula).

ETA here's a calculator you can use to figure it out https://fnic.nal.usda.gov/fnic/dri-calculator/

I guess I didn’t place enough emphasis on the “if you’re looking to gain muscle” part of what I said. I am aware of what the minimum requirements are, but they are often not optimal for muscle growth or maintaining in a deficit, so it is usually recommended that people doing either of those things take in more. .8-1g per pound of body weight is the most common recommendation I’ve seen, with some people even recommending intake as high as 1.2-1.5g per pound for males or more experienced athletic types.

lemurcat2

Just noticed I missed a whole bunch of other earlier posts that appeared when I was drafting that long post. That's why I repeated some stuff that had already been said. Oops.

feisty_bucket

Latest & most thorough info I've seen: 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day is optimum, assuming weightlifting:

https://suppversity.blogspot.com/2017/07/protein-08gkg-insufficient-for-female.html

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28698222

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/07/well/move/lift-weights-eat-more-protein-especially-if-youre-over-40.html

For example: me, at about 170 lbs = about 130g protein/day.

Mr_Healthy_Habits

Yes

sardelsa

It really depends on your goals. If someone is sedentary and just trying to lose weight, aiming for optimal bodybuilding levels isn't necessary at all. But for someone like myself, it is very important. In general I aim for minimum 1g per lb bodyweight, which is around 130g and higher in a deficit (around 140-160g). Is that overkill? Maybe, but it helps keep me full and feeling good. Also basing meals around protein helps me make better eating choices overall and I have obtained significant body composition results, so I am going to stick to whatever I am doing.

T1DCarnivoreRunner

Your body can make carbs / glucose (from protein or the glycerol component of triglycerides after it is uncoupled).

Your body can make fat (except you still need a particular type of fat that can be obtained by taking fish oil).

Your body can only make protein / lean tissue from whole proteins. Except for certain essential fatty acids, protein is the only truly essential macro-nutrient for consumption.