. Protein to build muscle and lose weight.

Options
LynneHubbard
LynneHubbard Posts: 2 Member
in MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions
Good morning! Blessings to all on your fitness journey! I would like to know how much protein powder I need to consume per day in order to build muscle to lose weight? My weight is 216lbs.
~LLH

Best Answer

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Answer ✓
    Protein powder is just a protein supplement and doesn't really have anything to do with losing weight. In regards to building muscle, the quality of your lifting program is going to have the biggest impact...the next would be your overall calorie intake followed by your overall protein consumption.

    Also, losing weight and building muscle are conflicting goals. Losing weight requires a calorie (energy) deficit while building muscle requires at minimum a maintenance level of calories (very slow, re-comp) but ideally a small surplus of calories (still slow, but faster than re-comp). When you "diet" you are in a catabolic state and building muscle is an anabolic process.

    There are benefits to getting adequate protein and lifting while in a calorie deficit in that you can better preserve the muscle mass that you already have as building it back later is a difficult and long process. A good general rule of thumb if you're a weight room junky is about 1 gram of protein per Lb of your target, healthy weight. Anymore than that and you're just making expensive glucose and pee...and even then, for your average gym goer, that amount is a bit of overkill. How you hit your protein targets is up to you, but I try as much as possible to get it through whole foods. There's nothing magical about protein powder, it's just a supplement to aid in hitting your targets. For the most part I hit mine with plenty of chicken, fish, lean cuts of beef and pork, eggs, Greek yogurt, and other whole food sources.

Answers

  • LynneHubbard
    LynneHubbard Posts: 2 Member
    Thank you. I appreciate the insight.
  • Divisionix
    Divisionix Posts: 1 Member

    I see it's been a while since this topic was posted, but I’m curious—has anyone had success adjusting their protein intake based on workout intensity instead of just body weight? I've been tweaking mine depending on training days vs rest days, and I'm wondering if that helped anyone else see better results with muscle gain or fat loss. Would love to hear any updates or tips that worked for you.

  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,346 Member

    What most people don't realize is that drinking protein after a workout or before is LESS important than taking it on your REST DAY. You rebuild on rest days not the day you're working out on a muscle. Yes you do a little rebuilding on workout day after, but it's the day it's resting when most of the rebuild happens, so your protein intake is more important then.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer

    IDEA Fitness member

    Kickboxing Certified instructor

    Been in fitness for 40+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Categories