Protein question?

NickDoesFitness

Slightly confused here. With regards to protein intake for muscle building, is it 1 gram per overrall bodyweight, or 1 gram per lean bodyweight? Some people say to take 1 gram per pound of overrall weight, others say take 1 gram per pound of lean bodyweight.. Any thoughts or suggestions?

cajuntank

If you are muscle building (and thus being in a caloric surplus), then your protein requirement can be around .8g/lean body mass as your other important priority will be carbs.

segovm

Most everything I have read is that it is based off your lean body weight, so something in your proper BMI range of healthy.

JossFit

If you don't know your lean body weight, another way to figure it out is to use the RDI for athletes, which is 1.2-1.7g per Kg of bodyweight.

Example; if you are 150 pounds, that equals 68.18 kg
taking a median number of 1.4g just to hit the middle, you would be consuming 1.4g x 68.18
Which equals 95.45g of protein per day

That number might seem a bit low, but keep in mind it is just a recommended minimum amount. You probably do not require as much as some people would have you believe, but because carbohydrates and fats are still seen as the devil to a lot of people, consuming more protein allows you to consume fewer of them while still getting an adequate number of calories.

stevencloser

A bit more is not going to hurt you, in fact that number is to be seen as a minimum, so if you don't know your lean weight just use your weight.

brower47

It's per lean body mass in conjunction with a calorie surplus if you're wanting to build muscle. If you're trying to lose weight, then you'll still want to eat that much protein but you'll just be maintaining as much muscle as possible, not building.