PROTEIN - How much to maintain muscle mass?

johnguitarman
johnguitarman Posts: 56 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone. I had a quick question I was wondering if anyone knew the answer to? How much Protein should one get to maintain muscle while losing fat?

Thanks

Replies

  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    You got to do strength training, protein alone won't help you. But shoot for 1g of protein per lb of lean weight.
  • Mads1997
    Mads1997 Posts: 1,494 Member
    As above protein is not going to help you by itself. You have to do some sort of strength training.
  • ontheregimen
    ontheregimen Posts: 7
    1g per lb of LBM is sort of the golden rule. Recent research has shown you might be able to get away with less, but in my experience maintaining at least 1g during fat loss is optimal to prevent losing muscle.

    That said, here is how you calculate your LBM in case you aren't sure.

    Ex:

    Bodyweight: 260
    BF%: 30%

    260*30% = 78 lbs of fat.

    260 - 78 = 182 lbs of Lean Body Mass, so 182g of protein.

    GL my man
  • keem88
    keem88 Posts: 1,689 Member
    holy smokes i'd need 86g of protein, i eat like not even half that. uh oh
  • slkehl
    slkehl Posts: 3,801 Member
    Unless you're a vegetarian, you can get enough protein pretty easily through your diet. Studies have shown that the benefits stop somewhere around .7g/lbm (which doesn't include fat mass!) even for bodybuilders. If you're doing regular strength training tom maintain muscle while losing fat, that should be more than enough.
  • Etienne54
    Etienne54 Posts: 88 Member
    I consume 1.5X my LBM which gives me around 120g proteins.

    And yes like many said, you need to incorporate weight training.

    Good luck!
  • Mads1997
    Mads1997 Posts: 1,494 Member
    I just worked out I get a little over 1.5 x as well, is this too much? So I'm getting about 100gms and I know some days I go over that.

    My macros are set to C40, 30, 30
  • slkehl
    slkehl Posts: 3,801 Member
    I just worked out I get a little over 1.5 x as well, is this too much? So I'm getting about 100gms and I know some days I go over that.

    My macros are set to C40, 30, 30

    That's a lot more than you need. However, it's not dangerous to go over-you'll just pee out the extra.
  • vick441
    vick441 Posts: 42 Member
    I just worked out I get a little over 1.5 x as well, is this too much? So I'm getting about 100gms and I know some days I go over that.

    My macros are set to C40, 30, 30

    That's a lot more than you need. However, it's not dangerous to go over-you'll just pee out the extra.

    Some good info on protein intake here, I tend to agree
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/869015-fundamental-flaws-with-rda-recommendations-for-protein

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