1g of protein per pound of body weight?

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  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    This pretty much sums up my position...

    http://bayesianbodybuilding.com/the-myth-of-1glb-optimal-protein-intake-for-bodybuilders/
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
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    If you are at maintenance or above with your calories, then most studies say that all a person will need is about 0.8 gr / lb of body weight.
    If you are trying to lose weight, then bumping that up to at least 1.0 gr / lb of body weight would be better.

    I personally shoot for about 1.2 gr or more during my cuts.
  • cqbkaju
    cqbkaju Posts: 1,011 Member
    edited April 2017
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    This pretty much sums up my position...

    http://bayesianbodybuilding.com/the-myth-of-1glb-optimal-protein-intake-for-bodybuilders/
    Well spotted @cwolfman13
    That is the best cited, useful and direct information on a subject that I have seen in a while.

    Claims from some "expert" or website is one thing. Cited scientific studies are another.

    I average between 0.8 and 1.0 grams of protein per pound of body weight - not lean mass.
    Even when lifting heavy (5RM range) I can tell that I do fine even when I only get 0.8 grams, no matter if I am cutting, maintaining or bulking.
    In fact making up for the difference with more carbs seems to be ideal.

    Think about what the numbers look like for many people if you compare 0.8 grams protein per pound of body weight with the often touted 1.0 grams protein per pound of lean mass... About the same.

    The "lean mass math difference" comes in when you run the numbers for someone who is morbidly obese, for example.
    Most people are worse at accurately reporting their body fat percentage than they are at properly logging what they ate so you have issues there.
    Does an obese 350lb person need 280 grams of protein per day? I doubt it.

    That aside, ~10 grams of protein either way is not likely to make much difference in the long term, if at all.

    Get plenty of exercise, eat some protein and move on.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,382 Member
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    cqbkaju wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    This pretty much sums up my position...

    http://bayesianbodybuilding.com/the-myth-of-1glb-optimal-protein-intake-for-bodybuilders/
    Well spotted @cwolfman13
    That is the best cited, useful and direct information on a subject that I have seen in a while.

    Claims from some "expert" or website is one thing. Cited scientific studies are another.

    I average between 0.8 and 1.0 grams of protein per pound of body weight - not lean mass.
    Even when lifting heavy (5RM range) I can tell that I do fine even when I only get 0.8 grams, no matter if I am cutting, maintaining or bulking.
    In fact making up for the difference with more carbs seems to be ideal.

    Think about what the numbers look like for many people if you compare 0.8 grams protein per pound of body weight with the often touted 1.0 grams protein per pound of lean mass... About the same.

    The "lean mass math difference" comes in when you run the numbers for someone who is morbidly obese, for example.
    Most people are worse at accurately reporting their body fat percentage than they are at properly logging what they ate so you have issues there.
    Does an obese 350lb person need 280 grams of protein per day? I doubt it.

    That aside, ~10 grams of protein either way is not likely to make much difference in the long term, if at all.

    Get plenty of exercise, eat some protein and move on.

    That (the bolded) is why I always comment on protein requirements in terms of "X grams per pound of a healthy goal weight" (with the "X" adjusted accordingly, compared to the number of grams I'd use if talking about LBM).

    Most people don't have an accurate estimate of BF% or LBM, they don't need extra protein to maintain their fat mass, and getting X grams per pound of obese weight can be a crazy over-complication when an obese person is trying to figure out calorie-deficit eating besides. Sure, if their goal weight is a little high or low, they might be a little off on the protein, but not crazy-far.

    Personally, I strove for 0.6-0.8g per pound of healthy goal weight while losing, but I've seen people argue for anything from around 0.4 to 1.0 and occasionally beyond (when converted to all be in terms of healthy body weight).
  • Azercord
    Azercord Posts: 573 Member
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    I'm with @Gallowmere1984 I eat a lot of protein by the end of the day because meat is delicious and if you keep it lean (trim it yourself) you can eat a lot without breaking the fat bank. I'm 170lbs and eat 200-210g a day on a regular basis. I do workout daily so I think some of that really helps with the recovery side but do I think all of it is needed, no. Am I going to eat it anyways because it is delicious and needs to be in my tummy, yes.

    But like most of these people have said, eat to your goals and listen to your body. It will tell you if it is missing something as important as protein.
  • in_the_stars
    in_the_stars Posts: 1,395 Member
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    jenilla1 wrote: »
    You don't really need that much, because you're workouts aren't that intense to be honest, but it won't hurt you to eat that much. There are several different recommendations.

    There's the general dietary guidelines of 0.8 - 1 gram per kilogram (not pound) of body mass - that would mean your 60 grams a day was pretty close to target. That's for normal, everyday people.

    Then there's a more aggressive intake for building lean mass and enhancing performance - that's often in the range of 1 gram per pound of lean body mass (not total weight). There are different versions of this, but they're all just opinions. Experiment and find out what works best for you. I use the lean mass calculation personally. You have to know your body fat %, convert it into pounds and then subtract that from your total mass to get your lean mass.

    That 1 gram per pound of total weight recommendation is really hardcore and unnecessary for most people, it sounds like it's elite athlete/bodybuilder level as far as I'm concerned. I think a lot of the time people are confusing the general dietary guidelines amounts by thinking it's based on pounds when it's really based on kilograms. But again, if you want to eat that much, it shouldn't hurt you. And there are tons of opinions out there. Do your research before taking my advice or anyone else's.

    Examples for your weight: I don't know your lean mass, so I'm just going to pretend you are 25% body fat, just for the sake of the example. (I'm 140 pounds and 28% BF.)

    General Dietary Guidelines: 55g (63g for me, and this is my bare minimum)

    Based on Lean Body Mass: 92g (101g for me, this is what I usually eat, and it's fairly easy to hit this target)

    1g/pound: 122g (140g for me, this would require massive supplementation because that's a ton of protein IMO. I'd have to drop carbs to stay within my calories and I love my carbs.)

    This.

  • diezel67
    diezel67 Posts: 97 Member
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    Carbs 100%, 50% protein and low fat for body weight when strength training is a rule of thumb for me. But everyone is different good luck!
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
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    diezel67 wrote: »
    Carbs 100%, 50% protein and low fat for body weight when strength training is a rule of thumb for me. But everyone is different good luck!

    150+%, eh?
  • macchiatto
    macchiatto Posts: 2,890 Member
    edited April 2017
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    I had heard and loosely followed the 1gm protein per lb of LBM, which for me is only about 95-100gm/day. My body fat % estimate was courtesy of SideSteel and Sara in the Eat, Train, Progress group. ;)
    I sometimes get more than that, sometimes less, but it averages out.
    I appreciate the link from @cwolfman13; interesting info!

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