Protein Amount?

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KateCassie
KateCassie Posts: 6 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi there,

Im struggling with the protein level in my diet. Im not any type of bodybuilder etc, but I am lightly active (I always aim to go over 10000 steps daily which includes walking and running). Ive read so many websites saying that the daily amount of protein recommended is .8 x your weight. This gives me quite a low amount of protein (40ish grams) which is barely anything when you add everything up in a day. I see people eating eggs for breakfast, chicken for lunch and meat again for dinner and still drinking protein shakes etc! What am I missing???

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  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    .8 multiplied by your weight in pounds. Are you trying to multiply it by your weight in kilograms, by chance?
  • KateCassie
    KateCassie Posts: 6 Member
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    Thats what I wondered too, however its .8 per kg or .36 per pound apparently...
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,164 Member
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    Actually, advice differs. The mainstream organizations like WHO and USDA usually suggest minimums in the range you mention (around 0.8g per kg of a healthy weight, or 0.36 per pound), to avoid undernutrition. There's some justification to believe that more can be beneficial for some subgroups, such as people who are active, losing weight, or aging.

    Since extra protein isn't harmful (within reason) to a healthy person, I shot for 0.6-0.8g per pound of goal weight while losing weight, and right around 0.8g/pound in maintenance. You'll see recommendations up to 1-1.2g per pound for people who are weight training with strength/mass goals, occasionally more. So opinions differ.

    (You'll also see some people make protein recommendations in terms of lean body mass (LBM); the ones I suggested are accordingly a little higher than I'd suggest if I were using LBM as the basis. 0.6-0.8g/pound of goal weight is close enough to 0.8-1g/pound LBM: Basically bakes in an assumption of 20% body fat, and the way the math works out the protein grams aren't that different if LBM is up/down a few percent of that).

    I found this article, from a generally well-respected science-based site, to be informative:

    https://examine.com/nutrition/how-much-protein-do-you-need/
  • Lillymoo01
    Lillymoo01 Posts: 2,865 Member
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    diannethegeek wrote: »
    .8 multiplied by your weight in pounds. Are you trying to multiply it by your weight in kilograms, by chance?

    Actually, the minimum recommended daily amount is 0.8 grams per kilogram
    https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/how-much-protein-do-you-need-every-day-201506188096

    However, it is widely accepted that more is recommended, which is where the 0.8 per pound comes into play.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    Whatever formula you go with, it’s a minimum. If you regularly go over it won’t hurt you.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    OP, there's nothing wrong with going over on protein, as long as it isn't pushing out other things you need.

    The MINIMUM you need to avoid deficiency is said to be 0.8g per kg of body weight. The most common recommendations I've seen for OPTIMAL levels while eating in a deficit is 0.6-1g per lb of lean mass or if you don't know that, per lb of your goal body weight.

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