How much protein do I actually need?

GreatOnion
GreatOnion Posts: 9 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
So I weigh about 59kg and my goal is to get to 65kg and build muscle.

I am getting a ton of conflicting info on how much protein I should consume. Half the people say consume about 2g of protein per kg body weight, which would put me at about 120g per day. The other half says straight up consume 30% of your calorie intake as protein which would put me at about 160g daily at ~2200kcal per day without having the calories burned by the workout calculated in. So who's right now?

Replies

  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    The suggestion 2g/kg is per pound of lean body mass, not total body weight. There's not necessarily a right answer to it because it will depend on how you feel. Start with the lower number and experiment from there.
  • GaryRuns
    GaryRuns Posts: 508 Member
    Here's a video that explains it brilliantly. James knows what he's talking about.

    https://youtu.be/b6dLX0Q5xzY
  • nighthawk584
    nighthawk584 Posts: 2,023 Member
    GaryRuns wrote: »
    Here's a video that explains it brilliantly. James knows what he's talking about.

    https://youtu.be/b6dLX0Q5xzY

    thanks for the video link...very insightful.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    GaryRuns wrote: »
    Here's a video that explains it brilliantly. James knows what he's talking about.

    https://youtu.be/b6dLX0Q5xzY

    I've heard Eric Helms refer to that same meta analysis in a podcast. His recommendation was .8 grams per lb of body weight. That is slightly higher than the .7, but his rationale was, measuring errors being what they can be, slightly higher gives a small buffer. But he agrees, based on this meta analysis and other research he has reviewed that there is little benefit to amounts above that for hypertrophy. (He also discussed the whole lean mass vs. body weight thing and uses body weight because most people can't accurately determine their lean mass.)

    OP, anyone who is telling you to base it on percentages just doesn't know what they are talking about and should be ignored. Based on your number above, around 103 or 104 grams right now. More as you gain accordingly.

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