[CONVERSATION] New research says athletes who are cutting should consume ~1.8-2.7 g per kg a day to maintain fat-free mass

[vincenthchough]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25014731
Published July 11, 2014 in the European Journal of Sport Science.

I didn't have time to read the full text but the abstract looks interesting and I'd thought I'd share.
TL;DR: To maintain fat-free mass eat ~1.8-2.7g per kg a day of protein with a moderate (-500kcal) deficit and do some form of resistance training.

Edit: I do mean protein! My apologies.

 

[dawn16]

@vincenthchough This is the best news ever. I have a really hard time staying within the 0.8-1g per lb... 1.2g per lb is so much nicer thank gawd.

 

[gbailey]

@vincenthchough i tried eating about 1:1 protein/kg bodyweight at one point. i just started gaining weight... pretty sure that macronutrient game is defective on my part!

 

[%CE%A3%CE%B1%CE%BC%CE%BF%CF%85%CE%AE%CE%BB]

@gbailey Or you were eating at a surplus...

 

[%CE%A3%CE%B1%CE%BC%CE%BF%CF%85%CE%AE%CE%BB]

@gbailey Like almost everyone else who posts this question, the problem was probably with your counting, TDEE calculation, or compliance. There's a ton of evidence that eating more protein helps people maintain fat-free mass but if you eat too much of anything, you will put on fat. It seems very silly to me to write off the "macronutrients game" in the face of a lot of scientific evidence when chances are high that the problem is actually something else.

Unless you have PCOS, but from your flair, I'm assuming this isn't the case.

 

[gbailey]

@%CE%A3%CE%B1%CE%BC%CE%BF%CF%85%CE%AE%CE%BB i didn't post a question.

dunno, the diet style just didn't work for me. not discrediting evidence at all, just saying i couldn't do it.

 

[3john3]

@%CE%A3%CE%B1%CE%BC%CE%BF%CF%85%CE%AE%CE%BB Yeah, seriously....1:1 is nothing. I weigh 68 kg, that's a measly 68 g protein a day!

 

[gbailey]

@3john3 i'm close to 100, which translates to a bit more chicken...

 

[cloejb]

@vincenthchough Does anyone have access to the full study? I'm curious if they use weight of lean body mass... I don't think I could eat that much protein if it wasn't :/

 

[kayte05]

@cloejb

I don't think I could eat that much protein if it wasn't :/

Same. I eat large protein-based meals and I'd still fall at least 50g short per day.

 

[welmadixson]

@cloejb Yep, perks of being a student. I haven't read the whole thing yet (as I am supposed to be doing work not internet...oppps) but even reading the abstract says ∼1.8–2.7 g per kg total mass (or ∼2.3–3.1 g per kg lean body mass)

 

[vincenthchough]

@cloejb I have access to the full study and will do a quick write up of it tonight. I was procrastinating on writing an entirely different paper when I found the article.

 

[love2fly]

@vincenthchough That's pretty much the same as the usual advice given here: 0.8-1g per lb bodyweight (well, the lower end of it, anyway)

 

[raggedyman]

@love2fly Correct me if my math is wrong but (2.7g/kg)*(1kg/2.2lb) = ~1.2g/lb which is a little higher than the usual recommendation?

 

[love2fly]

@raggedyman That is why I wrote "(well, the lower end of it, anyway)"

 

[shairozdewji]

@vincenthchough Do you mean 1.8-2.7 grams of protein?

 

[lynnie7]

@vincenthchough ~1.8-2.7g *of protein per kg