Should I eat 60g of protein or 259g?

[nowhereman]

In a recent advice thread here on building muscle, I got a wide variety of recommendations on how much protein I should be eating. Looking for more clarification, I went off to the wider web and found even more variation (even when sticking to reputable health and fitness sites).

I’ve seen multipliers from 0.8 to 3.5. I’ve seen “experts” incorrectly interchanging kilograms and pounds. I’ve seen the same equations applied to body weight, to goal/ideal body weight, and to lean body mass.

Taking in all the advice, I learned that I (48M, 5’8”, 185lb, looking to build muscle) should be eating anywhere from 60-259g of protein per day.

Ok. Got it.

Really, though. What’s the most-accepted science-based calculation among the fitness community?

UPDATE: Great news! The responses so far have narrowed the scientifically recommended range to 80-222 grams.

 

[jamesalbright]

@nowhereman I think this video from Jeff Nippard is pretty great and has some good info. It's science based and goes over all the conflicting information regarding it.

To sum it up though 1g/lb is a pretty good catch all for most muscle building. If you are really over weight though, you can aim for the lesser .8g/lb or calculate based off your height

 

[ecs867]

@jamesalbright Nippard is great. Since OP is using imperial measurements, the easiest calculation is 1g per lb of body weight. The ideal range is .8g-1.2g, so most fitness experts lean right into the middle with 1g per lb. After that, for building muscle you’re better off scientifically providing a lot of carbs to help induce MPS, while getting at least your daily minimum fat for hormones to function properly (15-20% fat, 55-60% carbs).

Realistically you’ll have days that you go over protein here and there, but try to hit the minimum daily. Timing doesn’t really matter unless you like getting into the nuance of things. If you end up cutting/in a deficit, MORE protein can be beneficial because it’s satiating, keeps you more full for longer, and there have been studies showing that you burn more calories to process it than it takes for carbs or fat, ergo putting you in a slightly larger deficit.

 

[leslieaux]

@ecs867 The energy required to process protein is factored into the equation

Protein = 4 calories a gram, I think it's actually 5 or 6 calories a gram if you don't factor in the expenditure for processing.

Likewise carb = 4 calories a gram

Fat=9 calories a gram.

 

[jhugheswaterloo]

@ecs867 Carbs and protein yield 4 calories each. Is there new research proving otherwise?

 

[ecs867]

@jhugheswaterloo https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-protein-can-help-you-lose-weight#TOC_TITLE_HDR_3

 

[liv2worship]

@jamesalbright I’m always confused by this, since I’ve also heard 1 g/kg. So why is it interchangeable when that’s different units.

 

[passiflora]

@liv2worship Probably because 1g/kg is close to the recommendation for the general population, while 1g/lb is the common advice for people trying to gain muscle.

That and, of course, some people just make mistakes.

 

[christian2014]

@jamesalbright

If you are really over weight

Thats always been my question. If my ideal weight say according to BMI is 185 should I been consuming the protein for that weight. Or do I need to add protein for each lb of extra fat I have as well?

 

[jamesalbright]

@christian2014 If you are quite a bit overweight it's best to do by height - 1g of protein per 1cm of height, but yeah you can go by ideal weight or the lower end of the protein recommendation so like .7 or .8 grams per lb. This would be the target protein intake while on a deficit assuming you are trying to lose weight or recomp.

 

[kyrie_eleison]

@nowhereman 0.7-0.8g per pound of (desired) body weight

 

[vkm]

@kyrie_eleison I came here to say 0.8

 

[chukwuemeka]

@kyrie_eleison This is the whey.

 

[just4metheone]

@nowhereman I find it easiest to track 1g per lb of bodyweight because numbers are hard for my small brain.

 

[dawn16]

@nowhereman It’s one gram per lb of lean body weight but since that is difficult to calculate for some ppl, one gram of protein per lb if your goal is hypertrophy is standard. If you are attempting to lose weight and aiming for a calorie deficit go one gram per lb of goal weight.

 

[freethinker711]

@nowhereman Here you go

https://thefitness.wiki/muscle-building-101/

 

[lautze]

@nowhereman

• 0.8g/kg is the common guideline for being a healthy human, but isn't optimized for athletes or hypertrophy results
  • Less than 0.8g/kg would start to qualify as a low protein diet, and there are people who prefer to eat this way and it's not necessarily "bad" for you. Will definitely limit hypertrophy though
  • Around 1.4-1.6g/kg seems to be a good target for optimizing hypertrophy, but there are certainly studies which suggest a higher number might be better
  • So people sometimes go for 2.2g/kg (1g/lb) as a number often since it feels as though it's "almost guaranteed" to be sufficient protein for optimal hypertrophy regardless of who you are
  • And then you can go for more than 2.2g/kg because fuck it, too much protein isn't a bad thing for most people so why not just go HAM with it. (Actually there are reasons not to, too much processed meat or red meat probably isn't good for you)

 

[nowhereman]

@lautze Are these calculated according to actual weight or ideal weight?

 

[faithinjesus777]

@nowhereman ideal “lean” weight (usually called lean madd) e.g the weight of the muscles minus fat , bones and organs. 1g per lbs is a lot

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6566799/

https://mennohenselmans.com/the-myth-of-1glb-optimal-protein-intake-for-bodybuilders/

 

[lautze]

@nowhereman If you'd like some more reading, you can get some more advice from some actual experts: https://www.barbellmedicine.com/blog/barbell-medicine-protein-recommendations/