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How Much Protein Do You Really Need to Build Muscle
I can not believe the amount of misinformation there is on this topic. Depending on your source you will read everything from the governments RDA of .36 gram per pound of body weight, to some bodybuilding sites that go as high as 2 grams per pound and everything in between. The answer is “in betweenâ€.
But there is more to it than that. Once you have a little understanding it’s quite simple to figure out the right amount of protein that YOU need to add lean muscle mass.
The generally accepted rule of thumb (and you read it here in a few places) is 1 gram of protein per day per pound of body weight. For down and dirty basics you can use this and be in the ballpark. But if you are serious about your health, it needs to be taken a bit more seriously.
First, the TYPE of protein you are consuming does matter. You can get it from a variety of sources, with the difference being the rate at which the body absorbs and uses it. For practical purposes know this, the average person has the ability to process and use:
Egg protein 1.3 grams/hour
Casein isolate - 6.1 grams/hour
Whey isolate - 8-10 grams/hour
At BEST if all your protein comes from Whey the most you can process in 24 hours is 240 grams. Bear in mind for even that to be the case, you have to ingest it through out the day fairly evenly. So clearly any recommendation that puts the average person over this amount is false.
Secondly, not all of your body weight needs protein. Fat doesn’t. So don’t feed it. Calculating the body weight used without removing your fat stores results in too much protein, which in and of itself isn’t unhealthy. But it does mean that you are likely taking in too many CALORIES in total, which results in additional FAT GAIN, which is unhealthy.
Thirdly, the FDA’s RDA is for sedentary adults. For babies and young children they double it to .75 gram per day per pound. Why? They are growing of course. Obviously then if your goal is to add lean muscle mass you too will grow. So at least .75 is needed. In fact it has been determined that 1.1 to 1.5 gram is good for active, strength training adults.
Lastly and most importantly, no amount of protein matters if you are not hitting the weights. If anybody tells you that more protein will make up for any shortcomings in your training they are wrong. Erratic, high rep, low weight training will not add muscle mass even if you take Whey protein 24/7 intravenously.
In conclusion the amount of protein needed to add lean muscle mass is determined this way:
[Your weight - (Your body weight X %body fat)] X 1.3* = Grams per day of protein
Example 1: you weigh 200 lbs and your body fat is 15%
[200 �" (200 x .15)] = 170 x 1.3* = 221 grams
Example 2: you weigh 200 lbs and your body fat is 25%
[200 �" (200 x .25)] = 150 x 1.3* = 195 grams
*This is the average multiplier, because I am older I go with 1.1 gram per pound of lean body mass as my multiplier. Younger people can use the 1.5 multiplier and be fairly safe in avoiding fat gain.
I also do consume the majority of my protein in the form of whey, which allows my body to absorb as close to it's hourly maximum as possible. You should do the same.
As you can see by taking the body fat into consideration 26 less grams are needed, which translates into 100 calories a day. Which makes sense that the higher fat contented person would not want to feed the fat. By the way, that’s 100 calories of protein. I would hope that you would also be consuming proportionately less carbs and fat daily.
Use the BMR to calculate your total daily calorie needs in conjunction with this formula for protein and you will have a very good number for what your nutritional intake should be for maximum lean muscle gain.