Knowing how much protein per day you need and eating that amount every day will get you results far quicker than guessing and hoping for the best!
Calculating your protein per day requirements is simple, all you have to do is meet your daily protein targets and your new body will be taking shape in no time.
Don’t overlook this important step, it is critical to achieving your goals!
I’ll show you:
- Why knowing your protein requirements is critical to your success
- How much protein per day should you eat when fat loss is your goal?
- How much protein per day should you eat when muscle gain is your goal?
Calculating Your Protein Requirements Per Day is Critical To Your Success!
It’s fair to assume that you don’t eat diet food and exercise purely for fun…you want results!
This is true for every single person who decides to diet regardless of their goal, so why do so many people make the critical mistake of guessing how much protein they need per day?
If I had to choose the single biggest mistake 90% of people who ask me to look at their diets make, it would be inadequate protein intake.
In most cases, regular people (e.g. not bodybuilding enthusiasts/athletes) who simply want to look better make three critical mistakes:
- Not eating enough protein to support their goals
- Not knowing how much protein per day they require
- Not tracking their protein intake per day
Bodybuilding enthusiasts and athletes on the other hand are generally at the opposite end of the scale with most of them overestimating how much protein they need per day.
So just how much protein do we need to eat each day to ensure we’re on track to meeting our goals?
The rest of this article will make this clear for you…
How Much Protein Per Day Should You Eat When Fat Loss is Your Goal?
Fat loss is different to weight loss. The ideal scenario when you want to lose weight is to lose body fat while retaining your lean body mass, e.g. your muscle.
This ensures you’re strong and healthy whilst reducing fat, this is important and being concerned merely with weight loss is misguided.
With the specific goals of fat loss and lean body mass retention in mind, our protein intake needs to support these goals.
While dieting your body is in a catabolic state which means it is breaking down your body, it can choose to break down your lean body mass as well as fat. Keeping hold of your lean body mass requires two things:
- Resistance Training – This tells your body you need your muscles to cope with the demands being placed on it, e.g. moving the weight
- Sufficient Protein Intake – Consuming dietary protein ensures your body spares your lean body mass as your muscles are made of protein
In addition to this, protein blunts hunger, maintains stable blood sugar levels and your body also burns calories processing proteins via a process known as TEF or the Thermic Effect of Food.
It’s generally accepted that whilst dieting you should bump up your protein intake to ensure you spare your lean body mass.
For this reason the suggested amount of protein per day is:
1.25 – 1.5g of Protein Per Pound of Bodyweight
So for a 170 pound individual the maths would look like this:
170 pounds x 1.25 = 212.5g of Protein per Day
or
170 pounds x 1.5 = 255g of Protein Per Day
Surprised how much you need?
Most people are but it becomes quickly apparent why they weren’t seeing the results they expected from their diet plan.
So should you aim for 1.25g per pound or 1.5g?
My suggestion is that the higher end of the scale is optimal but most folks will do just fine at 1.25. If you’re a million miles away from the lower figure then that should be your goal to begin with.
Wondering how to get that much protein in your diet each day?
My
low calorie dessert recipes
are high protein and allow you to eat dessert on a diet! Problem solved.
How Much Protein Per Day Should You Eat When Muscle Gain is Your Goal?
Bodybuilding enthusiasts and athletes tend to overdo protein intake and consume more than they need to in the hope it will lead to additional muscle gains.
Part of the reason for this is the muscle magazines and top bodybuilders who use steroids to get to the level of development beyond a natural trainee. It seems that when someone is taking steroids a much higher protein intake (2g per pound of bodyweight +) may be beneficial.
As the majority of people training for superficial reasons don’t dabble with dangerous substances they should avoid taking advice from people who do!
Don’t believe you need to consume more than the 1.25 – 1.5g per pound of bodyweight I suggested earlier in this article.
Usually the motivation to make you believe a higher protein intake per day is required can be attributed to selling you a protein supplement to fill the gap.
Save your money…it’s not necessary and you’re better off without it.
Whilst this article may have shocked you by uncovering how far away you are from the right amount of protein per day, you now know exactly how much protein per day. In addition to this you now know why you hadn’t made the progress you’d hoped for up until now too.
Don’t sit on this information, commit to tracking your protein intake (and other macronutrients) and ensure you are eating sufficient amounts per day. I promise that this will make a substantial, noticeable difference in a matter of weeks.
Write it down, track it and wait for the reflection in the mirror to start looking more like the one in your head!
Good Luck!
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