How much protein do I need?
Are you getting enough protein per day?
How much protein do you need? In this email I show you a few ways to calculate your protein needs.
In the last 2 emails I discussed calories, Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) and Total Energy Expenditure (TEE). Remember these are estimations for general fitness and health needs, not necessarily enough for optimal athletic performance.
Once you have an estimate for your BMR and TEE, it is pretty easy to calculate macro nutrients. Don’t let the math complicate things too much. It just takes a little practice.
However, there are many differing opinions online about diets and the amounts of needed protein, carb and fat. This can lead to a lot of confusion.
I take a simple approach to nutrition and the main reason is that anything else just complicates things. It is my opinion (based on science and smart people that I follow) that we need protein, carbs and fat, and all of them have their place in providing the necessary nutrients for optimal health.
I agree with the recommendation to get most of our nutrition from naturally occurring foods and getting a wide variety of foods with a big focus on vegetables. In addition to protein, carbs and fat we need fiber, anti-oxidants and many other vitamins and minerals from our foods.
There is a lot of demonization of carbohydrates out there which also causes a lot of confusion.
I will discuss my take on carbs and fat in the next email.
I also am of the opinion that if one had to place a ranking on the macronutrients, protein would be the most important, followed by fat and then by carbohydrates.
This does not mean that carbohydrates are not important because they are.
The reason I rank protein first and then fat is because both protein and fat have essential nutrients that we have to get from the food we eat.
Carbohydrates do not have an essential nutrient, but they are vital to energy stores and energy use.
Also our bodies use protein for repairing cells, making new cells, repairing tissue, building muscle, producing very important hormones, making enzymes, and are vital for optimal immune system function.
Regarding protein, there are 9 essential amino acids we need to get from the proteins we eat.
For optimal health and wellness we actually do need to consume a certain amount of protein in a day to insure that we get all of the needed essential amino acids and to give our body the ability to make the remaining amino acids necessary for health.
The US RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) for protein is .8 grams of protein per kg of body weight, or .36 grams per pound of body weight (.8 divided by 2.2 = .36.)
** The conversion of kg to pounds is 2.2 pounds per kg. Divide pounds by 2.2 to get kg or multiply body weight in pounds by .36.
So if a guy weighs 195 lbs., multiply 195 by .36 and you get 70 grams of protein according to the RDA recommendation.
Because the RDA is the minimum, many nutrition experts recommend more depending on one’s goals, activity level, lean body mass, age, etc.
Some people recommend just using body weight as the basis for protein needs. This is ok for most people but it can be misleading.
For example, if someone is overweight or obese, calculating their protein needs based on body weight would likely provide a result that is too high.
In this case, it is best to calculate protein needs based on lean body mass or Lean Mass (LM). The calculation using LM is a different formula and I can provide that if you want.
Others use the lean mass calculation simply because it is more accurate.
Many studies support needing more protein based on one’s goal, (lose fat, add muscle, or maintain muscle) their activity level, and body composition.
I have calculated my protein needs using both body weight and lean mass and both seem to be ok for my needs.
When one knows their body composition percentages I recommend using lean body mass over total body weight to calculate protein needs.
Since most people do not know their body composition, it is easiest to estimate protein needs using body weight.
Another pretty simple way is to use a percentage of daily calories.
For mostly sedentary guys, studies show a range of .54 - .82 grams of proetein per pound of body weight, or 1.2 – 1.8 grams of protein / kg body weight.
For more active guys (exercise 150 minutes per week with some strength and some cardio) the range would be .64 -.91 grams of protein per pound of body weight, or 1.4-2.0 grams / kg of body weight.
For very active guys that participate in intense strength and hypertrophy exercises and want to increase muscle mass the range is about .73 – 1 grams of protein per pound of body weight or 1.6-2.4 grams /kg body weight.
For guys that are more interested in losing some body fat, the range is closer to .54 - .68 grams of protein per pound of body weight or 1.2 – 1.5 grams / kg body weight.
For overweight or obese guys, some experts recommend using the desired body weight as the basis of the calculation.
So let’s say a guy weight 275 and is about 50 pounds overweight and wants to be at 225. Using this method he could multiply 225 by .54 and .68 to get a range of 121-153 grams of protein per day. This should be adequate.
Remember the US RDA minimum for this guy would be 99 grams. (.36 X 275= 90 grams). So using the desired body weight and the formula above he is exceeding the minimum and should be fine getting 121-153 grams per day.
Once I have calculated my protein needs then I can calculate the amount of fat and carbs I need.
As mentioned earlier, another simple way to calculate protein needs is simply to take a percentage of the Total Energy Expenditure (TEE) calories that we discussed in the email on BMR.
It is pretty well accepted to take 15%-20% of the Total Energy Expenditure to calculate protein needs.
So for example, let’s take a 45 year old, 5’11” tall, 200 lb. guy who is lightly active and wants to lose body fat and maintain muscle mass.
First calculate estimated BMR and TEE. Let’s assume he wants to weigh 185 and keep as much of his lean mass as possible.
Using the Harris- Benedict formula below to calculate BMR.
66 + (6.23 × weight in pounds) + (12.7 × height in inches) − (6.8 × age in years) = BMR
66 + (6.23 × 200) + (12.7 × 71) − (6.8 × 45) =
66 + 1246 + 901.7 – 306 = 1907.7 Calories per day from BMR.
Add in the activity multiplier 1.375 X 1907= 2622 estimated calories used per day.
**the activity factor was outlined in the email on BMR.
Reduce the total calorie number by about 10-15% to allow for fat loss. 10% X 2622 = 262 calories.
Subtract 262 from 2622 = 2360 calories per day. This would be the estimated calories per day to help him lose body fat while maintaining as much muscle as possible and by not reducing his BMR too much.
Let’s take 15% and 20% of the 2360 calories per day to estimate his protein needs.
15% of 2360 = 354 calories from protein and 20% of 2360 = 472 calories from protein.
Remember protein has 4 calories per gram, fat has 9 calories per gram and carbs have 4 calories per gram.
Divide 354 calories and 372 calories by 4 calories per gram to calculate the protein range. This equates to 88.5-93 grams of protein per day.
Now let’s look at the amount of protein recommended when using body weight as the basis for the calculation vs a percentage of calories as seen above.
While you could use a couple of different protein recommendations from above, in this case I would probably use the .64 to .91 grams per pound (1.4 – 2 grams per kg of body weight) and you could use his desired body weight as the weight.
.64 X 185 = 118 grams. . 91 X 185 = 168 grams.
Notice the wide range depending on which formula is used.
The range is between 88- 168 grams per day. On the low end, shoot for the 88 grams and on the higher end, get the 168.
Remember the RDA for this example would be 72 grams per day (.36 X 200) = 72.
Regardless of the method you choose, get more than the RDA recommendation, go by how you feel with the foods you eat, and seek the advice of a registered dietitian and your physician for specific recommendations.
The main point of this email is to point out the importance of protein in your diet and to give you a couple of ways to calculate your needs.
Based on this point and the information in the previous emails on calories and BMR, I think it is important to continue to get more familiar with what you are putting in your body.
Only as you get familiar with the foods you eat, the macronutrients in the foods you eat and your behaviors around eating, can you begin to make better choices and get better nutrition.
It is also known that it is best to get your protein throughout the day as opposed to trying to get most of it at 1 meal.
Consider getting 80% of your protein over 3 meals and 20% in a high protein snack or two, or a protein smoothie supplement.
To give you an idea of some of the best sources (both plant and animal products) see below. I recommend getting several servings of vegetable sourced protein per week.
The benefit of getting plant based proteins is that in most cases you also get fiber and some carbohydrate.
Beef, Chicken, Turkey, Pork, Lamb 3 oz. = 21 grams
Fish, Tuna Fish 3 oz. = 21 grams
Seafood (Crabmeat, Shrimp, Lobster) 3 oz = 18 grams
Egg 1 = 6 grams
Soy milk 8 oz = 7 grams
Edamame, fresh or frozen ½ cup = 8 grams
Edamame, dry roasted 1 oz = 13 grams
Tofu 3 oz = 9 grams
Legumes and Nuts, Lentils ½ cup = 9 grams
Lima beans ½ cup = 7 grams
Kidney, Black, Navy, Cannellini beans ½ cup = 8 grams
Hummus ⅓ cup = 7 grams
Chili with beans, drained ½ cup = 10 grams
Peanut butter 2 Tbsp = 7 grams
Quinoa 1 cup = 8 grams
Nuts 1 oz (¼ cup) 4-6 Sunflower seeds 1 oz = 5 grams
Milk and Dairy Milk, skim or 1% 8 oz = 8 grams
High protein ultra-filtered milk, fat free or 1% 8 oz = 13 grams
Yogurt, fat free, light 6 oz = 5 grams
Greek yogurt, plain, nonfat, light 5 oz = 12-18 grams
Cheese, hard (low fat) 1 oz = 7 grams
American cheese (low fat) 1 slice (0.7oz) = 5 grams
Cottage cheese, Ricotta (part skim) ½ cup = 14 grams
If you are in your 30’s or 40’s, don’t wait. Do something now. You will be 50 or 60 in the blink of an eye.
Keep trying to be entirelyfit.