How Much Protein Does Your Body Really Need?

[nolimitxxx]

Read this if you don't know

ANSWER:

At its simplest, your body has a baseline protein requirement that depends on a two main factors: lean body mass (muscle) and activity (type and amount).

The more muscle your body carries, the higher your protein requirement. Also, the more intense, the more frequent and the longer the activity you perform, the more protein you need.

Studies on protein requirements that demostrate a greater need for protein often meet with much controversy in scientific literature. It seems sometimes, for some reason, that many in the scientific and nutritional community are actually anti-protein! In fact, you may have even witnessed a similar prejudice when it comes to supplements as simple as vitamins as well!

Bottom line: if you train with weights, your body is breaking down protein and you need to provide it with extra protein to help rebuild. Though the exact amounts that different sources recommend varies widely between 0.7 grams per pound of bodyweight (140 grams for a 200 lb person) to levels as high as 2 grams per pound of bodyweight (400 grams for a 200 lb person), there is a solution...

Experiment for yourself! Start with a moderate protein intake of 0.7 grams per pound of bodyweight and see how you feel and how your results are. The next week, increase your protein intake a little, adding about 20 to 30 grams to your daily total. See if that makes a difference. The following week, add a little more protein.

You may find that you need more protein than you've been taking or you may find that you don't need as much protein as you think!

 

[drdug27]

Everytime you post I salivate at your Avatar and your cycle.

 

[nolimitxxx]

Everytime you post I salivate at your Avatar and your cycle.

lol - thx

 

[Nelson Montana]

Whne it comes to building muscle, you'd be surprised how little protein you need. The thing is -- getting it at the right time. And it has nothing to do with "timing."

In other words, your body utilizes protein at different intervals depending on hundreds of variables. Not all protein is available at just the right time. So the muscle building porocess is very hit or miss.

What taking in a lot of protein will do (especially in the form of protein peptides found in quality supplements) is allow more of it to be available when needed. Think of it as a glass in a rain storm. You need the whole rainstrom to fill the glass because only a few drops are going to get in at a time.

This is why, in part, steroids work so well. They circulate nitrogen non stop, always making it available to demanding muscles. (Which is so cool). But even on gear, you want as much avaialble nitrogen ready to go. You'll only use part of it, but you need that "rainstorm" to fill the muscles as full as possible.

This is also why spray dried plasma protein is also superior. In a way, it remains available because the body recognizes it more as something which is already in the bloodstream instead of mere "food."

Other than that, BCAA's come the closest to being a "super food" but you'd need to take a bottle of them a day to make a difference. Not worth the cost. And as for glutamine...well, the body doesn't recognize that very well since it's designed to make glutamine from other proteins so most glutamine just passes through you.

Sorry for the dissertation. I love this stuff.

 

[Nelson Montana]

Deserves a bump.


Or maybe I'm one of the few that finds this interesting.

 

[Mac173]

I'm not even going to try and pretend I know the answer but I personally keep my intake at 1.5-1.75g/lb.
7 meals throughout the day w/ everyone being about 45-55g of protein each.

 

[Parm]

Nelson,when you say a person doesn't need as much protein as they think when building muscle, would the same apply when dieting? I'm currently about 280lbs at around 30% bf and starting my diet. Would I need 280 g of protein or say only 200g as my lbm may only be that much?

Thanks in advance!

 

[socket]

I understand (rightly or wrongly) that the body repairs itself whilst you sleep.

If this is the case, would it be a particularly good idea to make protein available for that period, for example, a protein drink before bedtime?

 

[Nelson Montana]

Nelson,when you say a person doesn't need as much protein as they think when building muscle, would the same apply when dieting? I'm currently about 280lbs at around 30% bf and starting my diet. Would I need 280 g of protein or say only 200g as my lbm may only be that much?

Thanks in advance!

Maybe I didn't make myself clear. It doesn't take much protein to actually build the muscle but it takes a LOT of protein intake to insure you have enough available.

As for dieting it's best to keep the ratios the same, just lower the all around amount of calories.

And yes, protein before bedtime and immedietly upon awaking is a good idea.

 

[billdance]

I always drink a low sugar protein shake before bedtime..... doesn't affect my sleep at all...