Amount of protein?

[Koa]

How much protein do you take in (as a weightlifter)?

After having read "Becoming vegan" the recommended amount is around 1 g per kg protein or up to 2 g per kg under special circumstances.

Traditionally, I'm used to 1 g per lb bodyweight and above for protein. The emphasis in "Becoming vegan" is more on carbs whilst Mike Mahler puts more emphasis on fats.

[Talyn]

I aim for around 140-150g per day. Or around 1g per lb. But I am cutting weight at the moment so I'm wanting it a tad higher than usual. YMMV.

[Lordmuppet]

far as i know there is no adverse effects (it gets claimed occasionally on forums but as far as i know there is no real evidence) to 1g per 1lb so you might as well shoot high to be on the safe side. That's my approach anyway.

[thestoatyone]

If bulking: don't know but eat so much food in general it ain't a problem. If not: 100g a day, summit like that? Counting grams of macro nutrients is for chicks on weightwatchers, if you'll pardon the gross sexism...

[JP]

i go with about 200 a day.

[muchluv]

Too much protein is linked with calcium loss from bones and kidney stones, but it's unclear if thats animal protein or protein in general.

[Talyn]

Too much protein is linked with calcium loss from bones and kidney stones, but it's unclear if thats animal protein or protein in general.

define too much protein

[muchluv]

Good question. I've forgotten now. There's a fair few articles out there on the subject, but I couldnt find much saying if it was animal protien or any protien

[Lordmuppet]

serious problems with exercise science aside ...

Phillips, S.M., D.R. Moore, and J.E. Tang. “A critical examination of dietary protein requirements, benefits, and excesses in athletes.” International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism 17 (2007): 58.

"Conclusions and Practical Recommendations
To attain peak levels of performance athletes clearly need to be aware of their dietary
intake of protein, as well as carbohydrate and a number of other micronutrients and
minerals. Highly detailed and refined guidelines for intakes, however, are likely to
be confusing for most athletes. Notwithstanding, it appears that emerging dietary
guidelines for protein are in the range of 1.2–1.6 g protein·kg–1·d–1. This level is
greater than the RDA, with the general recommendation that the RDA is a protein
intake designed simply to alleviate deficiency. More important, it is an intake that
appears, based on experimental evidence (mostly nitrogen balance), to be adequate
and more than sufficient. Should athletes aim to meet or exceed this intake? Quite
simply, in the absence of evidence suggesting that higher intakes are beneficial, it
is not yet possible to say that they will be beneficial."

[Lordmuppet]

also ... from

Wilson, Jacob, and Gabriel J Wilson. “Contemporary Issues in Protein Requirements and Consumption for Resistance Trained Athletes.” Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 3, no. 1 (n.d.): 7-27. 2006

This is a summary of recommendations from 8 review papers and book chapters on total grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight per day for athletes.

Author of Review Recommended Protein Requirements

Batheja et al. [33] 1.2–2.2 g
Kreider [32] 1.3–1.8 g
Lemon[14] 1.2–1.7 g
Lemon[23] 1.6–1.8 g
Lemon[24] 1.5–2.0 g
Wolf[18] May not be possible given the number of variables involved
Tipton et al.[1] May not be possible given the number of variables involved
Phillips[7] 12–15% energy intake

the abstract

"In recent years an explosion of research papers concerning protein consumption has been published. The need to consolidate this information has become critical from both practical and future research standpoints. For this reason, the following paper presents an in depth analysis of contemporary issues in protein requirements and consumption for resistance trained athletes. Specifically, the paper covers: 1.) protein requirements for resistance trained athletes; 2.) the effect of the digestion rate of protein on muscular protein balance; 3.) the optimal timing of protein intake relative to exercise; 4.) the optimal pattern of protein ingestion, relative to how an individual should consume their protein throughout a 24 hour period, and what sources are utilized during this time frame; 5.) protein composition and its interaction with measures of protein balance and strength performance; 6.) the combination of protein and carbohydrates on plasma insulin levels and protein balance; 7.) the efficacy of protein supplements and whole food protein sources. Our goal is to provide the reader with practical information in optimizing protein intake as well as for provision of sound advice to their clients. Finally, special care was taken to provide future research implications."

[Koa]

Here is Brooks Kubi's opinion:

On the training front, let me answer a common
question from readers. I get this one all the
time -- and it came in several times over the
past week.

"How many grams of protein do I need to consume
every day to build strength and muscle?"

Now, I don't sell protein supplements, so my
answer may be a little bit different than the
folks who do.

At a MINIMUM, you need one gm. of protein per kilo
of bodyweight. A kilo is 2.2 pounds, so that's
roughly one gm. of protein for every two pounds of
bodyweight. If you weigh 150 pounds, you need at
least 75 grams of protein -- and if you weigh 200
pounds, you need at least 100 grams of protein.

But as I said, that's a MINIMUM.

You need MORE if:

1. You are very active.

2. You are young and your metabolism burns food like
an out of control forest fire.

3. You are an advanced lifter with lots of muscle mass.

4. You are an older lifter who keeps his weight under
control with a low carb diet.

5. You are engaged in regular, hard, heavy training.

5A. When you squat and deadlift HEAVY, you increase
your hunger for high quality protein ENORMOUSLY. When
John Grimek was in heavy training, he ate huge
amounts of food. "Meat is my baby," he once said --
and according to people who watched him eat, he meant
it. John Davis could pack away 3 or 4 full-course meals
(all heavy on the protein) when he was in heavy training.
Ditto for Steve Stanko. Ditto for me. Ditto for pretty
much everyone who hits the iron hard and heavy.

Any one or more of factors 1 - 5 may increase your
protein needs enormously. Instead of the one gram of
protein per kilo of bodyweight, you may need one gram
of protein for every 1.5 pounds of bodyweight -- or
maybe even one gram of protein for every pound of
bodyweight (although the 1:1 ratio is high for most
lifters).

Personally, I've always done well in the 1 to 1.5
range -- meaning one gram of protein for every 1.5
pounds of bodyweight.

I always have a general idea of how many grams of
protein I'm consuming, but I don't count them. I base
it on how hungry I am. If I've had a heavy training
day, I'll probably eat a bit more.

But I never stuff myself, and I never force-feed on
protein. Nor do I get compulsive and try to eat protein
on any sort of regular schedule (so many grams per hour
or every two hours or whatever). If you're hitting it
hard, you don't need to sweat the details. It will
all work out fine for you.

Anyhow, I hope that helps. As always, thanks for
reading and have a great day. If you train today, make
it a good one!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

[Koa]

Today's post on 70s big:

http://www.70sbig.com/blog/2011/10/13/

[Catt Queen]

I've never bothered trying to work out how much protein I consume but build muscle quite nicely...

[vegansludge]

I've always found McDonald's views interesting:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/nutrit ... rsies.html

That said, I shoot for 1g per pound of LBM every day.

[powerlifer]

1g per kg of bodyweight suffices for most, as a weight lifter i like to shoot for 1.5g-2g per kg of bodyweight.