Protein Guide: How Much Protein Do You Really Need?

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll see that I often do Q&As, and one of my most frequently asked questions is, “How much protein should I eat?”

Most of us know that protein is an essential part of any nutrition or fitness goal, but the questions keep coming: How much do you need? What do proteins do for your body? Is it dangerous to eat too much? Where do I get more protein from? Is it okay to use protein powder?

I have created this all-in-one guide to hopefully answer all of your questions and more!

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• ELI5: How Much Protein Do You Need?

  The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) is the minimum amount of protein you need to live. However, you need more if you are physically active, if you're trying to lose weight, or if you're trying to build muscle mass. How much protein you need depends on things like how much you weigh, how active you are, and what your goals are.

  Plant-based eaters might need to eat more protein overall. You can increase your intake by planning meals, making grocery swaps, and eating high-protein snacks. It is also a good idea to have a drink with protein powder on hand to help you meet your daily intake goals.

What is protein?

Protein is one of five essential macronutrients. Essential macronutrients also include carbs, fats, water, and oxygen. Macronutrients are nutrients that we need in large amounts and we must get them from our diet because we cannot make these nutrients in appropriate quantities ourselves.

Proteins act as building blocks in your body and are critical for the formation of skeletal and muscle tissue. It also works in processes in your body to support organ function and metabolism function.

Chemically, protein is made up of amino acids that all do different things within the body. There are 20 amino acids, 9 of which are considered essential amino acids (EAAs). EAAs are amino acids that cannot be made in the body and must be obtained through our diet. Typically, the higher amount of EAAs in a protein source, the better the quality.

To keep things succinct, you need a certain amount of protein every day to live, and to facilitate certain body functions you may need more.

How Much Protein Do I Need To Eat?

The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for dietary protein is currently set at 0.8g/kg of body weight for healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 65.

For a sedentary healthy 150lb person, this is about 50g of protein per day. This is often what people will refer to when talking about amounts being “enough” or “too much” but there is a problem with this.

The RDA is the bare minimum amount you need to live. If you plan to engage in any physical activity or put your body through any additional processes (including weight loss, muscle gain, pregnancy, injury recovery, or anything that involves growing or repairing tissue), you need more protein to support your body through those processes.

If you deprive your body of the protein it needs, you could not only halt any progress you’re trying to make towards your fitness goals but you could also see health problems. Dampened immune systems, brittle hair and nails, dry and flaky skin, weakness, chronic fatigue, and persistent hunger are all signs of a protein deficiency.

It is a common myth that eating too much protein is harmful to your health. This often prevents people from eating enough. The truth is that for healthy people, a high-protein diet is not inherently harmful. Protein benefits far outweigh the risks.

So how much do you need to eat?

As with most things in nutrition and fitness, the answer is… it depends.

How much protein you need is going to be unique to your weight, activity level, and goals. 

Generally speaking, healthy and sedentary adults should aim for 1.2-1.8g of protein per kg of body weight. For a 150lb person, this is 82-122g per day.

If you are a physically active adult, you need more protein daily than a sedentary person. Athletes and physically active people should aim for 1.4-2.0g of protein per kg of body weight. For a 150lb person, this is 95-136g per day.

If you are trying to gain muscle mass, you need enough protein to feed your muscles as they grow. Most people should aim for 1.6-2.4g of protein per kg of body weight. 

There are a few studies suggesting that you may gain less fat during your bulk if you eat upwards of 3.3g of protein per kg of body weight. For 150lb person, this is 109-163g per day or up to 224g per day to potentially minimize fat gain.

If you are trying to lose weight, you need to eat enough protein to preserve lean mass and enhance fat loss processes. People with fat loss goals should aim for 1.6-2.4g of protein per kg of body weight.

 Some studies suggest that leaner, resistance-trained athletes may need to consume up to 3.1g per kg of body weight to preserve lean mass. For a 150lb person, this is 109-163g a day or up to 212g per day to preserve lean mass.

Pregnant people need to support the development of the fetus and themselves. It is recommended pregnant people aim for at least 1.7g of protein per kg of body weight. 

Lactating people need to keep up with the demands of milk production and should aim for at least 1.5g of protein per kg of body weight. For a 150lb person, this is at least 116g and 102g per day, respectively.

Considerations for plant-based eaters

Not all proteins are created equal.

A protein’s quality is determined by its digestibility and amino acid profile.

Digestibility refers to the amount you absorb when you eat it. Animal-based proteins consistently have a digestibility rate of over 90% while plant-based proteins such as beans and legumes only have a digestibility rate of 60-80%. The exception here is plant-based protein powders which have digestibility rates similar to animal-based protein powders.

The amino acid profile of the source also matters. As mentioned before, protein is made up of 20 different amino acids, all of which have different jobs they perform in the body. 9 of those amino acids cannot be created within the body and must be consumed through our diet. These are called essential amino acids or EAAs.

While all 20 amino acids need to be present for the formation of muscle tissue, muscle protein synthesis is specifically stimulated by EAAs making them a vital part of an active person’s diet.

Plant-based proteins, whether from whole foods or supplement powders, have fewer EAA’s than animal-based proteins.

Because plant-based proteins are less digestible and don’t contain as many essential amino acids as animal proteins they are of lower quality. Studies have shown (here, here, here, and here) that plant-based eaters who eat more protein overall have been able to offset lean mass differences from the lower quality of the plant-based proteins.

The best sources of protein are from animal sources (meats, dairy, eggs, etc). If you get most of your protein from plants, you will need to consume more protein overall to achieve the same muscle growth as someone who eats animal protein. When choosing a protein target, it is recommend that plant-based eaters eat on the higher end of the optimal daily intake range provided.

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How To Get enough protein

Like any goal, start by break your daily targets down into more manageable chunks by dividing your target evenly across your meals. Strategically planning meals around foods that are high in protein makes a big difference!

If you have a daily target of 135g and aim to hit 30g of protein minimum at each big meal (breakfast, lunch, and dinner), that means you would be up 90g of protein for the day. 2-3 high-protein snacks or protein shakes will top off your target effortlessly!

To increase the protein in each meal, you can make grocery swaps for products similar to what you already buy that have more protein per serving. Take a look at the products you are already consuming and make swaps for similar products that have more protein per serving.

For example, there is protein pasta instead of regular pasta which packs 10g more protein per serving, and ultra-filtered milk instead of store-brand milk which has 13g of protein per cup compared to 8g. These simple swaps can really improve your intake!

Next, choose high-protein snacks! Instead of a serving of nuts that may have around 6g per serving, choose something like turkey jerky, cottage cheese, or Greek yogurt that boast 15-25g of protein a serving!

Lastly, consider purchasing a protein powder. Drink as a post-workout shake or keep it on hand to use as an ingredient for other foods! Add it to coffee, oatmeal, smoothies, baked goods, you name it! You can get a boost of 15-30g of protein you wouldn't have had before.

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Choosing a protein powder

It is perfectly possible to hit your targets without the use of protein powder but many people find it convenient to have one on hand to help them meet their goals.

When selecting a protein powder, you don’t need anything fancy but there are a few things to keep in mind:

• Aim for a powder that has 20-30g of protein per serving.

• Ideally, there should be less than 10g of carbs and fats combined.

• It should have a full amino acid profile, including Leucine. This is especially important for plant-based powders.

• It should be a flavor and texture that you enjoy using!

I like to keep on hand a few different flavors, as well as an unflavored protein powder that I can use to mix in my iced coffees, and soups!

I recommend the protein powders from Enhanced Performance Nutrition. Each serving provides you with 24g of protein and has digestive enzymes in the formulation to help improve absorption. It is $42.99 for a 28-serving container but make sure to use my code CBM10 to get you 10% off every time you order.

• References

  1. Institute of Medicine. 10 Protein and Amino Acids. Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids. (2005)

  2. Moughan P, et al. The assessment of amino acid digestibility in foods for humans and including a collation of published ileal amino acid digestibility data for human foods. FAO. (2011)

  3. Volpi E, et al. Essential amino acids are primarily responsible for the amino acid stimulation of muscle protein anabolism in healthy elderly adults. Am J Clin Nutr. (2003)

  4. Joy JM, et al. The effects of 8 weeks of whey or rice protein supplementation on body composition and exercise performance. Nutr J. (2013)

  5. Kalman D, et al. Effect of protein source and resistance training on body composition and sex hormones. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. (2007)

  6. Brown EC, et al. Soy versus whey protein bars: effects on exercise training impact on lean body mass and antioxidant status. Nutr J. (2004)

  7. Mobley CB, et al. Effects of Whey, Soy or Leucine Supplementation with 12 Weeks of Resistance Training on Strength, Body Composition, and Skeletal Muscle and Adipose Tissue Histological Attributes in College-Aged Males. Nutrients. (2017)