How Much Protein Do You Need?: A Guide For Men and Women

One of the most debated topics in fitness is how much protein someone should consume. I am going to do things a little differently for this topic and go ahead and give you the information you’re after first and THEN explain why. That way, those of you who just want the numbers and don’t care WHY don’t have to scroll through the whole thing. I do urge you to read the information however, because I believe it is important for people to understand WHY and I also will debunk some common myths surrounding protein intake as well.

Science supports that the IDEAL daily protein intake for someone who is exercising in any form (cardio, yoga, weightlifting, etc) should be between 1.0 – 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day. This goes for both men and women, ESPECIALLY if they are in a caloric deficit (trying to lose fat). If you are in a caloric deficit, I recommend the higher end of this range for your protein consumption (explanation below). This is not based on “lean body mass” (weight minus body fat) just plain ole body weight. Many will pull out their calculators (or do math in your head) and say “whoa, this is way to high”, but I promise you it’s not. Can you get by and still hit your fitness goals on less protein? Yes, but it’s not IDEAL and increased protein can HELP you reach your fitness goals, I will explain all of this below. I will try to explain this in the simplest way I can because the biochemical and physiological explanations get quite complicated.

Why so much protein?

For many reasons.

• The obvious: it helps build and PROTECT muscle
  • We NEED protein to build muscle. Extra protein, especially when in a caloric deficit, will help protect against muscle breakdown. This is why I said “those who are in a caloric deficit should have a higher protein intake.”
• The “thermic effect” of protein
  • This basically means that of all the macronutrients (fats, carbs, protein), protein USES the most calories to digest and utilize the macronutrient. The more protein rich your diet, the more calories you burn just “consuming” the protein! So a high protein diet helps with fat loss from many different angles.
• The satiating impact
  • Protein and fat tend to make us feel more satiated (full) longer. This helps limit cravings and cheat meals/snacks throughout the day and can make your “diet” much more tolerable.
• More stable energy levels throughout the day
  • The energy curve from carbohydrates is sharp, meaning that it peaks very fast (even your slow acting carbs like whole grains – when compared to protein) and then crashes. Protein creates a more level plateau that hangs out for longer. Meaning you are less likely to “crash” after meals if you have high protein intake.
• Protein will boost your immune system
  • I believe this is more specifically aimed at milk (whey) proteins, but a peptide found in some proteins (glutathione) helps boost the immune system.

Myth Busting Time

• You can only absorb X amount of protein in one sitting
  • Bro-science at its best. The body actually has an almost unlimited capacity to absorb/digest protein. It will only utilize however much it needs and the rest ends up in the toilet or is broken down into excess calories that are stored as energy (just like carbs and fat). Your “needs” are different than everyone else and everyone’s “needs” go up if they are breaking down muscle (working out – even cardio) AND if they are in a caloric deficit.
  • The “dose response curve” for protein is a fairly exponential one at first that tends to slow down around 20-30 grams of protein. However, doses over 20-30 (up to 50 grams or more) still have an increased effect on muscle gains, just not a large one. This basically says that MOST of the benefits of a high protein diet/meal max out around 30 grams in one sitting, but there are still increased benefits (i.e. muscle gains) with more, but the increase per gram slows down. Why would you sell yourself short on your hard work in the gym AND miss out on all the positive impacts of protein I listed above?
• Excessive protein intake is bad for your kidneys and bones
  • If I hear this myth one more time I’m going to go nuts. If your kidneys are healthy (a vast majority of people reading this) then you are not going to hurt your kidneys by consuming large amounts of protein. This is only true if you ALREADY have kidney issues because the byproducts of protein breakdown aren’t filtered out efficiently enough and can cause problems.
    • But also remember large amounts of protein can increase urination, so make sure to stay hydrated (I recommend ample amounts of water no matter what your dietary strategy is).
  • There is no data to date to suggest that high protein intake “leaches” from bones. In fact, at least one study has been linked to increased bone density in the bones in our back (vertebrae) that would have the opposite impact as the one suggested in this myth. So increased protein could be GOOD for bone health. PLUS increased muscular support of the bones makes them less likely to break and increases bone strength and longevity and you NEED protein for muscle growth.
• High protein diets will make women look more manly
  • Wrong….just wrong. If you read everything I posted above you will see the many benefits of protein intake for women. Generally speaking, a woman doesn’t have enough testosterone in her body to look “manly” from building muscle. Increased muscle mass and density on women helps burn fat (all day every day) and makes them look slender yet powerful. Increased muscle mass also helps post-menopausal women stave off osteoporosis (see the quick blurb about bone health above). Increased core strength has been associated with both men and women living longer and even increases our odds of surviving a traumatic event like a car accident. I could go on for days, but the key takeaway here is that a woman won’t look manly by building muscle naturally. Most men find a toned, strong woman to be very sexy and this is achieved by building muscle. You can do a million squats a day, but if you’re not eating enough protein to support muscle growth in the gluteal muscles (booty) then you’ll never get that booty your after.

A Few Caveats

Increased protein could potentially limit the amount of carbohydrates and fats in your diet if you are on a calorie restriction. If done correctly, however, you should be getting plenty of carbs and enough fats to negate this only downside. Carbs are important because they help fuel our workouts, they are turned into glucose and glycogen which our body uses for energy and taps into for more strength or endurance when/if needed. They are not NECESSARY however, because our body can burn fats for energy when there are no carbs around (see Ketogenic diets). However, carbs do help build and preserve muscle because of the insulin response associated with consumption and the glycogen storage as I have already mentioned. High fat, low carb diets tend to cause more muscle loss than a more balanced diet. Fats ARE NECESSARY to sustain life. Almost every cell in our body is made up of some fat. Our hormones are also made from fat, so if you don’t get enough you can really mess with your hormones which control fat burning and muscle building (as well as many other essential bodily functions). The good news is that doesn’t take a tremendous amount of fat to achieve this goal so you can easily squeeze enough fat into a high protein diet.

The last little thing I will mention about protein intake is that you should try to use whole foods/meals to hit your protein goals as much as possible. You will be surprised by the amount of protein packed foods you can find if you only look. Dairy, lean meats, poultry, fish, eggs, nuts, legumes, etc. I get most of my 250 grams of protein a day from whole foods like eggs and lean meats. There is even protein in my primary carbohydrate and fat sources. You should supplement with a protein powder if you are needing an extra shot of protein without the extra calories (as long as you are still hitting your fat and carb requirements for the day). I use a whey protein after my workouts and a casein protein (slow digesting) before bed. This helps me get a fast digesting rush of protein to my muscles after my workouts and keeps me from going too catabolic (muscle breakdown) while I sleep.

Protein timing is important, but won’t make or break you. Many studies show that protein’s muscle building effects last about 3-4 hours after consumption. This is measured by amino acid and NO (nitrous oxide) spikes in the blood. So in order to maximize the muscle building and satiating impacts of protein, you would OPTIMALLY want to eat a high protein meal every 3-4 hours. For the average person, this has you dividing your total protein per day by 5 meals, which isn’t too unreasonable.

Summary

• The ideal protein intake for both men and women is around 1.0 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day
• Increased protein intake has MANY benefits (like building muscle AND losing fat) and essentially no downside, so why not MAXIMIZE all that time you spend exercising?
• High protein intake will not hurt your kidneys or your bones (unless you already have kidney problems)
• High protein intake will help you feel more full and limit cravings and energy crashes, while boosting your immune system
• Our bodies have an almost unlimited capacity to absorb/digest protein, so the old rule of “our bodies can only handle X amount of protein per meal” is total BS.
• Try to get your protein from whole food sources and use protein supplements to fill in the gaps if needed.
• Protein timing is important, but won’t make or break you. Try to get protein in every 3-4 hours if possible to constantly spike your NO, thus maximizing your muscle building potential.
• The only downside is that a high protein could potentially take away from other macronutrients like carbohydrates and fats. Carbs help fill our glycogen stores and help us feel stronger and have more endurance in the gym, while fats are essential because we needs fats for essentially every cell in our body and they are also used to make hormones which are essential for muscle growth, fat loss and life in general.
  • If done correctly you can easily get enough carbs and fat in your diet to achieve all the above while on a high protein diet. So the downside is more-so from “user error” than an actual downside.

Photo by Chait Goli from Pexels

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