You should start by setting your protein intake, as it should be based on your body weight, rather than a set calorie ratio. For someone who weighs 80 kg, that would mean between 160 and 200 g of protein. If you're starting to bulk up, 1.5 grams of protein per day is enough to build lean muscle. Once you reach maintenance levels, you can reduce that number to an intermediate level.
The amount of protein you need depends on several factors, such as your weight, age, goals and activity level. The daily minimum recommended by the National Institutes of Health is 0.36 grams per pound of body weight for a sedentary person. However, if you do intense exercises, have a physically demanding job, or both, experts say you may need more, perhaps as much as twice as much. Although it is difficult to give exact figures due to the different results of the studies, the optimal amount of protein for muscle development seems to be between 1.2 and 1.6 g per kg of body weight.
If you want to increase muscle mass, it is recommended that you stick to the upper limit (for example, 25% of your calories come from protein compared to only 10%) or calculate proteins based on your weight. It is necessary to damage the muscle in order to repair it, which means that you must also combine a higher protein intake with an adequate exercise routine to grow. The rate of increase in lean body mass due to higher protein intake declined rapidly after exceeding 1.3 g per kg of body weight. Just grab a pack of unflavored protein powder and a single-serving Flavor Boost bar to mix and create a delicious protein shake.
It may seem like a lot at first, but it's doable if you eat protein at every meal along with some protein-rich snacks throughout the day. This daily protein goal can help you focus on body recomposition or gradually burning fat and building muscle, while focusing on your health. If your goal is to consume 100 grams of protein a day, try to consume 25 grams of protein per meal, either four meals a day or the three standard meals a day with two snacks that have approximately 12.5 grams of protein each. Another way people can calculate their protein needs is by dedicating a percentage of their total calories per day to the three macronutrients.
The current recommended daily dose of 0.8 g per kg of body weight of protein is based on the amount needed to maintain nitrogen balance and prevent muscle loss. There is a persistent myth in nutrition that eating too much protein can cause harm, but many studies don't actually support this statement. Studies have shown that eating 20 to 40 grams of protein during training seems to maximize the body's ability to recover after exercise, but more than protein is needed to build muscle. Proteins have a higher metabolic rate than fats and carbohydrates, which means that consuming more protein can increase the amount of calories your body burns while at rest.
It has been proposed to maximize muscle protein synthesis (the natural process in which proteins are produced to repair muscle damage caused by intense exercise and force as opposed to muscle protein degradation) in young adults with a dose of about 20 to 25 grams of high-quality protein. Some studies show that eating more than 0.8 grams per pound (1.8 grams per kg) has no benefit, while others indicate that it is best to eat just over 1 gram of protein per pound (2.2 grams per kg) (14, 1). Make sure you do everything correctly and that you don't exceed your protein needs to the point of endangering your health.
