How Much Protein Should I Eat To Gain Muscle

23 January 2009 | Bodybuilding Nutrition Tips | Tags: Protein

When I first got into weight training I didn’t really understand about nutrition and how much of an impact it has on the gains that can be made from consistent training. I quickly learned from reading around that protein is the key ingredient to good recovery, and therefore muscle development following weight training.

There is a lot of conflicting advice about how much protein you should eat. I will give you my thoughts on this topic, which is largely based on stuff I’ve read in magazines, nutrition books or picked up from friends who also are into weights.

Maintain your existing body weight

If all you want to do is maintain your existing body weight of lean muscle and are not doing any serious exercise, then from what I have managed to ascertain, you need to eat 1 gram of protein for each kilogram of body weight. However, if you are overweight, it’s worthwhile adjusting this down so that you eat 1 gram of protein for each kilogram of weight you want to be after you have lost the excess fat. For example, if you currently weigh 90kg and wish to lose 10kg, then eat 80grams of protein (90 - 10 = 80).

If you are doing rigourous exercise and wish to maintain your weight, the covential wisdom seems to be that you need to eat 1.5 grams of protein for each kilogram of body weight. This extra protein intake will allow the body to maintain the lean muscle mass and replace the proteins that the body canibalises from the muscles during exercise.

Increase your muscle mass

The convential wisdom seems to vary somewhat for those wishing to gain muscle mass. I have read that you should eat 1 gram of protein for each pound (lb) of body weight everyday, and this is what I try and do. However, I have also read elsewhere that you should consume 2 grams of protein for every pound of bodyweight on training days and 1.5 grams per pound of body weight on rest days. I even spoke to my friendly fitness instructor down the gym and he recommended eating 2 grams per pound every day.

I think the important thing to bear in mind if you are trying to gain weight, is that you eat enough protein for the weight you want to be, rather than the weight you are at now. For example, if you are currently 150 lbs and want to be 220 lbs, then eat 1 gram of protein for every pound of weight you want to be, in this instance, 220 grams.

Other factors to bear in mind

I have heard from various people that you’re body cannot injest more than 25 - 30 grams of protein in one sitting. I don’t know if this is true, but there is one thing for certain - if it is true, then someone trying to eat 400 grams of protein a day would have to do so in at least 13 different sittings. This would mean eating a meal every hour and a quarter throughout the day, something that I’m sure most people would find difficult, especially if they had a full time job.