How much protein do you need to eat on a daily basis?

The following recommendation applies if your looking to lose weight or maintain your muscle mass.

Let’s start by doing the math, get your calculator, I mean your smart phone, and let’s do some work on the equation.

The equation

You need to eat .8 grams of protein for every Kilogram (2.2 pounds) of body mass. (Take your body-weight divided by 2.2 and multiply it by .8)

This equates to 55 grams of protein for a 150 pound individual.

I do want to stress that this is the minimal amount recommended to stave off deficiency for a sedentary person.

For a physically active 150 pound person the requirement may be close to 1 gram of protein for every pound of body-weight. That would be 150 grams of protein!

As you can see that is quite the range. You’re looking at a 100 gram difference between the low recommendation of 55 and the high recommendation of 150.

The thing is we are all different and your body may need a little more or a little less.

You’re going to have to adjust according to what works best for you based on how you feel.

If you find yourself constantly sore, not recovering between workouts, or even having cravings for certain food, these can all be signals from your body that you need more protein.

The Habit

One of the eating habits you need to adopt, regardless of your goal, is eating protein at every meal. In order to meet your requirement you’ll need to have this habit in place.

It’s partly because it’s a numbers game.

It’s very difficult to meet your daily requirement of most nutrients in only a couple of meals.

Eating large amount of protein at a single meal can also be very difficult to digest.

With an average size chicken breast having only 20 grams of protein you can see where you have to have your protein multiple times through out the day.

Closing  Thought

Keep in mind, we are applying a mathematical equation to a human body so the formula is not going to work out exactly. Instead, use this equation to give you an estimate of where to start.

Then rely on the feedback from your body and adjust until you find the amount of protein that’s right for you.

If you have any further questions with diet or nutrition, please feel free to contact me.

I’d love to hear what works for you.

Ed Scaduto