Summer is almost here, and you’ve finally made the decision to get serious about your physique goal. Congratulations!
Or maybe it’s some other random time of the year and you’re looking to get peeled like a banana for some other warm-weathered trip.
Either way, that’s awesome and I’m excited for you and your new goal.
Now you just have to wade through all the hype surrounding protein.
And, if you are at all like I was when I first started, you probably have a lot of questions.
“Do I really need to be eating a lot of protein to look lean and toned?”
”If so, how much? Is there a magical number?”
Trust me, I hear you and I’ve been there, so let’s get into it.
How much protein should you be eating per day?
I’ve found that aiming to consume between 0.7-1.0g of protein per pound of lean body mass (LBM) per day seems to be one of the most commonly accepted recommendations for people who want to achieve that lean, summer-ready physique.
If you’re in a time crunch, feel free to let that last sentence be your practical takeaway from this article and get back to your regularly-scheduled life.
LEAN BODY MASS VERSUS TOTAL BODYWEIGHT
But for those who want more nuance, know that most people aren’t really taking that LBM stipulation to account at all.
In other words, most people simply use their bodyweight instead of that LBM figure for the sake of keeping things as simple as possible (and this is totally understandable).
Why?
Because estimating your LBM isn’t always easy unless you have access to a DEXA or an InBody scan.
So, while some experts recommend a bit more protein per day (1.2g or more per pound of LBM) and other gurus push for a bit less (as low as 0.7g per pound of LBM), this “1g per Pound of Bodyweight Rule” still seems to be the most popular pick.
Did you catch that detail? What I’m saying is that although using your lean body mass in your calculation is probably a bit more accurate, most people will use their total bodyweight instead.
But, why?
Well, I think the most obvious reason is because that 1:1 ratio of grams of protein to bodyweight is just a really easy way to calculate your daily protein intake.
And, let’s be honest with ourselves.
“Easy” works really well for most people because “easy” is usually adherence-friendly and sustainable for the long-term, which is extremely important.
Think about it this way. People like basic math because basic math is easy.
If you weigh 125 pounds, you’d eat a maximum of 125g of protein per day. Easy.
If you weigh 150 pounds, you’d eat a maximum of 150g of protein per day. Simple, right?
If you weigh 175 pounds, you’d eat a maximum of 175g of protein per day.
You get the point.
So, although I do think it’s slightly better to calculate your daily protein intake using your lean body mass, I think it’s also fine to use your total bodyweight in most (but not all) cases.
For a deeper dive on this, I’d encourage you to reference this article I wrote on a very other ways to calculate your protein needs.
Does everybody need to be eating that much protein?
Of course not. I want to be clear that these recommendations aren’t for everyday Joe’s and Jane’s – they’re for people who really want to start taking their body recomposition effort seriously.
In other words, I’m not suggesting your sweet Grandma Margaret should be shotgunning 60g of whey protein after her mid-morning gardening session to support optimal hamstring and glute development.
That would be, well, quite unnecessary (and also hilarious) since Grandma probably isn’t trying to look jacked and lean at the pool by mid-June.
Protein recommendations for people less interested in getting jacked and lean are, of course, much lower because they aren’t loading up their bodies with heavy loads with the focused intent of developing the size and density of their muscles.
Since proteins are widely considered the buildings blocks of muscle repair and growth, it makes sense to be eating more protein if you want to be more muscular.
Simply put, if you want to get jacked and lean, you need more protein relative to the person that doesn’t.
So, let’s just make sure we’re clear about that. If you’ve decided you want to be more jacked and lean, you’re in a different category of recommended protein intake now.
But, what does it mean to be “taking your body recomposition effort seriously?”
I’ve come up with the following checklist to help you make sense of that question for yourself.
You’re probably taking your body recomposition effort “seriously enough” if you are:
Training intelligently with resistance for hypertrophy or something like CrossFit 3-6 (or even more) times per week.
Eating purposefully in a caloric deficit, a caloric surplus, or at maintenance based on the specific goal at hand.
Prioritizing your protein intake across a minimum of 3 meals per day in most cases.
Trying to get the majority of your calories and protein from nutrient-dense foods while saving “junk foods” for treats and special occasions.
Optimizing your rest and recovery as much as possible.
Minimizing or eliminating alcohol consumption.
But back to protein and how much you should be consuming per day.
As wonderfully as the “1g per Pound Rule” works in most cases, there is one semi-exception worth mentioning.
An Exception for Very Overweight or Obese Folks
As we just discussed, that “1g per Round Rule” is based on your lean body mass (LBM), which isn’t the same as your total body mass (bodyweight).
So the implied exception is this:
The more overweight you are, the more important it is to calculate your daily protein intake based off of your lean body mass rather than your total bodyweight.
For example, if you’re a 180-pound female but you’d probably be a lean, healthy version of yourself at 130 pounds, I would argue that eating 180g of protein a day just isn’t necessary unless you really love eating protein.
But even then I would make the argument that those calories would be better spent on nutrient-dense carbohydrates or fats to aid in both day-to-day energy availability for quality training and optimized recovery.
And just to be clear, in this example, the 130 pounds represent a number that would be a much closer estimation to your lean body mass based on the Goal Weight Method, and thus a better figure to be using in your calculation.
The bottom line is this:
You don’t get bonus gains for eating more protein once you’ve met the evidence-based requirement, so make sure you aren’t consuming unnecessary amounts of protein as person who might be considered overweight or obese.
In fact, it can even be a detriment to your overall dietary pattern if your protein consumption starts to crowd out other important foods that provide macronutrient and micronutrient diversity.
So, what’s the takeaway here?
I think it makes the most sense to keep your protein intake as simple as eating between 0.7-1.0g of protein per pound of lean body mass (LBM) per day if you’re hoping to optimize your body recomposition effort. I like this approach because it accounts for people of varied amounts of body fat due to the use of the lean mass figure. I regularly consume toward the 0.7 multiplier of LBM and continue to see great progression in strength, performance, and muscle mass.
Remember that there is no magical amount of protein you should be consuming, but there are evidence-based ranges that are likely to optimize your progress toward your physique goal.
Thanks for reading, everyone! I sincerely hope you enjoyed the content and learned something.
If you feel like this blog brought you any value at all, consider sending it to a friend or family member!
And, if you're interested in working with me one-on-one, visit The Vegan Gym and apply for coaching. I’ve had nothing but success in guiding people toward their fat loss goals.
Cheers, everyone!
-Andrew
