Contrary to what the fitness experts would have you believe a body building diet does not need to contain crazy amounts of protein. A common suggestion is one gram of protein per pound of body weight. That is roughly 200 grams per day, for a 200 pound man. This is actually a low number compared to what a lot of the body building magazines recommend.
The recommendation by the RDA for Protein for Adults is .8 gram per kilogram of body weight.
That would translate to about 64 grams if you’re weighing 175 pounds. So why is it these numbers are so widely varied? Well, to start with the RDA’s suggested levels have been based on research done with college-aged men. This was the amount of protein needed to keep the nitrogen balance in these young men stable. However, nitrogen balance has not proven 100% effective in predicting muscle loss or gain. Because of this it’s not the best way to estimate protein intake for a body building diet.
The AMDR recommends between 10% and 35% of all calories consumed daily to be protein.
So depending on what your daily calorie intake is, this will affect how much protein you should be eating. The AMDR is an acronym for Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range, which in 2005 was initially established by the Institute of Medicine. The main problem with the AMDR’s recommendation is that it covers a rather large spread. Neither the AMDR or the RDA take exercise into account with their recommendations. Someone who is training hard would have to consider their activity levels when putting together a body building diet for themselves.
So is doesn’t seem like the AMDR or the RDA are much help when it comes to creating a body building diet for someone.
Some body building magazines suggest as high as 2 grams of protein per pound of body weight. That is 350 grams per day, for a 175 pound man! You need to remember the problem with depending on information from body building magazines is they aren’t always unbiased. Selling ads to various advertisers is their main source of income. In turn, protein is the top supplement that the advertisers are selling. No doubt that 2 grams of protein per pound of body weight is way more than necessary.
The More Protein You Are Eating, The More Protein You Will Be Able To Digest
Here’s a weird body fact; if you eat large amounts of protein at every meal, your body becomes used to it and has an easier time absorbing it. If your body is accustomed to eating smaller amounts of protein, then a high protein meal will make your stomach upset because your gastro-intestinal system won’t be able to digest it all. You would think that digesting more protein would mean building more muscle, but it isn’t that simple.
Digesting Ten Time More Of Protein Will Not Result In Ten Times More Muscle
It has been shown by research that eating more protein means the more your body will switch over to using amino acids for fuel. Most of the time your body is using protein, carbs, and fat for fuel. Depending on what goes into your system, your body adjusts its fuel burning needs to output energy. Based on that information it doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense to keep increasing the protein, but exactly what is enough?
A Study Which Shows 70-120 Grams of Protein Per Day for Exceptional Muscle Gains
Brad Pilon wrote a whole book on this topic called “How Much Protein”. After comparing quite a few studies, Brad discovered 0.55 to 0.7 grams of protein for each pound of body weight is enough to achieve excellent muscle gains. He also references several studies that have shown that going over 120 grams of protein each day will not help add to your muscle gain. It’s your decision to believe the the reports based on scientific research, or the ads of the supplement companies. The choice is yours. My suggestion is to average roughly 100 grams of protein per day, which is easily doable without adding protein shakes to your body building diet.
