Today I’m going to answer the question: How much protein should you eat to build muscle?
Introduction
This is a controversial topic, and depending on who you ask you will see some wildly varying answers. On the low end you have the RDA, which for me would be about 68 grams of protein per day, and on the high end you have bodybuilders who would tell a guy like me to eat 380 or more grams per day.
So from 68 to 390 grams…that’s a huge difference. Why is there such a big difference there?
First there are a couple things that are important to understand.
Protein Basics
First of all, protein is one of 3 macronutrients. There’s protein, fat, and carbohydrates. And while fat and carbs are used very easily for energy, protein is used more for building and repairing your body. Building new muscle, that kind of thing.
Protein CAN be used for energy, but it’s not an efficient process. Your body has to actually expend energy in order to convert protein into glucose, through a process called gluconeogenesis. So if you eat 100 calories of protein, your body body actually BURNS about 30 calories just converting that protein into energy.
So, because protein is different…because it’s essential for repairing your body and building new muscle…we talk about protein a little differently than other macronutrients.
When you’re talking about how much fat or how many carbohydrates you eat, nutritionists like myself usually talk about that in terms of a percentage. So you may eat 30% of your calories from fat, and 40% of your calories from carbs. Or something like that.
But because protein is so important for building and repair, we talk about protein not in terms of a percentage…but in terms of your weight. Usually we talk about protein in terms of how many grams of protein you should eat per pound or per kilogram of body weight.
And when you’re figuring out your diet, you always START by figuring out your protein first. And then you work backward to get the percentages for fat and carbs. This way you make SURE that you are always getting enough protein, regardless of your percentages or the total amount of calories you’re eating.
The RDA Does Not Apply To You
This is an important point: this article is not about how much protein you should eat to stay healthy.
It’s about how much protein you should eat to build muscle.
So the 2 examples I gave earlier, of 68 grams and 390 grams, those work out to 0.36 grams per pound of bodyweight…and 2.0 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight.
Let’s start with the RDA, that’s 0.36 grams per pound of bodyweight. If you’re an athletic person who exercises and lifts weights, and if your goal is to eat…not just “enough” protein but the OPTIMAL level of protein…then the RDA of 0.36 grams doesn’t really apply to you.
The RDA is meant to avoid malnutrition. It’s meant to give you the bare minimum. It’s also more appropriate for a sedentary person who doesn’t get much physical activity.
So that’s why 0.36 grams per pound is NOT enough for you.
Magazines Are Selling Protein
Now on the other end we have 2.0 grams per pound, and some bodybuilders and muscle magazines suggest eating even MORE than that. Some suggest 3 grams per pound of bodyweight. And that…is just ridiculous. It’s absolutely overkill.
In a lot of cases, you might find…if you were to investigate…that the people who recommend that high level of protein are probably selling whey protein supplements. They’re probably making money selling protein at some level or other. So…there’s a bit of a conflict of interest there.
Another problem with eating THAT MUCH protein is that one of two things is going to happen:
Thing #1 is: you’re going to gain fat because you’re eating too many calories. Protein contains calories, and you’re eating and extra 500 or 1000 calories of protein per day, you’re going to start to notice that you’re looking softer, bigger, pudgier…you’re gaining fat.
The other thing that can happen is, if you eat a ridiculous amount of protein WITHOUT eating too many calories…is that you will end up being deficient in your other nutrients. Does that make sense? If you are eating say 2500 calories/day, and 2000 of those calories come from protein…well, guess what? You’re NOT going to be getting enough fat or carbohydrates. And that is going to HURT your ability to gain muscle, and it’s probably going to have some negative health effects in general, too.
So 0.36 grams is not enough, and 2 grams per pound is TOO MUCH.
That gives us a range that we can look at. And the range that I recommend, the range that works for me and the people I train, is about 0.75-1.25 grams per pound of bodyweight per day.
So if you weight 180 pounds, that means you should eat anywhere from 135 grams of protein to 225 grams of protein per day. That’s 540-900 calories of protein per day.
Does Protein Quality Matter?
Finally I want to address the idea of protein quality. Does it matter what KIND of protein you’re eating?
Well, it depends. If you’re a vegetarian or vegan, then yes: you probably need to make a concerted effort to eat high-quality sources of complete protein.
But if you’re able to get more of your protein from meat sources, like chicken, fish, eggs, etc., then you really don’t need to worry about it. You’re going to be fine.
The only time I recommend supplementing protein is right around the time of your workouts. It’s helpful to consume some whey protein either right before or right after your workouts. And this is because whey protein is really rapidly absorbed. It works great right after a workout.
If you want to learn more about some of the benefits of whey protein, check out my video called “Whey Protein Benefits.”
Conclusion
So that, guys, is how much protein you should eat to build muscle.
Try to eat around 1 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight per day. It doesn’t need to be exact, which is why I give a window of .75-1.25 grams per pound.
And remember, in order for this protein to do any good you have to train hard, with consistency and intensity.