How Much Protein Do You Need?
Whether you are trying to build more muscle, lose body fat, or stay the same, the amount of protein you have every day is important.
We all know that protein is important, however, with different suggestions online constantly popping up, it can be difficult to actually know how much we should be having each day.
Here’s what you need to know depending on your goals.
Maintenance & Performance
If you don’t have any body composition goals and your main focus is to recover as best as possible day to day, then the current suggestion is 1.6g/kg of bodyweight in protein every day.
What this means in practical terms, is that ¼ of your plate should be protein, with protein rich snacks at morning tea and afternoon tea.
This will make sure you are getting enough protein to recover from session to session, while still leaving space to have enough carbohydrates, fat, and vegetables in your diet.
Weight Loss
When trying to reduce body fat, the amount of protein you have each day is very important.
This is because when you are losing weight, your body tries to strip away your muscle to use as energy.
If we get enough protein, we can protect our muscles which means majority of the weight loss is from body fat.
If you are looking to maintain as much muscle mass as possible, the recommendation is 2g/kg of bodyweight in protein every day.
In practical terms, think of this as 1/3 of your plate being protein, with high protein snacks for morning tea and afternoon tea.
Increase in Muscle Mass
Although it may seem like you would need more protein, if you are trying to increase your muscle mass, you don’t actually need as much protein each day as you would if you were trying to lose body fat.
This is because your body does not need to protect the muscle mass you already have.
If you are trying to increase muscle mass, the recommendation is 1.6g/kg of bodyweight in protein every day.
Again, in practical terms, this is ¼ of your plate being protein, with protein rich snacks at morning tea and afternoon tea.
Following these simple rules can help make sure you are getting the most out of your training sessions depending on your goals.