Amount of Protein needed to build muscle

[gbjj]

I know there is a paragraph in PYTP John wrote about how much protein your body really can consume and use, however, I can't rember the amount.

I was speaking to a couple of friends of mine (body builders) who gave me the common formula for the required protein that most body builders use to gain muscle and it goes something like this.

In order for you to maintain your muscle mass you need 1 gram of protein for each 1 pound of lean body mass you have.

In order to make moderate muscle gains you need 1.5 to 1, and aggressive gains 2.0 to 1.

Not everyone knows their lean muscle mass, so a common way to use this is just body weight.

I'm wondering what the consesus is on this topic here at Bronze Bow.

I picked up a good protein supplement (whey, low in sugar) which is around 22 grams per serving plus the milk which is 9 grams (and I double scooped) so that's around 50 grams per drink at around 300 calories :dazed:

After tracking this for around a week, I'm amazed at how much work it is to get in the minimum amount (so called) protein to just maintain your muscle mass.

Any thoughts

[Free]

Lets look at this from a different perspective:

How much muscle mass would qualify for "aggressive gain"? I would say that anything over 20lbs of LBM increase over a years time is pretty impressive.

20lbs of LBM is at least 70% water, so only 30% is protein. That is 6lbs per year. Divide that by 365 days is .016lbs or 7.36grams of protein.

So, you can see that the protein requirement is rather small, over maintainance level. It would be better to focus on absorbability of protein, and getting enough calories to spare protein utilization.

[JoeJustice]

Methinks Free would suggest you get those calories from quality fats, no?

-Joe

[Free]

Well... I wouldn't say entirely. It depends on what ratio's work for you. Carbs can be very useful when you are expending a lot of energy through activity. I am not totally anti carb by any means.

I think Low Carb is a goal to shoot for, especially for good long term health, but if you are a very active athlete, that is very difficult to achieve.

[Free]

Let me just throw one more thing in here for consideration. Protein can get a bit toxic, if you eliminate all fats, and are taking in large quantities. So, I would recommend balancing with some carbs, and healthful fats, to avoid that issue.

[tom]

Some thoughts/opinions:

There is a question to how much protein is necessary, therefore bodybuilders overcompensate and take way more than they need. Excess protein does not make them smaller, so what the heck.

If you are spending a lot on protein to artificially build/maintain a certain body-type, are you really ok with renting muscle, so to speak? You will have to keep paying rent or lose some of that bodybuildish build. The answer is your own personal choice, just like plastic surgery.

As Free says, if you have enough calories to spare protein, it doesn't take that much to build muscle.

Compare the cost of protein/gram: eggs, milk, chicken, beef, powder. You can spend a lot of money - be clear on why and if that is what you want. That is a lot of resources/work/time out of your life.

I understand the urge of young men. Been there done that. Now I'm older.

Read Lyle McDonald's stuff. He is very knowledgeable and informative. He knows more than any of us.

Good luck,
Tom

[vegetus25]

I was reading one of Nancy Clark's nutrition books this weekend. She is a nutritionist who works w/ athletes. She recommends .7-.8 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight.

God bless,

Veg