If you are looking to add muscle mass, it’s no secret that you will need to consume a significant amount of protein. The question is, how much?
The answer is… it depends.
The recommended daily allowance guidelines suggest that the average adult should consume 0.37 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. Therefore, if you are a male who weighs 200 pounds, you should consume 74 grams of protein as part of a balanced diet.
That would equate to a 10 to 11 ounce New York strip steak, 1 1/2 skinless chicken breasts, and about 10 ounces of cooked salmon.
However, that is only part of the formula.
As we age, we tend to lose muscle mass, unless we are active in strength training. Men produce less testosterone as they age, and women produce less estrogen.
With this in mind, if you actually want to build muscle, you need to eat much more protein than what is recommended for an adult who does not engage in strength training.
Protein is needed to help the muscles recover and build up muscle tissue that is broken down through exercise.
As a result, it is suggested that an average adult interested in building muscle needs to consume 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight.
One kilo equates to about 2.2 pounds.
Therefore, the 200 pound male discussed above should consume between 109 and 146 grams of protein in order to build muscle through strength training.
This is actually quite a bit less than the conventional wisdom spouted by the bodybuilding crowd, which says you should consume 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight.
Therefore, according to the bodybuilding crowd, the 200 pound male would need to eat at least 200 grams of protein.
From personal experience, I would suggest you can definitely add muscle and strength over time by consuming about 0.60 to .75 grams of protein per pound of body weight on a normal strength training day. I am presently 56 years old.
That 10 ounce New York strip steak will contain about 600 calories, while you will consume a bit over 500 calories for a similar amount of chicken or salmon.
To get to 200 grams of protein per day, you’d need to consume about 30 ounces of meat in a day.
Quite frankly, that seems to be alot, and I personally find it difficult to eat that much. But, I am also not trying to gain excess weight either.
There is also some research that suggests that the average person will not absorb much more than 50 grams of protein at a time, so it really makes no sense to consume a massive quantity of protein at a single meal.
I generally eat four to five meals per day and shoot for between 20 and 50 grams of protein per meal.
Can you lose weight while building muscle?
If you wanted to lose weight at the rate of 1 pound per week, you need to achieve a calorie deficit of 3,500 calories for the week.
A 50 year old man who weighs 200 pounds and is moderately active (not including your workouts) needs to consume about 2,500-2,800 calories to maintain their weight.
A calorie deficit of 500 calories per day is required to lose one pound per week.
That would leave you with 2,000-2,300 calories per day if you were on a diet and did not work out.
If you are interested in getting in better shape through strength training, it is definitely possible to lose fat. However, you must remember that adding muscle means you are adding some weight, since muscle is more dense than fat.
Therefore, don’t focus on weight loss… focus on fat loss. Check out the formula for building muscle and losing fat.
Final thoughts for protein consumption and building muscle
Ultimately, how much protein is needed to build muscle is dependent upon a variety of factors, including your age, your current weight, how much muscle you want to build, the desired time frame, and your overall training plan.
However, for most people, the amount of protein you need to consume to build muscle is likely more than you normally consume.
The trouble is, you can consume a significant amount of protein, but if you don’t pay attention to how much fat and carbs you are consuming, you may very well just become bigger all around.
When you get started with a muscle building program, pay attention to the signals you get from your body. If you are hungry all the time, you are probably not eating enough to make the desired muscle gains.
If you are lacking in energy, you’ll probably need to add some slow burning carbs, such as brown rice or sweet potatoes to your diet.
With all this in mind, to achieve the results you desire, you’ll need to really focus on your diet.
