Protein, how much do I need?

Slaves to Advertisement

Everyone has done, for years I did it. Read magazines like Muscle and Fiction, Men's Health and worst of all Flex.

I see it all the time, guys taking massive amounts of protein to rebuild after a hard workout. "I Got to recover, I need to fuel those muscles." Right?

Well, no, it turns out not really. Carbs fuel your muscle and are most needed after a hard workout. Furthermore, protein is a minor and difficult source of energy for the body, another myth that advertisers push by selling "protein energy" supplements.

If you read Muscle and Fiction magazine then without doubt you have seen articles and adds trying to sell you on extra protein, 1 gram per pound of body weight, according to some "experts".

Sorry, but here are the FACTS.

• A normal active adult only needs about .36 grams of protein per pound of body weight.


• Truly active adults like athletes who are training vigorously on a daily basis may require .45-.75 grams of protein per pound of body weight.


• Infants need 1 gram per pound of body weight.

So what does this mean? Protein has 4 calories per gram so if you only need 67 grams of protein per day ( 185lbs X .36= 67 grams) then the extra boils down to just extra calories. Extra calories are not what you are looking for if you are trying to loose weight. The facts are that you do not store "protein" you store fat. The protein that does not get used by your body is turned into glucose and fatty acids by the liver, stored as fat and some is excreted. So you can see if weight loss is your goal then extra protein is really extra calories that you must burn off later. This is hardest truth for the "hardcore" lifters to believe and for most of them it is not really an issue unless extra calories are a concern. I still struggle with it myself, I just finished a massive baked chicken breast for dinner that probably contained over 65 grams of protein, a part of me still wants to think it is justified.