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Thursday, 10 July 2008 17:24 |
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For body builders, one-gram-per-pound of body weight has been a rule of thumb
for years - and it's very close to the .8 grams per pound of body weight recommended in
the most recent research. However, .8 grams per pound of body weight should be
considered a minimum for strength athletes, bodybuilders and anyone else involved in
serious training. When you account for factors such as biochemical individuality, varying
metabolic rates and the added protein needed to accommodate for intense cardio and
weight training, adding an extra margin of .2g/lb makes sense. Under certain
circumstances, one gram per pound may not be enough, but we'll talk more about that later. The one-gram-per-pound guideline is the easiest and most commonly used
method of calculating your daily protein requirement, but it does have drawbacks. If
you’re within the normal ranges for body composition, then this method provides a fairly
good estimate of your protein needs. If you’re overweight and your body fat is
considerably higher than normal, then this formula will overestimate your protein needs.
For example, a lightly active 275 lb woman with 35% body fat certainly doesn't need 275
grams of protein. This guideline also doesn't take into account whether your goal is to
gain or lose weight. Nevertheless, as long you are training regularly and you are within
the normal ranges for body composition, then this simple formula is a solid
recommendation and a good place to start.
Example 1:
You are female
Your total body weight = 130 lbs.
Your protein requirement = 130 grams per day
If you eat 5 - 6 meals a day, that’s 22 - 26 grams of protein per meal
Example 2:
You are male
Your total body weight = 190 lbs.
Your protein requirement = 190 grams per day
Spread over 5 - 6 meals per day, that’s 32 - 38 grams of protein per meal
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