How Much Protein Do We Need to Build Muscle?

Optimising your protein intake to maximise recovery from exercise.

We build muscle by stressing muscle fibres lifting heavy things and then consuming protein, our muscles recover stronger.

Protein repairs and builds muscle.

But, how much protein do we need?

With anything gym-related, you’ll get different advice depending on who you talk to.

The correct answer is not “as much as possible". But, the optimal amount of protein for building muscle is more than the average person is consuming.

In this article, we explore what science says about how much protein we need to build muscle. I also provide tips on how to get quality protein sources into your diet.

Protein builds muscle

Protein provides the nutritional foundation for muscle gain through repairing and maintaining muscle tissue. It is key to recovery. If we can’t recover, our body can’t build muscle back stronger.

However, not all protein is made equal. Every food source will have a unique amino acid profile —often called the building blocks of protein. Hundreds of amino acids occur in nature, but just 20 of those are required to make the protein found in our bodies.

There are three main categories of amino acids: essential, non-essential and conditionally essential.

Essential amino acids — consist of nine amino acids that your body cannot produce and only obtained through diet. These are the important amino acids for people wanting to build muscle.

The optimum amount of protein to maximise muscle growth

The general rule of thumb for protein consumption to optimise building and maintaining muscle has been one gram per pound of body weight.

If you work in kilograms, you need approximately double your weight in grams (2.2 to be precise).

That means, if you weigh 150 pounds (70 kg), you need approximately 150 grams of protein.

A recent study found that the optimal protein intake to build and maintain muscle to maximise performance is 1.6–2.4 g per kg of body weight per day.

Therefore, one gram per pound fits within this recommendation.

The study participants made no improvements in muscle growth or performance above 1.6g per kg of body weight per day. Their finding means protein intake can be as low as 0.7lb per lb of body weight and have the same benefit.

“With protein supplementation, protein intakes at amounts greater than ~1.6 g/kg/day do not further contribute RET-induced (resistance exercise) gains in FFM (Fat-free mass).” (Morton et al., 2018)

Other benefits of a high-protein diet

There are other benefits to protein, like a higher thermic effect, called diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT).

Thermogenesis is a metabolic response to food where food intake results in a short-term increase in energy expenditure, attributable to the numerous steps of nutrient processing (e.g. digestion, absorption, transport, metabolism and storage of nutrients).

Having a high-protein meal is also satiating — which means we feel fuller for longer. Therefore, we do not get as hungry and eat as much.

“There is convincing evidence that a higher protein intake increases thermogenesis and satiety compared to diets of lower protein content.” (Halton & Hu, 2004)

You don’t need to overdo protein

More protein does not mean more gains. A lot of people going to the gym and taking protein shakes overdo protein. The assumption is that more is better, but this is not the case over the optimum protein amount.

Going by the 1.6–2.4 g of protein per kg of body weight per day, for somebody 80 kg, this is around 130 grams of protein at the bottom end, to around 190g at the higher end.

By eating 250 grams a day of protein, for an 80 kg person, that’s 100 grams more than you need. The extra protein won’t build any additional muscle. It won’t harm consuming more, but it becomes empty calories if we’re trying to lose weight.

Like anything that we overconsume, it is stored as body fat if we do not burn it off.

One hundred grams of protein is 400 calories. It would take most people nearly an hour of cardio to burn 400 calories!

How to choose high protein foods

So, protein is vital for building and maintaining muscle. How do you know what food sources are best for protein?

Use online resources

Google is an excellent resource for food education. You can learn the nutritional makeup of fruit, vegetables, and meat; things without the nutrition information are on a label.

Check the ratios of protein, fat, and carbs.

The more you learn about what’s in food, the easier it becomes to make better choices subconsciously.

The macronutrient ratio of food

When choosing a protein source from food, a good rule of thumb is to go with a 3 to 1 protein-to-fat ratio. Or better.

Many meat cuts can often have a ratio of 1 protein to 1 fat or even worse, meaning you are consuming extra calories. Processed meats can be even worse.

If you’re trying to lose or maintain your weight, this is something you need to consider.

In terms of the other macronutrients, Fats and Carbs, the macronutrients’ exact ratio doesn’t matter. Research has shown there’s no real difference between a low-carb or a low-fat diet.

Protein Quality

The Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS) is an indicator of protein quality and its ability to meet the body’s amino acid requirements. It accounts for the amino acid composition and availability of the protein and its digestibility, and scores range from zero to 100.

Essentially, all animal-based foods have a PDCAA score at least above 90.

• Chicken
• Beef
• Lamb
• Venison
• Tuna
• Salmon
• Many other “white” fish

Other animal-sourced proteins with a perfect PCDAA score of 100 include:

• Eggs
• Whey
• Casein
• Greek yoghurt

Many popular plant-based protein sources have a PCDAA level between 50 and 80. A drawback to these protein sources is that they are often high in carbs and/or fat. These include:

• Lentils
• Beans
• Tofu

Learn more about protein quality here.

Implementing protein into your lifestyle

People often have the perception that they have to eat chicken breast, broccoli and rice for the rest of their lives.

You don’t. That’s just what Hollywood stars say to hide the fact they’ve been on steroids when they make a miraculous 12-week transformation.

Variety in a diet is key to keeping your sanity and making it more sustainable for a long time. How long do you think you’ll go eating chicken breast every night before you start craving pizza?

Aim for protein to be around 20% of your total macronutrients.

Basically, if you aim to eat 5 or 6 meals of 25 grams of protein a day, you’ll be fine. Use this as a ballpark figure, not a target. Some meals, such as a big steak or chicken breast, could be 40–50 grams of protein. But some meals might be 15 grams. That’s fine.

Just get in the habit of eating protein consistently at every meal.

Example of meals to reach 150g+ of protein in a day

150 grams of protein a day will be enough to build muscle for most people.

Remember to read the labels of different food items in the supermarket before you purchase things. Check the protein ratio compared to carbs and fat and the price per serving (25 grams) of protein.

Breakfast — Smoothie with one scoop of whey protein or 200–250 ml of egg white, ¼–½ cups of oats, banana, and spinach.

Lunch — chicken and salad sandwich with wholegrain bread — add an egg.

Afternoon snack — protein bar and a piece of fruit.

Dinner — a 200-gram piece of meat or fish with vegetables and a carb such as potatoes, rice or pasta. Egg noodles are great.

Evening snack — a protein shake or bar and a piece of fruit or chicken sandwich.

After the gym — you can have a meal or a protein shake with blended oats or dextrose (sugar) or with a piece of fruit. Flavoured milk is a good alternative, but high sugar is a problem for those trying to reduce their weight.

A sixth meal isn’t essential. Four to five meals will suffice for most, assuming you’re getting 25–30 grams of protein a meal.

A smaller woman might only need 80–100 grams of protein to build muscle, so obviously, this can reduce the number of meals or amount of protein.

A big man with a lot of muscle might aim for 200–250 grams a day.

Final Thoughts

In summary, for most, 150 grams of protein a day will be plenty for most to help build and maintain muscle.

It is important to understand the macronutrients to make better choices in our diets. The article provides tips on quality sources of protein and how to create the habit of consuming protein over the day through multiple food sources regularly.

If you want to build muscle, I hope you gained some valuable insight into how protein works and how to optimise our protein consumption.

Thank you for reading.

If you enjoyed the content, you might be interested in learning how I have gained over 40 pounds of muscle.

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