how much protein is actually needed to build muscle??

[mdj]

I have read lots of different statistics regarding this- I would say 2.5g of protein per kg of bodyweight. What does everyone else think? (I ask this question as I have recently read some ridiculously inflated figures for the amount of protein you actually need to gain muscle!

[Weaves]

Quote

I have read lots of different statistics regarding this- I would say 2.5g of protein per kg of bodyweight. What does everyone else think? (I ask this question as I have recently read some ridiculously inflated figures for the amount of protein you actually need to gain muscle!

1.7g per kg is adequate

[ATZ]

One of the few cases where more is better, however after a certain point more protein just becomes expensive carbs and because it's highly filling can hinder getting in enough calories to bulk up. I would say 1g per lb BW just to be safe in an iso or hypercaloric state, so that's about 2g per KG. More if dieting / cutting as it the most lbm sparing nutrient.

Also bare in mind the silly estimates banded around online come from anabolic users, anabolics send protein synthesis sky high so more protein is required in the diet.

[NU_nutrition_TS]

Protein is second only to water when it comes to the physiological make-up of the human body. The protein content averages 15-20% of total body mass and 60-70% of that protein is concentrated in the skeletal muscles*.

So a 75 kg weight trainer at 12% body-fat will have at most 15 kg of protein in his body, of which <10.5 kg will be in his muscle mass. Since his lean mass is 67 kg and skeletal muscle has been determined to be a pretty constant proportion of lean mass in humans (ratio=0.536)**, his skeletal muscle mass will be ~36 kg. So, about 300g of protein per kg of muscle or 30%.

Studies have shown that, due to the limiting factor of rate of turnover in muscle cells, it is only possible to gain an ounce (~28g) of muscle per day***, which is 10.2 kg maximum in a year. Of that 28g per day, a maximum of 8.4g will be protein (30% as above).

So to answer your question, you would need an extra 8.4g of protein per day (on top of what you already consume to maintain your current total healthy body mass) in order to provide sufficient raw material to build the maximum amount of additional muscle tissue possible. Even if you add more protein for other concomitant needs, you can see that the amount of protein required is relatively tiny on a daily basis.



* Tom Venuto
** Wang et al (1998)
*** Colgan et al

[Nicholars]

Im ~74kg and at the moment I only eat about 135g most days and occasionally eat 250g or so if i buy a whole chicken or something because I dont use any powders at the moment and cant really afford much more...

Do you think thats enough?

[NU_nutrition_TS]

That's a protein intake of 1.8-3.4g per kg. I'd say that is plenty, with the top end of your range being overkill!

[khris]

Well im 82kg and average about 170g a day, a very good day is 220g, not sure if its enough but again I think its a case of what works for one wont work for another.

[Maximi11ion]

Quote

So to answer your question, you would need an extra 8.4g of protein per day (on top of what you already consume to maintain your current total healthy body mass) in order to provide sufficient raw material to build the maximum amount of additional muscle tissue possible. Even if you add more protein for other concomitant needs, you can see that the amount of protein required is relatively tiny on a daily basis.

So one (pretty large) daily egg added to your "maintenance" diet would do it?

[p0stscript]

Quote

So one (pretty large) daily egg added to your "maintenance" diet would do it?

That's the way I read it.

[NU_nutrition_TS]

Quote

So one (pretty large) daily egg added to your "maintenance" diet would do it?

Quote

That's the way I read it.

I think the idea is to illustrate how little additional dietary protein you actually need per day to build a realistic amount of extra muscle rather than specify an exact amount. You could go for an additional 10g or 20g but you certainly don't need to double and triple your intake! It's basically just answering back, with some basic logic, against the popular myth that the more protein you can consume, the more muscle you will grow. As I constantly say, if protein consumption was the major determinant of muscle tissue growth, then people could build huge muscles simply by eating more protein - which is patently absurd! At the end of the day, it is the training you do that dictates muscle growth and genetic/physiological factors that dictate the limit of that growth. Food, and specifically protein, only support that growth once stimulated by exercise and you won't increase that growth by consuming protein above and beyond the modest amount that science shows us is optimal.