The Ultimate Guide to Protein Intake: How Much to Eat for Muscle Growth, Weight Loss, and Optimal Health

2023-10-27 05:51:14

Protein is essential for muscle growth and repair, maintains healthy skin, hair and nails, and creates a feeling of fullness, helping control appetite and maintain normal weight.

Source: Freepik.com

Protein is one of the three main macroelements in nutrition, along with carbohydrates and fats, and a building material for cells and tissues of the body. How much can you eat at a time for it to be absorbed, said PRO TRENER personal trainer Katya Mitrofanova.

Lack of protein in the diet can lead to muscle loss, weaken the immune system and cause stunted growth in children. However, its excess can also be harmful to health: it overloads the kidneys and contributes to the leaching of calcium.

How much protein to eat to lose weight

The World Health Organization (WHO) provides these recommendations for protein intake.

For sedentary adults, regarding 0.8 g of protein per 1 kg of body weight per day is recommended. That is, if your weight is 70 kg, then the daily value should be regarding 56 g. If your goal is weight loss, you can increase your protein intake to 1.2-1.5 g per 1 kg of body weight per day. This will help maintain muscle mass during periods of calorie deficit and increase feelings of satiety. If you want to increase muscle mass, it is recommended to consume 1.6 to 2 g of protein per 1 kg of body weight per day. This will help restore and build muscle.

How much protein should a vegetarian eat?

If you only eat plant proteins, following the standard grams per kilogram of weight recommendations is incorrect. Unlike animal protein, plant protein contains an incomplete set of amino acids necessary for the human body. And besides, the degree of digestibility of animal proteins is regarding 90%, and 60% of plant proteins.

If you are a vegetarian, keep your diet varied and take additional nutritional supplements and vitamin complexes to replenish missing microelements and amino acids.

How much protein can you eat at one time?

It is advisable to distribute your protein intake evenly throughout the day. For example, if your daily requirement is 100 grams of protein, you can divide 25 grams of protein into each of your four meals.

However, if you exercise, it is recommended to increase your intake following exercise to promote muscle recovery. The body only uses regarding 20-25 grams of protein in one sitting because our digestive system and metabolism cannot instantly convert large amounts of protein into the amino acids needed for the body’s growth and repair. Therefore, the excess will be removed from it or stored as fat.

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