How Much Protein Do I Need? Part II

This is a follow-up of the article I posted yesterday. This was posted originally on "MyFitnessPal.com" and will explain the importance of protein in the diet and how much you need everyday. When I read between the lines I can see clearly how a person who is not getting enough protein in their diet, is continually letting their body go downhill. They're losing muscle mass and gaining body fat and losing energy, which will cause you to be less active, and losing their health in general. All of this happen over many years, so the average person doesn't realize what's taking place. But as you can see in this example, poor health began with a poor diet. Your body needs nutrition to lose body fat and just cutting back on your food might cut some calories but can you really get all the nutrition you need from the food your eating.

Our body changes every day as cells grow, divide and die—these processes depend on protein to supply vital building blocks to our cells. Because of this, you need to eat enough protein to maintain lean muscle mass and support other important body functions, which most people neglect to do. The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) predicts how much protein you should eat daily to guard against lean muscle loss. The RDA for protein is 0.8 gram/kilogram of body weight, but this is a minimum for the average sedentary adult, a.k.a. “weekend warrior.” MyFitnessPal calculates protein intake to be 20% of your daily calories, which is likely more than enough to maintain muscle mass. If you want to check, here’s how to calculate the minimum amount of protein you should be eating:

Step 1: Divide your weight in pounds by 2.2 to get your weight in kilograms.
Step 2: Multiply your weight in kilograms X 0.8 to get the amount (in grams) of protein you should be eating to maintain muscle mass.

Does this match your protein goal in the app? What they're talking about is the free phone App they offer on their website. There are dozens of Diet Apps on the internet that help you calculate calories, carbs and even grams of protein. If you're not using an App calculating and tracking your diet plan can be very complex.

hi-tech tip

If you exercise regularly—particularly if you log 1 hour or more of moderate to vigorous exercise several days per week—the International Society of Sports Nutrition recommends more protein. Their recommendation for an active person is to eat 1.2 to 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight on the days that you exercise. You can use the same steps above to calculate the amount of protein (in grams) you’d need on the days when you exercise.

For endurance activities (think swimming, biking, running), stick to 1.2 to 1.4 gram/kilogram.

For strength activities (think weight lifting), go with 1.4 to 2 grams/kilogram.

I'll simplify the calculating a little by telling you that I weight 165 pounds and I should be eating 60 grams of protein a day to maintain my muscle mass. But on the days I workout and I either run, swim or bike, I should be consuming about 80 grams of protein. Now if you are a beginner  at exercise then I would stick to the 60 grams. When you feel that your muscles are sore for more than one day, then you need to increase the protein.

GETTING PROTEIN FROM WHOLE FOODS

If you’d rather reach for real food to meet your protein needs, we’re right there with you! Getting all your protein from food is super realistic. A sedentary woman weighing 127 pounds only needs a daily dose of about 46 grams of protein, which she can meet by eating 3 ounces of chicken breast, one large egg, a handful of almonds and a stick of string cheese.

You’re probably saying, “I can eat that!” For most people, this amount of food daily is no biggie. Your own needs might be different, of course, but to help you plan your protein, here’s a quick list of protein-rich foods you can reach for:

If you're having a problem understanding the list and what the numbers mean, I'll explain.

3 ounces of skinless chicken has 141 calories and 28 grams of protein. 1/2 cup of Pinto Beans has 197 calories and 11 grams of protein etc. When your eating foods on this list you don't have to worry about calories, eat all you want, just be careful how you prepare your food. That's how we add all the extra calories.

ANIMAL SOURCES PLANT SOURCES
Food (serving) Cal Pro (g) Food (serving) Cal Pro (g)
Skinless chicken (3 ounces) 141 28 Pinto beans (½ cup) 197 11
Steak (3 oz) 158 26 Lentils (½ cup) 101 9
Roasted turkey (3 oz) 135 25 Black beans (½ cup) 114 8
Lamb (3 oz) 172 23 Chickpeas (½ cup) 134 7
Pork (3 oz) 122 22 Black eyed peas (½ cup) 100 7
Salmon (3 oz) 155 22 Quinoa (½ cup) 111 4
Tuna (3 oz) 99 22 Green peas (½ cup) 59 4
Shrimp (3 oz) 101 20
Lobster (3 oz) 76 16
Scallops (3 oz) 75 14

EGG & DAIRY NUTS & SEEDS
Food (serving) Cal Pro (g) Food (serving) Cal Pro (g)
Greek yogurt (6 oz) 100 18 Peanuts (1 oz) 166 7
Cottage cheese, 1% fat (4 oz) 81 14 Peanut butter (1 oz) 188 7
Regular yogurt, nonfat (1 cup) 100 11 Almonds (1 oz) 163 6
Skim milk (1 cup) 86 8 Flax seeds (1 oz) 140 6
Mozzarella (1 oz) 72 7 Chia seeds (1 oz) 138 5
String cheese, non-fat (1 piece) 50 6 Walnuts (1 oz) 185 4
Large egg (1) 71 6

I wrote about this yesterday, that adults get too much of their protein from animals and that raises your cholesterol. Only 15 or 20 % of your protein should be animal protein and the rest plant protein. Now if you look through the list above you'll see many examples of plant protein and fish protein which I don't include in the animal protein class.

I think there's plenty of choices to get your protein without eating animal protein, but if you're still having trouble getting all your protein grams we'll address protein supplements next.