How Much Protein Really?

Hello and welcome back to my blog. It is my goal to provide you with common sense information based on good science and my personal experience. In the past months clients have approached me about protein intake. A friend of a client was told she should be getting 160 grams of protein per day. After tracking her current intake she was shocked. 160 g was difficult for her to consume.

Let’s break 160 grams down into common food:
3 eggs = 21 g ; 2 slices of wheat bread 6 g; 2 Tbsp. of Peanut butter 8 g; 1 can of tuna- 21 g; 1 glass of milk – 8 g; 1 low-fat yogurt – 7 grams; ¼ cup of almonds – 8 g; 3 oz. of chicken breast- 25 g; ½ cup of black beans- 7.5 g.
Total above: 111 grams. This 140 pound person still has to come up with 49 more grams of protein to reach the recommendation. In addition she needs to consume enough carbohydrate to fuel her brain and activity (carbs fuel muscle not protein) and enough fat to aid in cell function, nutrient absorption and hormone regulation.

   Fueling basics:

• A gram of carbohydrate equals 4 calories; a gram of protein equals 4 calories and a gram of fat 9 calories.
• Weight in pounds is converted to kilograms by dividing by 2.2. E.G. 140 divided by 2.2 = 63 kg
• An athlete training a moderate amount needs 6-7 grams of carbohydrate per kg of body weight per day (National Strength and Conditioning Association – Essentials of Strength and Conditioning – 4th Edition)
• The same athlete needs 1 gram of fat per kg of body weight per day. (NCAA- Fueling the Extra Mile)

   Calorie totals:
Protein: If she consumes the additional 49 grams of protein to reach the 160 g recommended, that is a total of 640 calories from protein. 160 x 4 calories per gram.
Carbohydrate: 63kg of body weight x 6.5 grams per day = 409 grams. 409 grams x 4 calories per gram is 1638 calories of carbohydrate.
Fat:  63 kg x 1 = 63 grams. 63 grams x 9 calories per gram equals 567 calories from fat.
Let’s total these: 640 calories from protein; 1638 from carbohydrate and 567 from fat = 2,845 calories.
Here is the challenge. The recommended calorie intake even for a highly active #140 woman is 2,300 calories. Our total is 2845 calories or over 500 calories per day more than her needs.

Two sources can serve as a guideline for protein intake, based on body weight vs. a randomly assigned number. One is again the National Strength and Conditioning Association. The other a conversation I had with a Licensed Dietitian who is in charge of the US Olympic Weightlifting team. Both recommend protein intake at 1.5 – 2.0 grams per Kg of body weigh per day, even for competitive strength athletes. This is much greater than the governments RDA of .8.

If we use our example of a #140 woman (63 kg) who is not a competitive strength athlete and use 1.5 grams per kg (63 x 1.5) the total is 95 grams. This number is far easier for her achieve. An addition it reduces her total calorie intake by 260 calories per day. Reducing carbohydrate slightly to 6 grams vs. 6.5 and the total calorie intake matches the guideline.

I am not a Licensed Dietician. However I have worked full time in the Sports Medicine and Performance Training fields for 40 years. I’ve seen the high carb, low fat; high fat, low carb and other spinoffs of these crazes come and go throughout the decades. Now it’s high protein. Perhaps it’s good to ask: what is your source? What do you base that on? Is this recommendation specific to my gender, weight, activity levels and goals? Often the persons making these recommendations are simply influencers repeating something they heard. Tic Tok shorts; Instagram posts; and books slanted towards someone’s agenda are generally not your best sources. Look for solid information from textbooks, sighting their sources and published by professional organizations.

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