Hacker News Reader

Comment by rubyrescue | Hacker News Reader

the recommendation if you're lifting to gain strength from a number of sources is 1g to 1.5g of protein per lb of body weight. for me that's 190 to 260g/day. it's A LOT...

View on HN

Actually it's 1-2g of protein per kg of weight, not lb. Unless you're on anabolic steroids or are on a protein sparing modified fast (PSMF) 1.5g of protein per lb isn't going to help you gain or retain more muscle.

Source: A week ago I read through all studies I could find on pubmed about optimal protein intake for muscle gain.

this is where i got my data - http://examine.com/faq/how-much-protein-do-i-need-every-day.... - and you're right. I aim for 200g/day which for me is 2g/kg and probably a bit more than i need. I've noticed if i work out and eat much less than that i don't recover as well.

It's 1g per lb of lean weight. That would be for a beginner, trained athletes aren't going to be putting on so much muscle so won't need so much protein.

Correct on the steroids and fasting though.

Even 1/g per pound is too much. A perfectly optimal level for bodybuilders is around .82g per pound. One can extrapolate from there for those not seeking hypertrophy. - http://mennohenselmans.com/the-myth-of-1glb-optimal-protein-...

Those studies all focus on trained individuals. As a novice you would be putting on more muscle than a trained bodybuilder or strength athlete.

It's worth pointing out as well that there is no disadvantage to consuming too much protein.

Strength standards for beginners.

http://www.exrx.net/Testing/WeightLifting/StrengthStandards....

there is no disadvantage to consuming too much protein.

Uh... there are many sources that cite problems with eating too much protein. Dehydration, kidney stress, calcium deficiency, heart disease, and other side-effects of increased fat or cholesterol levels of foods with large amounts of protein.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/468026-physiological-conse... http://breakingmuscle.com/nutrition/put-down-steak-youre-eat... http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=50...

None of those links actually cite a disadvantage. In fact from the second:

"Finally, the authors reiterate that even if you consume “unnecessarily high protein intakes” like 1.3 grams per pound of body weight per day, this still isn’t a risk to your kidneys unless you already had kidney disease."

Well numbers like that make sense when you take into account that the 1.5g figure applies readily to people like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdhOdJ_NVao

Better to eat too much protein than too little anyway.

Ah :) - I'm not the OP, but as an Uruguayan, that actually sounds like too little ! :)

We do eat a lot of meat over here though (I believe #1 per-capita in the world).

as an american living in argentina, i say, pass the morcilla : )

I'd say that with some Bife de Chorizo, you'll probably get those 190 to 260 g of protein easily :)

Who's recommendation? I've seen recommendations all over the map.

The ones I often see are somewhere between .6g and 1g per lb of body weight, with 1g being the most common recommended on body building forums.

This article (http://mennohenselmans.com/the-myth-of-1glb-optimal-protein-...) calls the 1g/lb recommendation a total myth.

Another important question is whether the ratio is against total or lean body weight? If you've got a lot of fat, you may be over-calculating your protein needs.

Eating too much protein may or may not hurt. Some say excess protein taxes the kidneys (which filter it out into your piss). Some say your body ends up converting it to fat. (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/maki1.htm)

Also following recommendations from people who's goal it is to look like Lou Ferrigno may not make sense for most people.

So you don't think I'm attacking you, here's a pro-protein link: http://www.livestrong.com/article/556322-how-much-protein-is...

Who's right? Who knows?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com