We know from our previous blog that we need to consume sufficient protein in order to maximise MPS (muscle protein synthesis) and give us the best opportunity to grow muscle tissue. 

Here we are looking a little more into how much protein and in what circumstances we may want to aim for a little more or even a little less. Also one of the most common mistakes we see people making when it comes to protein intake. 

Before We Begin

We should note: Protein has many other important functions besides solely repair and growth of muscle tissue. Protein helps with appetite control, weight and body composition management, improved cardiometabolic health, alongside impacting factors such as immune function and repair from injuries.

How Much Protein is Enough?

Although previously we spoke about a general guideline of 30g of protein per meal (or 1 palm of protein), there are a number of factors that may influence our decision making, and where we may want to get more specific. 

A person’s age, weight, health status, activity, goals, and dietary restrictions all influence how much protein we may want to consume. 

One example of this would be an older individual that wants to retain or even grow as much muscle tissue as possible. We know as we age we start to naturally lose muscle mass, this loss is exacerbated by a lack of activity and a lower protein diet. So if we have an individual that is in this scenario, and trains frequently, we know we want to aim for the mid to upper protein range. 

Additionally someone that is plant based (due to the lower digestibility of protein found in plant foods) may want to consume more in order to account for this.Overall recommendations for active people are to aim for between 1.2 – 2.2g per kg of BW (not accounting for extremes). We realise many of our members don’t want to get into this much detail, so we adopt more of a hand portion or habit based approach to get a gauge of their protein intake, and to see if they are consuming enough for their goals

Common Mistakes

Aside from not getting enough protein overall we often see that people consume enough protein in their evening meal, but don’t get enough throughout the rest of the day, particularly breakfast. This means they only get enough protein in one of their meals to optimally stimulate MPS (get the desired response to repair and grow muscle). Which is potentially going to impact overall results. We can see an example of this in the image below.

Alongside this, we can also consider the impact of protein on satiety. So if we are looking at this from a fat loss perspective, we know hunger is often a stumbling block. If we are only getting one good serving of protein a day, this means throughout the rest of the day we may even experience more hunger, than we otherwise would do with adequate consumption of protein. Potentially impacting overall food intake, and consequently fat loss

This month’s seminar is based around muscle building, and more specifically the nutrition and lifestyle factors that we can work to improve for our members to achieve their goals.