How Much Protein Do I Need?

One of the discussions I hear quite often in my time around the gym between people ask how much protein they need for optimal fitness. While individual needs will vary from person to person, there are some guidelines you can follow depending on the type of exercise you do and what your needs are.

Protein is an important and essential part of any diet. Its main function is to provide a block body needs to maintain and repair cells. dietary lack of protein can result in impaired ability of the body to heal itself.

A person who does not do any significant physical activity should probably be about 1 gram of protein for every 2 kg of body weight. So, a woman who leads a fairly normal life, which is not too heavy, and weighs 130 pounds would need about 65 grams of protein for optimal health.

more active person who engages in light physical activity such as walking, cycling, gardening or as you will need a little more, such as 1 gram for every 1.5 pounds of body weight. In the example above, our women will need about 86 grams of protein daily.

person to engage in weight training to build muscle and strength need more protein than any of the above examples. In the case of our women over a body builder, she would aim for 1 gram of protein for each kilogram of body weight to your target weight. So if she weighs 130 (as above), but wanted to gain 10 pounds of muscle, it should aim for 140 grams of protein daily.

These are only general guidelines that can be used as a starting point for figuring out your optimal protein intake. If you are a weightlifter looking to get bigger and stronger, it is important that you get enough calories and enough protein. If not, it does not matter what kind of training you are doing and you will get.

Good luck and good lifting!