How Much Protein Per Day

Protein is rightly called the building block of the body as most of the muscle mass comes from protein. Generally, most people in prosperous countries get enough protein from their diet. However, in this fitness crazy world wherein people cannot eat a single morsel of food without counting calories in it, it is but obvious that you would want to know how much of protein per day is good for you. You must be aware of the hazards of eating very low or very high protein diet. It is important to balance your overall intake of protein for maintaining a good muscle mass.

How Much Protein Should I Eat Per Day

Protein intake should generally form 20% of your overall calorie intake. For instance, if your total calorie intake is 2000 calories, then you can calculate your protein intake as follows.

Calories from protein = 2000 * 0.2 = 400 calories.

This means, around 400 calories in your daily diet should come from protein. Find how many grams of protein do you need a day, using the following formula.

400 / 4 = 100 grams (since, 1 gram = 4 calories)

Thus, you should take around 100 grams of protein everyday. As you might have noticed, this calculation is based upon the total calorie need of a person for a day, which we have assumed to be 2000. However, many people, especially, children and women consume far less than 2000 calories per day. Hence, it would be inappropriate to consume 100 grams of protein. Also, many people do not keep track of the number of calories that they consume. In that case, the above formula of finding daily protein intake may be rendered useless. A body weight based formula may help you to determine your daily protein intake. A simple formula based on body weight is,

(Weight in pounds / 2) - 10 = Gram protein

For instance, if you weigh about 180 pounds, then your protein intake will be

(180 / 2) - 10 = 80 gram protein.

However, the above formula does not take into account the kind of lifestyle that you lead. It is a common knowledge that people who are physically more active tend to lose more muscle mass. This muscle loss should be compensated through a protein rich diet. Body builders, athletes need more protein than others. When you work out, your muscles break down. Muscle rebuilding and repair is only possible if you take enough proteins. On the other hand, people who lead a sedentary lifestyle can do with less intake of protein. As these people do not lose considerable muscle mass, their bodies can function with as little as 50 gm protein per day.

Depending upon the extent of your physical activity, you can choose to take proteins in the range of 0.4 to 1.8 g/kg of your body weight. The following examples should give you a better understanding of how much protein you should take depending upon your body weight and lifestyle. As this formula uses body weight in kilograms, you may first have to convert weight in pounds to kilograms. If you consider your weight to be in pounds then you can find your protein intake as,

(Weight in pounds / 2.2) = Weight in kilograms

Weight in kilograms * 0.4 or 1.8 = Gram protein

A person weighing 220 pounds with a sedentary lifestyle should take,

220 / 2.2 = 100 kilograms,

100 * 0.4 = 40 grams of protein.

Now the same person with an excessive workout routine or physical activity should take,

100 * 1.8 = 180 grams of protein.

Average people may have to choose a value between 0.4 and 1.8, as their lifestyle is moderately active. In short, your protein intake may vary anywhere between 50 to 80 grams a day.