My GP has advised me to increase my protein intake to increase my muscle mass,Thats all she said no idea how much.I had asked to have an appointment with a dietician to discuss my personal weight problem.I have always been overweight as a child as a teen and a young adult and during my 12 years RAF service and have always played sport and Taekwondo and it seems that my food intake and exercise was o.k but still pile the weight on. I am now 65 and carrying a few painful joints.I am going to the Gym (between injuries) but it seems the same old **** keeps being handed to me (Do More,Eat Less).You ask to see an expert in the field of nutrition and you get handed a Ortistat diet pills.So how much proein is needed daily.
How Much Protein Needed To Improve Muscle Mass.
- Thread starter benford
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The UK RNI is 0.75g of protein for every kg of weight.
The RNI figure is based on graph that is supposed to meet the protein needs of 97.5% of the population.
As you get older it's important to eat enough protein, because muscle mass starts to reduce. That figure above is a minimum, you would benefit from more, though don't go completely crazy. But not enough can cause a number of problems. So if you use that as a minimum, you should be ok.
But of course everything related to food always involves the difficult balancing the different needs of the very complex biochemical system you carry around with you, that is your body.
The RNI figure is based on graph that is supposed to meet the protein needs of 97.5% of the population.
As you get older it's important to eat enough protein, because muscle mass starts to reduce. That figure above is a minimum, you would benefit from more, though don't go completely crazy. But not enough can cause a number of problems. So if you use that as a minimum, you should be ok.
But of course everything related to food always involves the difficult balancing the different needs of the very complex biochemical system you carry around with you, that is your body.
Guzzler
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May I ask if you are on a lower carb diet? If so, how many carbs per day do you have?
This is pertinent because weight loss is linked to carbs much more than protein. After the age of about 50 our bodys become less efficient at metabolising protein so we should have a little more than the 0.8g per Kg body weight per day and this would be the minimum just to maintain.
This is pertinent because weight loss is linked to carbs much more than protein. After the age of about 50 our bodys become less efficient at metabolising protein so we should have a little more than the 0.8g per Kg body weight per day and this would be the minimum just to maintain.
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The 'Enough Protein' debate is one that rages across the internet.
I have seen people confidently quoting figures from around 0.4g/kg of bodyweight, right up to 1.5g/kg of bodyweight.
Fung points out that we (almost) never see protein deficiency in the Western World, so worriting about a lower limit is probably redundant. And others say that it is almost impossible to overeat protein (the human appetite shuts down at protein satiety, in a way that it doesn't with carbs). So unless someone has a health issue like kidney or digestion problems, over eating is an unwonted concern.
There are other schools of thought saying that if we want weight loss, we should calculate our protein needs according to our ideal Lean Body Mass, not our current weight.
And then there are further subdivisions of thought on whether we should be eating more protein as we lose weight (to avoid loss of muscle), or should be keeping our protein intake lowish, to encourage the recycling protein from baggy skin and unneeded bits that shrink as we shrink.
Also, there is some evidence that the older we get the worse we get at utilising protein, so we need to eat more in order to get the same benefit.
A minefield.
Having read myself in circles on this, I threw my hands in the air and decided that I almost certainly need more that 0.6g protein/kg of leam body mass, and that I start to feel yucky, overloaded and meh (technical terms) when I eat more that 1g/kg of lean body mass. Which gives me quite a bit of leeway.
Also, I think that doing a bit of High Intensity Interval Training (injuries and joints permitting) will do far more to maintain and develop muscle than just eating more protein will. The body doesn't just grow muscles for the sake of it, just as it doesn't just grow an extra arm because we eat enough protein to build that arm.
You can find half a dozen different Macro Nutrient calculators scattered across the internet, and half a dozen different Recommended Daily Amounts. Take your pick.
I have seen people confidently quoting figures from around 0.4g/kg of bodyweight, right up to 1.5g/kg of bodyweight.
Fung points out that we (almost) never see protein deficiency in the Western World, so worriting about a lower limit is probably redundant. And others say that it is almost impossible to overeat protein (the human appetite shuts down at protein satiety, in a way that it doesn't with carbs). So unless someone has a health issue like kidney or digestion problems, over eating is an unwonted concern.
There are other schools of thought saying that if we want weight loss, we should calculate our protein needs according to our ideal Lean Body Mass, not our current weight.
And then there are further subdivisions of thought on whether we should be eating more protein as we lose weight (to avoid loss of muscle), or should be keeping our protein intake lowish, to encourage the recycling protein from baggy skin and unneeded bits that shrink as we shrink.
Also, there is some evidence that the older we get the worse we get at utilising protein, so we need to eat more in order to get the same benefit.
A minefield.
Having read myself in circles on this, I threw my hands in the air and decided that I almost certainly need more that 0.6g protein/kg of leam body mass, and that I start to feel yucky, overloaded and meh (technical terms) when I eat more that 1g/kg of lean body mass. Which gives me quite a bit of leeway.
Also, I think that doing a bit of High Intensity Interval Training (injuries and joints permitting) will do far more to maintain and develop muscle than just eating more protein will. The body doesn't just grow muscles for the sake of it, just as it doesn't just grow an extra arm because we eat enough protein to build that arm.
You can find half a dozen different Macro Nutrient calculators scattered across the internet, and half a dozen different Recommended Daily Amounts. Take your pick.
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and... (just remembered this) some people confuse grams of meat or fish with protein weight.
When people talk about g/kg of protein, they are talking about grams of protein, not grams of chicken. It can get a bit confusing unless both sides of the discussion are talking about the same thing! As a quick bit of mental shorthand, I tag 100g of steak as around 27 g of protein, and a chicken breast as being around 30g protein.
When people talk about g/kg of protein, they are talking about grams of protein, not grams of chicken. It can get a bit confusing unless both sides of the discussion are talking about the same thing! As a quick bit of mental shorthand, I tag 100g of steak as around 27 g of protein, and a chicken breast as being around 30g protein.
kitedoc
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I agree with @Brunneria, about the profusion of internet advice. ) 0.75 g of protein content /kg is an average, maybe more for males than females but your dietician is the best person to advise in the end.
What may also appear and has not been discussed yet is timing of eating protein.
I cannot lay my hands on the article at present but the gist of it was that protein ingested within 30 minutes or so of completing exercise is better incorporated into the repair and building up of muscle than protein eaten at other times.
The other trick about this is not to do exercise of just one specific set of muscles but to try to exercise a variety of muscles whether at the same time or smaller groups of muscle separately. e.g swimming exercises lots of muscles, walking exercises perhaps fewer but if you carry a partly loaded pack and use say, 1/2 kg wrist and arm weights and then walk x kilometers you have achieved far more variety of muscle exercise. Time is often our enemy so the more muscles exercised at a given time the more efficient the exercise is and the more likely we are to persist with exercise.
What to eat afterwards, depends on your preferences, ? a tin of salmon or sardines (tuna tends to have more mercury), ? yoghurt ? cheese. ( these are guesses only).
If away from home at the completion of exercise the above, stored correctly could maybe suffice.
Best wishes !!
What may also appear and has not been discussed yet is timing of eating protein.
I cannot lay my hands on the article at present but the gist of it was that protein ingested within 30 minutes or so of completing exercise is better incorporated into the repair and building up of muscle than protein eaten at other times.
The other trick about this is not to do exercise of just one specific set of muscles but to try to exercise a variety of muscles whether at the same time or smaller groups of muscle separately. e.g swimming exercises lots of muscles, walking exercises perhaps fewer but if you carry a partly loaded pack and use say, 1/2 kg wrist and arm weights and then walk x kilometers you have achieved far more variety of muscle exercise. Time is often our enemy so the more muscles exercised at a given time the more efficient the exercise is and the more likely we are to persist with exercise.
What to eat afterwards, depends on your preferences, ? a tin of salmon or sardines (tuna tends to have more mercury), ? yoghurt ? cheese. ( these are guesses only).
If away from home at the completion of exercise the above, stored correctly could maybe suffice.
Best wishes !!
Dark Horse
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You've had some good answers. If you aim for 20-25g protein at each meal (assuming 3 meals a day) you should be getting enough. It's also important to do the right exercises at the gym. To increase muscle, you need to include progressive weight-training i.e. gradually increasing the load for each exercise.
Robrunner
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Providing you are eating a balanced diet you will get all the protein you need, however as mentioned by other ultisation of the muscles, timing and quality of protein will all impact how they work on the body.
What is your typical daily diet?
What is your typical daily diet?
Thanks for all the advice ,I have now been back to my GP to inform her i stopped taking the Orlistat and she has arranged for me to see a nutritionist and dietician.
