I’ve been asked this question quite a bit. This isn’t a easy to answer question, as there are many factors, as well, as being totally different for each persons.
The best advice is to take the amount that you are trying to get in your system per day, and split it up between 5-8 meals.
If you are a 200lb male, and you are trying to go on a protein diet plan in order to gain lean muscle, then your requirements are going to be a bit higher than a 120lb female trying to lose that last 5lbs.
Using the 200lb male example above. I would recommend taking in 1.5 grams of protein per lb of bodyweight.
That would be 300grams. Split out between 7 meals, that would be just under 43grams per meal.
There are those that claim you can only absorb 30 grams per meal, and in my opinion, this is totally false. It is using older data, and a super quick absorbing protein like whey. I wouldn’t recommend taking in 40g of when all at once (unless it’s post workout, when your body can absorb a higher number of nutrients). Take in too much, and some of your hard earned money is going to get converted to fuel, instead of rebuilding muscle.
The theoretical 30 gram limit does not apply to whole food though. The reason being is that if you eat a chicken breast, or a piece of skirt steak, or whatever, it doesn’t digest all at once. It takes a few hours in your stomach, and as it digests, you get a slow and steady stream of amino acids into your system from the broken down protein.
Hopefully this has helped you out. Here is a note tough that almost NOBODY talks about. If you are trying to lose weight, use the number of your ideal bodyweight to base your protein intake from.
For example. If you are a 300lb female who should weigh 130, you would shoot for a minimum of 130 grams of protein a day, not 300, unless you have aspirations of becoming a world class weight lifter of course, lol.
Thanks for stopping by the protein diet plan blog, and hopefully this has given a bit of insight into how I feel about daily protein needs.
