Asking about daily recommended protein is kind of like asking about religion or politics — you think you’re asking a simple question but you’re really igniting a heated argument.
Arguing about macronutrients has to be one of the favorite hobbies of the health-conscious. How much fat? How many carbs? How much protein? Let’s discuss this for hours and then hate each other forever afterward because we can’t agree.
Yeah, not my cup of tea. I’m that boring gal who likes to sit in the middle with a couple dudes called moderation and balance. They may not be glamorous but they’re actually pretty good friends to have around.
It’s true, plenty of people like to pretend there’s a “magic” macronutrient equation that’s right for everyone, but in my experience oversimplifying the issue just leads to frustration, ignoring your body’s needs, and possibly more metabolic damage down the road.
But I get it. Everyone likes to have a rough guide to follow. We like to see things in numbers. That way we can aim for something, and get a feel if we’re heading in the right direction.
Talk to ten different people and you’ll probably hear ten different daily recommended protein levels. I’ve heard everything from less than twenty grams a day (say what??) all the way up to two grams per pound of body weight (whoa! that’s a whole lotta of chicken).
I personally feel most people are going to fall between those numbers. But where in between? First, let’s take a look at why protein is important.
Why Do We Need Protein?
In The Mood Cure, Julia Ross explains that protein contains the building blocks (amino acids) that make up our entire bodies–our muscles, our bones, our organs and even the brain chemicals that make us feel happy, emotionally stable, and energetic.
According to Julia, adequate protein intake is essential to our emotional and physical health.
Dr. Diana Schwarzbein puts similar emphasis on protein in her books. Reading those books has helped to shape my personal views on protein intake and its importance in the modern diet, and definitely made an impact on my general recommendations for protein in my book The Nourished Metabolism.
What Science Says About the Benefits of Protein
Research backs up why it’s so important to get your daily recommended protein. Here is some interesting science about protein:
- Protein helps you feel full and regulates your appetite by reducing the level of your “hunger hormone” ghrelin. (source) If you have trouble binge eating or just consistently overeating, lack of protein might be the root of the problem.
- People who get plenty of protein also tend to have stronger bones as they get older. (source)
- Protein helps build lean mass and helps you maintain (or even increase) your strength. (source)
- Protein actually boosts your metabolism more than the other macronutrients! (source)
- Want to lose weight naturally without strict dieting? Increase your protein intake. Multiple studies have shown that increased protein intake tends to result in natural (i.e. effortless) weight loss even without actually dieting. (source and source)
By the way, sources listed above are just some of the studies done on protein’s benefits. There is actually tons of research out there to support eating plenty of protein. If you want to geek out, there’s plenty of awesome studies out there to dive into.
So how much protein do I need?
I’d like to say there was a blanket answer for daily recommended protein amounts, but there’s not. People do well on varying amounts of protein, just like fat and carbs.
But since it helps to have a guide for how many grams of protein you need per day, here are a few ways to look at it:
- Julie Ross gives a daily recommended protein level of 20-30 grams, three times a day. I think this is a reasonable figure for most people and will provide enough protein without too much fuss over it. However, it doesn’t really account for body size or activity level, so these numbers might still fall short for a lot of folks.
- Another standard method for figuring out how much protein you need is simply eating 1 gram of protein per kilogram of weight. Notice this is kilograms, not pounds. To get your weight in kilograms, divide your weight by 2.2. (So if you weigh 150 that would be about 68 kilograms, which means your daily recommended protein would be about 68 grams.) This is slightly more tailored, since at least it takes into account your size. But I find it comes up a little low, especially for active people. I view this as more of a minimum amount of daily recommended protein.
- One more recommendation I really like is 1 gram of protein per pound of lean body mass. This takes into account activity level (since, generally speaking, active people will have more lean body mass) and is a little more specific than just saying 60-90 grams per day for everyone. This especially takes into account the person who focuses on building lean mass through exercise, because they likely need a lot more protein than the average person.
Note: in my book The Nourished Metabolism, I bypass anything complicated and just recommend .5 grams of protein per pound of body weight as a minimum, with more if you are active.
So, if you weigh 150 lbs, that would come out to 75 grams of daily recommended protein, or more like 100-150 grams per day if you’re active or very active.
Granted, this isn’t scientific, but it’s a really good general starting place that doesn’t make things too complicated. But if you’re into calculations, feel free to read on.
How to Calculate Your Lean Body Mass
Figuring out your lean body mass and body fat percentage is something that should be simple, but rarely is.
There are a few ways to do this, but many of them are unreliable. I’ve had online body fat calculators tell me I have anywhere from 14% to 34% body fat. I know I’m really somewhere in between, so you really have to take some of these numbers with a grain of salt.
This is the free body fat percentage calculator I use. It’s been the most accurate one I’ve found online. It takes into account waist and neck measurement (plus hip measurement for women), in addition to height and weight. It also does the lean body mass calculation for you, which is convenient.
Hopefully, you’ll find this accurate, too, but people with different body types may have varying results. If you use this calculator, let me know how it works for you.
So-called “smart” scales like this one boast a very high accuracy in measuring body fat. Many users report these scales are accurate within 1-2%, which is pretty impressive. However, you (understandably) may not be interested in plunking $50-100 down for a scale.
You can also use calipers to gauge your body fat, have a water displacement test done, or head to your local gym which may have a variety of body fat calculating tools available for you. However, you don’t always get what you pay for, so don’t assume methods like water displacement are more accurate just because they’re more expensive. In fact, some have reported wildly inaccurate results even with this method, even though it’s considered the gold standard of body fat measurement.
Once you know (or at least have some rough idea of) your body fat percentage, all you have to do is a simple calculation to figure out lean body mass:
[100 – Body Fat Percentage] x 0.01 x body weight = lean body mass
So, for me, this would be:
[100 – 24 = 76] x 0.01 x 135 = 102.6 lbs of lean body mass
So using this method, my daily recommended protein intake is roughly 100 grams of protein per day. My actual intake right now tends to hover around that amount, which feels about right and isn’t too much of a stretch.
I’m moderately active (my FitBit keeps me accountable!), so this amount feels right on all levels for me. If I started being more active, I would need to bump up my protein intake.
Daily Recommended Protein? Don’t Take It Too Seriously
While protein is important and we all need some, don’t take these numbers so seriously that they rule your life.
Seriously, I’ve seen people freak out (like FREAK OUT) because they realized they were undereating protein… by, like, 10 grams a day. Please don’t be that person.
Protein is a vital nutrient, but stress is the enemy of your health. So you need protein, but you don’t need to stress about protein, okay? Just get a general idea of what you need, listen to your body, and give yourself some flexibility.
And use my secret coffee smoothie recipe — since it packs a serious protein punch first thing in the morning.
How much protein do you eat per day? Do you get your daily recommended protein, or do you feel like you fall short? Comment below and share your story!
Robin says
I appreciated the way you presented this. Having a family with a gene variant that has affected our mitochondrial function, some more severely than others. We’ ve seen the value of Nutrition, represented in a blood panel, which tells all. Especially how different our individual needs are. How silly to argue. ;-). Thanks for your helpful insight.
Elizabeth Walling says
Glad you enjoyed the post, Robin! 🙂
Debby says
I know that protein makes me feel better. I wasn’t eating anywhere near enough. Then I would get super stressed out and crave it. All I wanted to eat was steak. But right now, I think my guts are so screwed up that just about everything makes me swell and feel sick. I was using organic eggs and even grass fed ground beef is making me feel ill. I seem to do better with steak, but that is really expensive. And I really do better with all food when I am not so stressed out, but I am having a lot of trouble staying not stressed out.
Anyways, protein does seem to change how I feel. I just need to find some proteins that will work for me. Any ideas what proteins might be kinder to my stressed out guts?
Elizabeth Walling says
Have you tried gelatin or collagen? It’s rich in glycine, an anti-stress amino acid that is also good for gut health.
Dee says
I like Dr. Barry Sears’ suggestion in “A Week in The Zone”, where he describes the amount of protein we should have at main meals should be the size of our palm (length, width, and thickness), and half of that for snacks. He does describe a more detailed computation (also including lean body mass and activity levels) but his “eyeball method” is the least taxing way to think about it. 🙂
I also do something like your secret coffee smoothie! My version has one whole egg and coconut oil, but no gelatin. And because that’s the only time I have it anyway, I use brown sugar as sweetener. If I decide to have tea or cocoa instead, I also add ginger powder. I know it sounds weird, but after reading recipes for “chocolate-covered candied ginger” and “ginger milk tea”, I decided to try it – and now I’m hooked. ^_^
Elizabeth Walling says
I love ginger! I will have to try that sometime.
Sharleen says
Moderation?! Balance?! What’s that? Lol. I loved this post. Overall very informative and helpful for me 😉
Barbara Charis says
The government standard for protein for women: 46 g protein daily
As a health researcher for 54 years, I find this high. Protein is for growth and repair. Americans sure don’t need more growth…and how much repair does the average American couch potato need?
At 81 I have no physical problems…and do up to 5200 stairs daily, which takes 2 hours. I feel great…and primarily get my protein from 5 lbs of fruit and vegetables daily. Ny protein max is 26 grams daily. I find it ultra easy to go over my max. any time I eat any eggs or fish…I go way over my protein and fat max.
Elizabeth Walling says
Definitely listen to your body. I know personally I feel better on more protein, not less.
Rachel says
Love this balanced approach to protein. It’s so easy to over emphasize or under emphasize. I hadn’t found that calculator either and it’s pretty accurate compared to the body fat measurement tool I have at home. (and it’s free!) I’m not a fan of actually “counting” my food. I have found that without sugar and refined foods in my diet, usually my body will seek out mostly what it needs in close to the right averages over time, but it’s always good to have a gut check range in mind to make sure you aren’t going too far in one direction or the other. Thanks for tackling this controversial topic in such a balanced and informative way!
Elizabeth W. says
So glad you enjoyed this piece, Rachel! I agree – the body usually knows what it needs, especially when you focus on whole foods. I don’t always advocate counting, because it’s not always a positive thing, especially if someone has a rocky relationship with food and their body to begin with. I do agree it can be helpful to track things like protein for a even just a short time to get an idea of whether or not what you’re regularly eating matches your needs.
Tracy says
Quick question, I tend to follow similar guidelines for protein intake as you recommend above. However, when I have lab work done it always shows I am very deficient in protein. Is there a possibility my body doesn’t process and store protein appropriately? Is there a way to get my body to use protein more effectively?
Elizabeth W. says
To be honest, I don’t know much about protein deficiency in lab work. But from what I understand, a lab test that shows protein deficiency may be indicating other underlying problems that need to be discussed with a health professional.
Whisperingsage says
As a fistual patient, I found the recommendations for healing this major health challege was 1.75 g/kg which so far has been impossible for me to do. So my healing is slow.