How Much Protein To Build Muscle: It’s Time To Get A Clue
Nov 10th, 2010 | By Todd Bowman | Category: Diet And Nutrition, Gain Muscle
And the age old debate rages on. How much protein to build muscle? What is the daily requirement needed in order to really grow big time muscle? People have been asking this question for years.
You’ve probably read lots of articles already about how much protein to build muscle is really required by bodybuilders. So why is this article going to be any different?
What tips can you learn from me about protein?
My goal in this article
We’ve all been duped. Let’s face it, heck I admit it. I used to eat TONS of protein every single day to build muscle. I would read all the bodybuilding magazines and get sucked in hook line and sinker.
My goal with this article is not to prove one side of the protein coin over another. We all need protein to build muscles, that’s a fact. It’s just how much we need that’s the evasive question.
If you want to know how much protein to build muscle, then that’s slightly different than how much protein you need if your an average person who doesn’t workout or lift weights in the gym.
I’ve talked to dietitians, nutritionists and read books on the subject. I’ve also listened to literally thousands of hours of lectures on health and nutrition and here’s what I’ve come up with:
Only you know your body and nobody else can tell you how much protein you need to build muscle.
I want to take a little bit of a unique angle on this protein debate. First I want to say that I’m a former raw vegan bodybuilder. I now eat small amounts of animal products. You can find more info about my diet on that page. I’ve noticed in my own life that eating high amounts of protein vs little amounts hasn’t really affected me to any significant degree.
In fact while doing an experiment, I once was able to gain 5 pounds of muscle in 1 week on a liquid diet fast. Again this may not be the case for you. But all I’m trying to do is to shoot some holes in the supplement industry’s assertion that unless you take 400 grams of their whey protein isolate, you can’t get big. In my experience, that’s just not true.
I’d like you to just realize that the protein and supplement industry is a “for profit” industry. They need to make money and sell their supplements. My goal is to hopefully have you be able to stop and think about what’s really going on and to determine if they have your long term health in mind.
Protein is basically just an amino acid. Eating protein doesn’t mean you’ll gain muscle. You have to workout hard to build muscle. Protein simply just helps a little bit that’s all. The Max Plank Institute showed that when a person eats cooked foods they squander 30% of their methyl groups and their bodies release white blood cells (t-cells) as if their body is fighting a foreign invader. It’s called leukocytosis. The Max Plank Institute concluded that a third of a persons lifespan is shortened by eating exclusively cooked dead foods.
So what does that have to do with how much protein is required to build muscle? What I’m saying is that in order to get any significant effect from protein consumption in your diet, you need to eat twice as much because most of the delicate amino acid chains are no longer living and usable.
Studies have proven that the less you eat the longer you live. Read The China Study
I don’t know about you but to me it’s just not worth eating all that protein at the expense of my long term health.
The great scientist Fritz-Albert Popp showed that when proteins and amino acids are cooked at least 50% of the actual protein is lost. So right there one needs to eat 50% more protein if it’s cooked rather than if they’re getting their protein from a raw uncooked source.
So take a look at what you’re eating and ask yourself this question:
Am I eating this much protein because I care more about how I look than how long and healthy I live?
Take a look at Tarnopolsky study and I’m sure you’ll be surprised. What Tarnopolsky showed was that a person like a bodybuilder or somebody who exercises intensely needs only slightly more protein per day than somebody who is a couch potato.
You mean I don’t have to spend $150 a month on supplements and whey isolates created in a lab? That’s right. Eat high quality protein in your foods like meats (consider doing it raw), eggs, and milk. You can buy these foods raw too. Make your protein shakes after your workout but don’t obsess over this debate about how much protein to build muscle anymore.
It’s more important to train hard and get your sleep than it its to over eat protein.
Protein Myths
- Only animal products contain protein: Protein is found in fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and grains even leafy greens!
- I don’t need to eat it when I can have protein shakes: Making even the best protein shakes cannot compare with eating high quality protein. Doing both is optimal.
- Eating high protein will help me get huge: I put this as a myth because as I mentioned before eating enough protein to build muscle is only going to make about a 5-10% difference in your muscle and weight gain. Unfortunately weightlifters will under train and over consume protein and won’t notice any difference.
Consider the sources
Did you know that a large majority of the fitness and bodybuilding magazines are actually owned by the very same companies that sell protein supplements? Shocking but not really when you think about it. It’s a great situation for them, free product placement to people who believe in what they’re saying.
Once you realize that we’ve been lied to it’s time to start thinking outside of the box and doing some experiments on yourself. I’ve done that. I’ve gone through phases where I was eating 300-400 grams of protein per day and times where I’ve eaten as little as 50 grams of protein per day.
Guess what I noticed? Nothing really. I didn’t get any stronger or notice any significant weight gain. Now just because that was true for me doesn’t mean that that will be true for you. That was only my experience.
We must test ourselves and see how much protein to build muscle is required for our bodies. It will be different for each person.
Poor sources of protein
Poor sources of protein include anything made with soy, peanut butter, farmed raised fish, non organic meat and whey isolate powder most weightlifters put in their post workout smoothies.
With any kind of animal foods it’s CRITICAL you don’t just buy these from your local supermarket. These foods need to be raw (especially in the case of milk, yogurts, kefir, butter, cheese) because of the casein that is present. You can afford to cook your meats as long as you eat a salad with them. Meats are traditionally very acidic so having a green alkaline salad will help balance your PH levels in your blood.
The other things to consider is that meats, eggs, and poultry need to be organic and grass fed. They should not be injected with hormones, fed grains and corn or anything other than grass, which is a cow’s natural diet. Trust me you don’t want an antibiotic loaded steak for dinner.
Here are some better options for protein in your diet:
- Red Meat (Must Be Grass Fed, Organic)
- Fish (Salmon, Tuna, Mackerel)
- Eggs (Farm Raised, Organic, Grass Fed)
- Poultry (Chicken Breast or Ground Turkey)
- Dairy (Milk, Butter, Cheese, Cottage Cheese, Yogurt, Kefir (and Whey), Cream, Colostrum)
- Nuts & Seeds (Almonds, Cashews & Almond Butter)
What if I’m a vegan
Let me say first that I’ve been taken to task many times in the vegan and raw food worlds about this debate. I’m doing what makes sense for my body and I’ve never felt better. Just because one does not support animal cruelty or eating hormone injected meat from sick animals doesn’t mean this food is bad. You don’t stop eating vegetables do you because non organic vegetables are sprayed with pesticides do you? Of course not. You simply refine your outlook and select clean organic sources for fruits and vegetables. The same goes with animal products.
If you’re a vegan you can always opt for soy proteins. I do not recommend them though because soy creates testosterone and estrogen imbalances in your body which causes your thyroid gland to stop working properly.
Here are some vegan friendly protein rich foods I like:
- Oatmeal
- Beans
- Almond Butter
- Flax
- Spinach
- Nuts (almonds, cashews, brazil nuts, walnuts)
- Legumes (chickpeas, split peas, haricot, lentils (red, green or brown), kidney beans, flagelot)
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