Check Out The Body Building Diet and Protein Intake

No matter what you may have heard from various fitness experts, a body building diet doesn’t have to include huge amounts of protein. The average currently suggested is one gram of protein per pound of body weight. That is roughly 200 grams per day, for a 200 pound man. This is actually a low number compared to what a lot of the body building magazines recommend.

The RDA for Protein for Adults is .8 grams per Kilogram of Body Weight

So that would be roughly 64 grams for a 175 pound person. So why are these numbers so vastly different? Well first of all the RDA’s sugestion is based on research studying college aged men. Their recommended amounts of protein are based on keeping the nitrogen balances of these young men at a stable level. However, nitrogen balance has not proven 100% effective in predicting muscle loss or gain. So this probably wouldn’t be a good protein intake estimation for the body building diet.

The AMDR recommends that 10%-35% of daily calories should be protein.

This makes the amount of protein you eat dependent upon how many calories you consume in a day. The acronym AMDR stands for Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range and the Institute of Medicine established it in 2005. The main problem with the AMDR’s recommendation is that it covers a rather large spread. This is something not taken into account by this recommendation or by the RDA. Someone who is training hard would have to consider their activity levels when putting together a body building diet for themselves.

So when it comes to creating a good body building diet, neither the RDA nor the AMDR seem very helpful.

Some body building magazines suggest as high as 2 grams of protein per pound of body weight. That means a 175 pound man would have to consume 350 grams of protein per day! You need to remember the problem with depending on information from body building magazines is they aren’t always unbiased. The number one way they make money is by selling ads to advertisers. In turn, protein is the top supplement that the advertisers are selling. So it seems logical that 2 grams of protein per pound of body weight is far more than you really need.

The More Protein You Eat, The More Protein You Can Digest

Here’s a weird body fact; if you eat large amounts of protein at every meal, your body becomes used to it and has an easier time absorbing it. If you are used to eating less, then a high protein meal will simply cause an upset stomach due to the body’s inability to digest that protein. You would think that digesting more protein would mean building more muscle, but it isn’t that simple.

Digesting Ten Time More Of Protein Will Not Result In Ten Times More Muscle

It has been shown by research that eating more protein means the more your body will switch over to using amino acids for fuel. The human body is fueled by carbs, fat, and protein. The body just simply adjusts itself, based on what you eat, for what it will burn for energy. So there is a certain level beyond which more protein just won’t make a difference - so how do you determine how much is right for your body building diet?

A Study Which Shows 70-120 Grams of Protein Per Day for Exceptional Muscle Gains

This topic has been covered in a book by Brad Pilon called “How Much Protein.” After comparing quite a few studies, Brad discovered 0.55 to 0.7 grams of protein for each pound of body weight is enough to achieve excellent muscle gains. He quotes several of these studies which found that a protein intake of over 120 grams per day didn’t contribute in any way to additional muscle gain. So who’s advice would you rather follow; solid scientific research or the supplement companies? It’s up to you. My own suggestion would be to just average about 100 grams of protein over your day, which will be easy without having to add the protein shakes to whatever body building diet you’re on.

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