How Much Protein Do You ACTUALLY Need?

Lindsay explains that protein recommendations swing widely and argues intake should be based on context: goals, resistance training, body composition, and whether someone is eating at maintenance or in a calorie deficit. She emphasizes that calorie restriction can suppress muscle protein synthesis, making higher protein and resistance training especially important during fat loss phases, citing recommendations for lean, trained individuals in aggressive cuts and explaining why protein targets may rise as deficits become more severe.

Topics discussed:

• (00:00) - Protein Debate Begins
• (01:51) - RDA vs Training Goals
• (03:44) - Protein for Aging Strong
• (05:13) - ISSN Guidelines and Context
• (06:23) - Where 0.7 Comes From
• (07:44) - Why Some Need More
• (09:41) - High Protein at Maintenance
• (10:33) - Mindful Eating App Plug
• (12:54) - Deficit Changes Everything
• (14:43) - Muscle Biology in a Cut
• (17:33) - Higher Targets for Lean Lifters
• (21:03) - Practical Protein Examples
• (23:34) - Lifestyle and Cut Cycles
• (26:16) - Wrap Up and Takeaways

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Studies & References

1. Morton RW, et al. (2018). A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults. British Journal of Sports Medicine.
   This is the big meta-analysis behind the commonly cited ~1.6 g/kg or 0.73 g/lb protein target for resistance training. The estimated breakpoint was 1.62 g/kg/day, with a 95% CI extending to 2.20 g/kg/day. Read the study
2. Jäger R, et al. (2017). International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Protein and Exercise. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition.
   ISSN recommends approximately 1.4–2.0 g/kg/day (0.64–0.91 g/lb) for most exercising individuals, while noting that higher intakes may be useful during calorie restriction. Read the position stand
3. Areta JL, et al. (2014). Reduced resting skeletal muscle protein synthesis is rescued by resistance exercise and protein ingestion following short-term energy deficit. American Journal of Physiology.
   After only five days of energy restriction, resting muscle protein synthesis decreased. Resistance training restored MPS toward energy-balance levels, and protein ingestion after training stimulated it further. This is a great study for explaining why lifting + protein become so important during a deficit. Read the study
4. Helms ER, et al. (2014). A systematic review of dietary protein during caloric restriction in resistance trained lean athletes: a case for higher intakes. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism.
   This review suggested 2.3–3.1 g/kg of fat-free mass during calorie restriction in lean resistance-trained athletes, with protein needs potentially increasing with greater leanness and more severe calorie restriction. Read the review
5. Longland TM, et al. (2016). Higher compared with lower dietary protein during an energy deficit combined with intense exercise promotes greater lean mass gain and fat mass loss. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
   Young men underwent an aggressive ~40% calorie deficit while training six days per week. Those consuming 2.4 g/kg protein gained more lean mass and lost more fat than those consuming 1.2 g/kg. Important study, but also a perfect example of why population and context matter. Read the study
6. Pasiakos SM, et al. (2013). Effects of high-protein diets on fat-free mass and muscle protein synthesis following weight loss: a randomized controlled trial. FASEB Journal.
   Participants consumed 0.8, 1.6, or 2.4 g/kg/day during a 40% energy deficit. The groups consuming 1.6 and 2.4 g/kg lost a smaller proportion of weight from fat-free mass than the RDA group, supporting protein intakes above the RDA during substantial energy restriction. Read the study

Creators and Guests

Host

Lindsay

Wife and mother of three. I have a deep passion for learning and teaching. I also really love lifting weights and fitness.

What is LiftingLindsay's More Than Fitness?

Dive into the joy of fitness with Lindsay and other guests exploring how it goes well and beyond the gym floor, the number on the scale, the size of your waist or the calories you're counting.

Lindsay: Welcome, welcome to
the "Lifting Lindsay" podcast.

Guys, I'm excited to talk about protein.

I love protein.

I love protein.

It's been really interesting, uh, all
of my time in, uh, health and fitness

to kind of see the, the interesting
swings in protein recommendations.

And we're kind of seeing one
of those swings right now.

They're kind of all over the board.

For a really, really long time, a lot of
people were saying, "Well, you have to

eat, you know, one gram of, of protein
per pound of body weight." And keep in

mind when I talk about body weight here,
I'm usually talking about more about

goal body weight for somebody who is
carrying a higher amount of body fat.

If you have a woman who is 5'5" and
weighs 200 pounds, I'm not gonna be

force-feeding her 200 grams of protein
every day just because somebody made

up this blanket rule that everybody
needs one gram per pound, right?

But then we kind of saw the pendulum
swing, um, oh, and kind of in that

same direction, it wasn't, one
gram wasn't good enough, it had

to be like 1.2 or some people 1.4.

I mean, more and more and more protein.

But now we're seeing it kind of swing
back the other direction, and people are

saying you don't need that much protein.

Research shows .7 to .8 grams per pound is
plenty, and I've seen some people throwing

around numbers even lower than that.

And this is where I start getting a
little frustrated, honestly, because I'm

like, "Okay, but who are we talking to?"

If you know anything about me, I really
do like bringing things into context.

Everything needs to be
spoken about within context.

So let's start with RDA.

So for the general population, the RDA
for protein is .8 grams per kilogram.

That's not per pound, guys.

That's only

.36 grams per pound.

So technically, 140-pound woman could hit
the RDA, uh, the recommended daily amount

at around 51 grams of protein per day.

And I keep seeing this kind
of recommendation popping up

again, and I'm not talking about
people who aren't working out.

Um, recently I saw… I don't know
why I saw this, but like a bunch of

runners were talking about like, "Don't
waste calories on eating more than,

you know, .36 grams per pound. Uh, you
don't need any more protein than that."

And once again, I really do
think we need to state context.

Who are we talking to?

Because the RDA was not established
as the amount of protein that is

needed to optimize muscle growth in
somebody resistance training hard.

It's essentially just a population
level recommendation designed for

just everybody, kind of like a s- even
for sedentary, sedentary individuals.

So those are two totally just
t- very, very different goals.

And I feel like people need
to hear that distinction.

Because if you are general population,
you have absolutely no intention of

lifting weights ever, well then if
I'm gonna be honest, you probably

aren't all that concerned about,
muscle growth and maximizing that and

preserving as much as possible, okay?

So that's not who I'm speaking to.

So who am I speaking to?

Well, I'm speaking to women
who… We want to age well, right?

I want to keep as much muscle as possible.

I want to maintain my bone density.

I want to get stronger.

I want to build muscle.

that's it, guys.

We wanna age better than everybody else.

I'm just kidding, but not really.

I, I look at the people around me who
are aging and I'm like, "Yeah, I, I

do want to… I want my future to look
different." So I'm not training because

I just wanna burn 300 calories a day.

I'm training because I don't wanna
end up needing a cane or losing my

independence because I've lost so much of
my strength and muscle as I age, right?

My goal is, no, I'm gonna be the
grandma deadlifting when I'm 90.

Like, that's it, right?

And so many of you have that desire too.

I mean, I'm not saying that losing
weight isn't a goal for some of you,

but when it comes down to it and what
matters most, we want to be, we wanna

be getting stronger as we get older.

So immediately our conversation
about protein changes if I'm talking

to somebody who has that goal.

Now we're talking to someone
who resistance trains, right?

Like that's, that's a huge difference.

So the International Society of
Sports Nutrition has recommended

roughly 0.64 to 0.9 grams per pound.

So, you may hear a lot of people
saying, "Look, you don't need anything

more than 0.64 grams per pound.

That can be enough." And depending on
the person and their circumstances,

they're not necessarily wrong.

But again, we have to ask
the question, enough for who?

Enough to accomplish what?

Are we just trying to prevent
deficiency at this point?

Or are we really trying to maintain and
muscle growth, maximize hypertrophy?

Are, are the-- Is this person lifting?

Are they eating at maintenance?

Are they in a calorie deficit?

Are they already lean or do they lean to a
little bit higher in body fat percentage?

These questions actually matter Right?

And then we have the
famous 0.7 grams per pound.

So a lot of times people
will talk about that one.

No, it's not 0.6 grams,
it's 0.7 grams per pound.

So where does this number come from?

Well, this one actually comes from a large
meta-analysis of 49 studies that involved

more than 1,800 participants, and these
people were doing resistance training.

And basically, the question was,
at what point does adding more

protein stop producing meaningful
additional improvements in muscle?

Uh, that is a really good question, right?

And their break point estimated
landed around 0.73 grams per pound.

So they were saying, okay, on average,
beyond that point, additional protein

doesn't appear to produce additional
gains in muscle, once again, on average.

So now somebody goes, they see
that and they, they make a reel

and say, "Well, science says you
only need 0.7 grams per pound."

And then I go into a calorie deficit
or I share that I eat around one,

1.1 and people lose their mind and
are like, "Well, you shouldn't teach

women that they need more than 0.7
grams per pound." And, and I just am,

uh, kind of baffled by that, Because
we've taken a really interesting

scientific finding, and once again,
we've turned it into another blanket

recommendation, because even within that
analysis, guys, there was variability.

The upper end of the confidence interval
was around one gram per pound, and

the researchers discussed that amount
as a reasonable intake if someone

wanted to maximize the likelihood that
protein wasn't limiting their gains.

So I don't interpret that study as, "Okay,
more than 0.7 grams is pointless, guys."

I interpret it as, okay, for the
average person, resistance training

under the conditions represented in
these studies, somewhere around 0.7

to point grams per pound is probably
enough to maximize muscle growth.

That is really useful information If
I'm eating at maintenance and getting

.8 grams per pound, I'm probably not
going to force-feed myself chicken breast

because Instagram told me I need to.

Well, let me restate that, because
I actually enjoy personally, I enjoy

landing around one gram per pound.

Keep in mind, I enjoy that.

Another thing too is when I eat at
maintenance and I shoot for higher

protein, and there's been a study on
this one too that's really interesting,

it tends to help you feel a little
bit fuller and maintain your body

composition a little bit better.

So that was a study.

People increasing their protein and
just focusing on incorporating more

protein without even necessarily
tracking every single, you know,

calorie, those individuals had an easier
time maintaining body composition.

Interesting, huh?

Well, if you know anything about
me, you actually know that I spend

majority of my time mindfully eating.

So using that as a tool to maintain
my body composition when I'm not,

you know, weighing and tracking every
calorie, man, that can be really useful.

Oh, side note too, I just remembered,
and I, and I think that this will

be really cool for, for a lot of
you, 'cause a lot of you don't like

tracking macros, and my mindful eating
course is now in my training app.

So those of you who have my training app,
I want you guys to go under, uh, plans.

So go to the sidebar, go under plans,
and at the top it will say courses, and

if you click there, you'll actually be
able to take my mindful eating course.

So if you don't wanna track, but yet
you have goals to maintain or, you

wanna main- you know, maintain the
fat loss that you got after a fat

loss phase, you can utilize that.

But I've had plenty of people utilize
this as well for, "I want to see

changes in body composition, but
I don't wanna track everything."

And so I show them using mindful
eating tactics how you can do that.

So I would highly recommend that.

And there is a, uh, free seven-day
trial of my app, so you can get in and

kinda get started and dive into that
course and see if this is right for you.

I really do try to I try to give
you everything that you need

to succeed in my training app.

I, I give you amazing recipes that
taste delicious and are high protein.

And, um, and then I also give you
optimized training programs for three,

four, five times a week, and then now
these courses so that you can be taking

care of your mind and your body and
your nutrition and just all of it.

That's what keeps us healthy, right?

Okay, but let me go back
to what I was saying.

If somebody only enjoys eating 0.8
grams per pound and they're eating

at maintenance, as a coach, I'm
not gonna force feed them to just

eat more just because I have this
weird rule that they need to be

eating, you know, one to 1.2 grams.

That's, that's not gonna be… We're gonna
work with the individual and their goal.

But keep in mind that
that's at maintenance.

So this is where I, I think
things get kind of interesting.

What happens when we
change the environment?

'Cause just barely we were talking
about what do studies say when the

environment is maintenance and how
much protein should we be eating?

What will maximize muscle growth?

Yeah, that's at maintenance.

But what if we change the environment?

Let's take that same person and
put them into a calorie deficit.

Suddenly now we're actually asking
a different research question.

We're no longer asking how much
protein maximizes hypertrophy when

I have adequate energy available.

We're now asking how much protein
helps me preserve as much muscle as

possible while I am intentionally
underfeeding my body to lose body fat.

That is a completely different
situation and an environment for

your body, and your body responds.

So this is where I think some of the
0.7 grams is all you need conversation

loses really important context.

What is the environment that
you're telling that person?

'Cause like I said, a calorie deficit
changes the muscle maintenance

and muscle building environment.

So even if somebody were to go into a
little bit of whether they're going into

an aggressive cut or whether they're
going into a moderate one because

they want a little bit of fat loss
and a little bit of building muscle

at the same time, now that 0.7 grams
may not be adequate enough for them.

So let's talk about why.

What happens in our body?

So protein is constantly or muscle
is constantly being remodeled, right?

You have muscle protein synthesis
where your body is building new muscle

proteins and, um, and breaking down at
the same time, and it's kind of happening

on and off throughout the day, right?

So at maintenance, we have adequate
enough energy coming in to help

support those processes of remodeling,
of, um, building new muscle proteins

and muscle protein breakdown.

But now if you purposely remove that
energy because you want to be in a

calorie deficit to lose body fat Your,
your body doesn't just say, I mean, it'd

be nice, but your body doesn't just say,
"Oh, Lindsay wants to lose 10 pounds

of fat, so don't touch anything else."

Right?

That would be nice.

I wish.

But energy restriction creates
a less favorable environment

for maintaining lean tissue.

And we actually have controlled research
showing that calorie restriction itself

can suppress muscle protein synthesis.

One study found that just five days of
energy restriction decreased resting

muscle protein synthesis by around 30%.

I think the exact number was 27%.

And this is where the study
gets really interesting.

When researchers added resistance
training, muscle protein

synthesis returned to levels
similar to energy balance.

Then when they added protein following
that training, muscle protein

synthesis increased even further.

That is why I harp on these two
things during a fat loss phase.

You gotta lift weights, you
gotta get enough protein, right?

Lift hard, train hard, keep protein high.

Your lifting is sending that
signal, which is awesome.

"Hey, we still need this muscle," right?

And protein is then providing the
amino acids your body needs to

maintain and repair that tissue,
possibly build more, right?

This is where protein requirements
during a fat loss phase may

actually have to move upward.

Isn't that interesting?

Now we get into research
specifically looking at people

who are resistance trained, lean,
and calorie restricted, okay?

So Eric Helms and colleagues reviewed this
literature and suggested roughly, this

was interesting, that 2.3 to 3.1 grams of
fat-free mass for lean resistance trained

athletes during a calorie restriction.

This is why I'm talking
about context matters

Now, research is always in
kilograms, and for us Americans,

we're like, "What is that in pounds,
people?" Let's talk about that.

So that would actually be
more like a little over one.

So one gram to 1.4 grams.

Isn't that fascinating?

Okay?

So that's for people who
are lean and already trained

And here's the part I really
want people to understand.

And here's a really important part of
that, that I want you to understand.

The protein needs appeared
likely to increase as the calorie

deficit became more severe.

So that's really important.

It was an, it was somebody who was
trained, already a little leaner, and

they were doing an aggressive cut.

That .6 or .7 or .8, all of the sudden,
with the context and the environment

changing, now all of the sudden
that protein was not good enough.

That's the kind of context we need, right?

So this does not mean I take every
woman who wants to lose 20 pounds and

immediately give her 1.4 grams per pound.

But guess what?

When I was setting the calories and
protein for my 90-day rapid fat loss

challenge, where we were all going
into-- Well, not me personally.

I'm just coaching these women through,
uh, over the next three months in

this aggressive fat loss phase.

I was giving them one gram
to 1.2 to 1.3 for some.

I was giving them higher.

Why?

Because we need to maintain as
much muscle tissue as possible.

So training four times a week, resistance
training, and hitting a little bit

higher protein in an aggressive cut,
once again, depending on the individual,

how aggressive and, uh, how lean
they already were coming in, we would

give them different amounts, okay?

But I-- It really does mean, and I
like putting it this way, the more

hostile the environment, meaning
you're pushing into an aggressive cut

The more hostile the environment becomes
towards muscle preservation, the more

protective I become as a coach with
protein for my clients and for myself.

So let's use our 140-pound woman.

Let's say she's resistance
training four days a week.

She's at maintenance.

She's eating plenty of calories.

Maybe right now she's getting .8 grams
per pound, and she's doing great.

That's roughly, you know,
around 112 grams for protein.

That's great.

Now, I don't necessarily need
her eating 150 grams because

more isn't automatically better.

Now let's put her into a
modest deficit, a modest one.

So now I maybe wanna push
it up to .9 grams per pound.

That would be 126 grams for her.

Now let's say she's relatively lean
and she wants to go into a deep cut.

We're pushing a larger deficit
while she continues training hard.

Now I'm gonna be closer to one gram.

That's gonna be 140 grams for her.

And as the, the aggressive cut leans
further in, we may even push that a

little bit higher towards the tail end
because her circumstances have changed.

And that is the protein conversation
I wish we were having instead

of, "Well, you just need one,"
or, "No, you just need seven.

Nope, .36 grams is actually all
you're eating, and more than that is

just way too much and you're crazy.

You're just crazy about protein." Whenever
I hear all of those things, I just

wanna say, "But who are we talking to?

Who are you talking to?" Are you
talking to the, the grandma who

just wants to lose a few pounds
but also get stronger in the gym?

Are you talking to the, the woman who's
already been training and athletic

and she's coming in leaner and she's
like, "Lindsay, I really want to, I

wanna get a lot stronger and see a
little bit better body composition and,

and I wanna push into an aggressive
cut to see…" Who are we talking to?

Because these people will need different
things I feel like s- the soundbites of

social media, in the soundbites of social
media, the individual gets lost, right?

So I hope me walking through the needs of
each person and giving you a better idea

of kind of what's needed, I really hope
that that's giving you better context.

Context matters.

Context matters so much, okay?

and remember this also.

We have to be able to
maintain A lifestyle, right?

If you, if you go into a cut and protein
increases, okay, just keep in mind it's

just for a short period of time, right?

We don't live in calorie deficits.

We don't live-- That's called starvation,
when people are constantly trying to

live in deficits or constantly 24/7
for years trying to lose body fat.

That's called just trying to
starve yourself all the time, okay?

So fat loss phases should have uh,
it should have a time that we know

we're entering it and we're leaving.

That's really important for
physical and mental health.

We should know how long
we're staying in this cut.

We get in and we get out, okay?

And even if your goal requires a
few, you know, cuts to get where

you want to be, that's fine.

But you still have time frames of,
okay, I'll do a cut for this amount of

time, and then I go into maintenance
for two, three months, and then I go

back into a cut for a little bit, right?

We still have these, these times carved
out so that we're not just kind of

trying to always just starve ourselves.

There is a huge difference.

So my goal is to give you, okay, so for
this short period of time when we're in

a cut, we may have to increase protein
for the overall results that you want.

But when we get back up to maintenance,
we can lower that protein and fill

it with carbs and fats in a way
that you are going to now be able

to maintain this lifestyle, right?

So keep that in mind too.

If, if you're worried about, oh,
well, I did wanna do an aggressive

cut, but I'm worried about protein.

Well, one, I offer in my
app tons of protein recipes.

It would be very easy for
you to hit your protein.

Two, those aggressive time
periods should be limited.

So you know you get in and you get out.

And when you are out, when you are in
maintenance, if you don't enjoy more

protein, then 0.8 grams is plenty, and
building a maintenance and lifestyle

around that can be the very thing that
allows people to be more compliant

and to maintain, um, their lifestyle
because they're not trying to constantly

force-feed protein when they don't
naturally lean towards it and enjoy it.

So keep all of that in mind.

I think that that's really, really,
really important to understand.

But I really do care more about the
understanding of why we're recommending

the amount we're recommending.

And I really do think a lot of times
the individual gets lost, so hopefully

this episode has helped give you a
little bit more understanding why me

as a coach or many others may give 0.8
grams to one client and 1.2 grams to

another client, because the environment
and the individual and the goals will

be the reason for the protein amount.

Anyways, you guys have an incredible
week, and I will talk to you next time.