Any reason why you’re eating that level of protein?!
I’ve been eating lots of meat and plenty of butter on TRT and my lipids are spectacular. Must be genetic.
There’s definitely a lot to be said for the genetic angle.
sure . I see the results clearly in my body composition. I was able to lose reduce body fat and gain muscle at same time in 5 months of training. gain 4kg lean mass and a reduce of 27% to 18% bf.
I also added a ton of muscle while losing fat, on 130 grams of protein per day, at 160 lbs (about 70kg). Are you sure you couldn’t have achieved the same on a lower level of protein?
i use to train since 25, im 40 now. with many interruptions, no longer than 8 months consistently and always on moderated protein (no more than 1.5 ~ 1.8grams per kg), and now, considering that is my best condition ratio (muscle/fat). for me, i guess not.
I am only eating about .5 grams of protein per lbs. I never felt I need more than that.
define ‘need’.
What is your bodyweight, and what is your best lift?
Not sure how my body weight or my lifts are relevant to this. All I can say is that I always improved with my protein intake. There were phases when I raised my intake to about 1 gram per lbs, but I did not notice increases in muscle or power compared to .5 g/lbs.
because I have no idea what kind of level lifter you are, and I’m more likely to be interested in your opinion on protein intake based on the level of success you’ve had. That makes sense to you, right? That I’d be more interested in hearing diet advice from someone with a 450 lbs bench press at 200 lbs bodyweight than a guy who weighs 300 and benches 180? Just trying to get a ballpark of what kind of lifter you are. That’s why I didn’t present an argument against what you said in the first place.
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I am only speaking from personal experience. If someone says he needs 2 grams per lbs a day, then this is what it is for him.
I am 6.2, 222 lbs., unsure about body fat percentage, but should not be too high. Bench is at 330, but just two reps.
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thanks for the info man.
so i’m totally in agreement with you that 2 grams per day of protein is much more than most people really need, but I also think context is important, and where someone is starting from (lean or not so lean). So I’d also be interested in what the rest of your diet looks like.
I’m generally a proponent of lower protein intake than most people, as I don’t get 1g/ lbs of bodweight most days, and I’ve done alright. I also know that I respond extremely favorably to high carbs, and still stay very very lean. I ALSO know that I’m an anomaly in this respect, and I’m always hesitant to recommend other people to eat like I do. You’re one of very few people I’ve seen on here suggesting such a low protein intake, so that’s why I was curious about how you were built.
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I’m the same way man. I probably get 80g-130g on a day in day out basis on average.
My quality of food is REALLY high. Lots and lots of veggies & fruit (raw, cooked, juiced, blended, etc.), lentils, nuts, and water. I don’t consume that much calorie wise how a lot of our fellow members on this site do, but for my modest goals, I am ok with that.
I’m weird in this aspect, but sometimes I literally just don’t want to eat lol.
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I eat a lot of carbs, pasta always every day, oat meal (I quit that bc I have pretty low cholesterol), brown rice, potatoes (regular, not sweet), beans, vegetables, fruit, nuts, protein nutmilk (10 g per cup). I am vegan for many years now, so my diet is a little different.
I feel that many people are in panic mode when it comes to protein. Everyone is afraid they are not getting enough, but nobody really knows how much is needed. I think the body is pretty good in recycling proteins and that is something we should take into consideration.
But I also need to mention that I am only working out twice a week for about 40 minutes. If I worked out every day, perhaps I would need more protein.
this probably should have been mentioned from the first post. extremely relevant.
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So here’s the problem that you run into in this conversation, @mindphaser. You said you never felt you needed more than that. You also haven’t accomplished anything impressive. You’re posting on a lifting website, amongst highly competitive athletes, and some very strong gym rats. So for me, if I was getting the results you’ve gotten, I would actually draw a different conclusion, which would be that there’s a problem with my diet, if I could only bench around 350 at 220 bodyweight. That would be very much non-competitive in the sport of powerlifting, and not a satisfactory result in my book. But again, we all have different goals, and different standards by which we measure ourselves.
I want to be a champion strongman competitor, set world records if I can manage it. So, when I post nutrition/training advice, that factors into it. I also don’t believe I could do what I’ve done as a vegan. Your very low protein intake is probably likely very much related to how hard it is to get protein in a vegan diet, and the fact that you’re taking in pretty low quality, incomplete protein sources to get to a high number when you get there. Vegan protein sources likely won’t be as effective as animal protein, so that could very well be why you don’t see the results from high protein in your diet that others might.
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Good luck with your goals.
You can buy 70% lean in most markets around me in upstate ny.