How Much Protein?

Can anyone tell if there is a formula that helps you determine how much protein you should be taking on board.
Thanks

get in around 1 gram per Lb of Body weight and your more than set.

I have some questions on this topic too. I’m 5’5" and I weigh only 120. I’m trying to get bigger. I was working out and eating only about 90 g of protein. I didn’t realize this wasn’t enough. Then I did some reading and saw that I should be eating 1 to 1.5 g/lb per day.

So, I instantly went up to 180 grams a day. I put on about 4 pounds in one week, but it drove my stomach crazy! Very frequent and loose bowel movements. I’ve been gradually decreasing the protein because I assume I shocked my body with the fast increase in protein.

How much is a reasonable rate of increase in protein? I’m trying 120 a day right now and hopefully my stomach will calm down and I’ll still gain weight. Maybe then I’ll adjust to it and be able to gradually increase the protein?

I take in 400-450 grams a day. Yes I’m sure some people gasp at this amount and say that is waayyyyy overdoing it but to put it as simple as possible. IT WORKS.

If you are at 1 gram per lb of bodyweight knock it up to 2 grams for a week and get ready for some gains. I weigh 245 so that isn’t even 2 grams per lb. Urea buildup in the kidneys is offset by the 3 gallons of water I drink per day also. I suggest you drink as much as possible.

Thanks…I’m off to buy a shed load

[quote]cheshguy wrote:
Thanks…I’m off to buy a shed load[/quote]

I’m new to lifting but from what I’ve read, you’re better off with solid (food) protein than protein drinks (except for the workout phase–immediately before, during, and w/in 2 hours after working out).

I eat a lot more protein than carbs, probably 350-400 grams protein per day with 250-300 grams carbs and it works a lot better for me than when I tried to keep them at the same level. However, I would advise to increase protein gradually to make sure your body gets used to digesting it without problems.

Cheers everyone for your help. One other question; Can i mix creatine in with my protein shake as i’m finding it hard to drink so much.

[quote]cheshguy wrote:
Can i mix creatine in with my protein shake?[/quote]

That should not be a problem. Generally when you get creatine from natural sources it is consumed with protein anyways. (think a good cut of steak)

what if you need the protein for muscle, but your trying to cut down in size too? Not the size of the muscle sticking out, but overall the body.

[quote]liftforstars wrote:
what if you need the protein for muscle, but your trying to cut down in size too? Not the size of the muscle sticking out, but overall the body.[/quote]

Protein would not matter. it is caloric requirements that you want to focus on in this manner. and ensure that a lot of your calories come from protein. Protein takes more calories to break down than anyother Macro-nutrient, so it is a good source of calories when losing weight.

Even though you get a lot of your daily cals from protein, you do not want to neglect carbs and fats. ensure that you get some of them too.

[quote]cheshguy wrote:
Cheers everyone for your help. One other question; Can i mix creatine in with my protein shake as i’m finding it hard to drink so much.[/quote]

How much creatine are you using?

It should not be so much that it becomes dificult to consume.

Not more than 5 grams or so.

Any more and you are pissing money.

Look up Dave Barr & Creatine in the archives.