How Much Protein Should I Eat?

I'm on a roll. I've written about carbs and fats, so now I'm turning my attention to protein. Years ago I wrote a blogpost titled Protein Prescription. I reread it this morning, and realized that the link I gave for an online bodyfat calculator no longer exists. That is one of the issues I plan to update for you today!

Your "protein prescription" refers to the exact amount of protein you need to consume each day to protect your lean body mass. What does this mean? Basically, your lean body mass is the number of pounds of bone, muscle, and sinew you are carrying. The way you discover your lean body mass is by calculating your percentage of body fat. Then you take your total weight, subtract the amount that is fat, and you end up with your lean body mass.

When trying to lose weight, it is extremely common to lose not just fat, but also muscle. And this is the opposite of what we want. Muscle loss is one reason why so many people regain the weight they lose when on a diet. Every time you lose muscle, you reduce your metabolism making it easier to regain weight, even on the same amount of calories!

By maintaining a steady intake of high quality protein, you can help to protect your lean body mass. Of course, eating too much protein could also be a problem. Excess protein will be broken down and eventually end up stored as fat, just the same way excess carbs are stored as fat. So the goal is to discover your own personal protein prescription.

How? Now that Dr. Sears has removed the bodyfat calculator from his website, I did a bit of searching and found this one: http://www.calculator.net/body-fat-calculator.html 

Once you have entered all your measurements: weight, height, neck, waist, and hip, you will get a chart that tells you your body fat percentage, as well as your lean body mass. You will then calculate your daily protein prescription based on your lean body mass. If you are an elite athlete, you will require 1 gram of protein per pound of lean body mass per day. (You do the math!) If you are highly active, you need .9 grams per pound. Active- .8 grams per pound. Moderately active- .7 grams per pound. Lightly active- .6 grams per pound. Sedentary- .5 grams per pound.

If all of this is still confusing to you, I would be happy to offer some personal assistance. I am available for weight loss coaching face-to-face, over the phone, email, or Skype. Not sure if texting would work, but we could give it a try! Get in touch in you're in the market for a coach!