The amount of protein you should take each day depends on many factors, such as your weight and how much muscle mass is, not just whether you are a man or a woman. Caloric needs vary from person to person, so why not protein? After all, people differ in size and physical composition – which confirms why protein needs vary greatly. It does not seem right for a person who weighs 100kg and works in the construction sector and does weightlifting to have the same protein needs as someone who weighs 68kg, works in a bank, does sedentary work and spends his afternoons on the couch.
Since protein is so important in maintaining your lean muscle mass (essentially everything in your body is not fat), the suggested amount of protein you should be receiving daily depends in part on how much muscle mass you have. Ideally, measure your physical composition (some scales we have at home do it), which will show you how much lean muscle mass you have. Then it is easy to determine the suggested amount of protein for you, which is about 2-3 grams of protein for every kilogram of lean muscle mass.
You can assess your protein needs even if you do not have scales with indications of body composition, based on your current weight. It’s not the perfect method – it doesn’t calculate how much muscle mass you have – but it at least takes into account the differences in body sizes. How you can calculate your protein needs:
- Pounds: Multiply your body weight by 0.7
- Kilos: Multiply your body weight by 1.5
The number that comes out is a reasonable target for the amount of protein you should receive each day, in grams. So a woman weighing 64kg should aim for about 100 grams of protein per day, while a man weighing 110kg should try to take at least 150 grams of protein.
Written by Susan Bowerman, MS, RD, CSSD. Susan is a hire advisor to Herbalife.