How much protein should you be eating every day?

We have a short list of the most popular questions we hear from members, and this one is already a winner, but it comes especially when we start up a Simple30 Nutrition Challenge: 

How much protein should I eat? 

Protein is a major buzzword in the world of fitness and health, and for good reason. It’s one of the three major macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein, and fat) our bodies require to stay healthy (and alive). It also functions as the major building block for creating and maintaining muscle. But how much should we be eating? 

As with many things in the world of nutrition and food, it depends. The ideal amount for you at any given time will be determined by your goals, your age, your body composition, your activity level, and your stage of life (for example, pregnant women have higher protein needs than women who are not pregnant). 

Let’s start with the recommended minimum. The RDA (or Recommended Dietary Allowance) is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, or 0.36 grams of protein per pound. This is the amount you need to consume to keep yourself relatively healthy - that is, not getting sick. If you do the calculation for yourself, you’ll see it’s not very much. 

If you’re very active (e.g. doing RiseUp workouts regularly!), and/or looking to gain muscle, for example, you’d need to take that number up quite a bit, and you can even maximize the benefits by eating 20-30 grams of protein within 30-60 minutes of your workout. However, just eating more protein is not likely to increase muscle mass, so make sure you’re working out too! 

As we age and become more susceptible to things like sarcopenia (the degeneration and loss of muscle and bone tissue), many experts recommend increasing protein intake, and intaking about 35% of your daily calories from protein. 

While protein as a component is very important to our bodies and overall health, it’s important not to lose sight of the complete nutritional picture. It wouldn’t help you to get healthier overall if you neglected all fruits and vegetables and ate only steak. Harvard Health cautions against only eating increased amounts of red meat, and to consider the entire nutrient profile of your meals. 

If you’re looking to increase your protein intake overall, focus on adding more foods (including both animal and plant based protein, depending on your preferences), rather than skipping all whole foods in favor of just protein powders or bars. 

We could go on about this for pages, but instead, we’ll just let you know that we go into topics like this in depth during our Simple30 Nutrition Challenge, but also that we’re glad to talk to you in the studio, or refer you to some of the wonderful experts with whom we work. 

Ready to take the next step on your health journey? Try a free workout today!