For many years, bodybuilders have lived by the rule that you will need to eat one gram of protein per pound of physique weight per day, otherwise you’re leaving features on the desk.
Over the previous few years, although, many researchers and health influencers have backpedaled, claiming that the true threshold is 0.7 g/lb, and consuming greater than this can be a waste of energy and cash.
The primary piece of proof for this place was a 2018 meta-analysis from McMaster College. Scientists pooled the outcomes of 49 research with ~1,900 individuals and located that muscle development plateaued at about 0.73 g/lb of protein per day.
Right here’s what the outcomes regarded like:
And identical to that, the “1g/lb” rule sank just like the Bismark.
Or did it?
There are 3 causes you need to take these examine outcomes with a grain of salt:
1. Each single examine on skilled weightlifters discovered they gained extra muscle with protein intakes over 0.7 g/lb.
When the researchers zoomed in on individuals who truly lifted weights, they discovered that they gained extra muscle once they ate nearer to 1 g/lb of protein per day.
The authors of the paper wrote that, in terms of individuals who carry weights, “… it could be prudent to suggest ~2.2 g protein/kg/d…,” precisely what bodybuilders have really useful for many years (2.2 g/kg = 1g/lb).
2. The boldness interval was large.
A confidence interval is the vary the place the true reply possible falls. The narrower it’s, the extra exact the estimate. Consider it like estimating a time of arrival: saying somebody will arrive between 2:59 and three:01 is exact; saying they’ll arrive between 2:30 and three:30 is far much less useful.
On this case, the interval ran from 0.47 g/lb all the way in which as much as 1.0 g/lb.
Put in a different way, the information truly confirmed that the “true” plateau is perhaps about half the outdated bodybuilding advice . . . or precisely equal to it.
3. The end result wasn’t statistically important.
The p-value—a quantity researchers use to evaluate whether or not a result’s decided by the examine intervention or random probability—got here in at 0.079. By most scientific requirements, that quantity needs to be under 0.05 to be thought-about legitimate.
In different phrases, the information was too inconsistent to be assured within the outcomes.
Two newer meta-analyses additionally bolster the case for increased protein intakes.
A 2022 meta-analysis from the identical lab at McMaster College checked out 66 research involving over 2,600 individuals and located that muscle mass and lower-body power solely meaningfully improved in individuals who ate at least ~0.7 g/lb of protein per day.
On this examine, 0.7 g/lb was the minimal required to see enhancements in muscle mass, not the ceiling for supporting development.
Right here’s what the outcomes regarded like:
A 2020 meta-analysis revealed in Vitamin Opinions mixed information from 105 research involving over 5,400 individuals. It discovered that the muscle-building advantages of protein saved rising all the way in which as much as about 1.4 g/lb, which was the utmost quantity consumed. The features obtained smaller as consumption rose, however they didn’t disappear.
Neither evaluation was capable of pinpoint the precise level the place muscle development leveled off, however they each point out it’s increased than 0.7 g/lb.
One drawback with meta analyses like these is that it’s onerous to regulate for variables like calorie consumption, variations in coaching, adherence, the trainee’s stage of expertise, and so forth.
That’s why it’s additionally useful to have a look at how the physique processes protein at a person stage.
Particularly, scientists can use numerous strategies to estimate how a lot of the protein you eat is definitely used to construct and restore muscle, and the way a lot is oxidized (“burned”) for vitality. Typically talking, in case your physique is oxidizing massive quantities of protein, it means you’re consuming greater than it’s good to assist muscle development.
The gold normal for figuring out that is known as the Indicator Amino Acid Oxidation (IAAO) check, and it includes giving individuals various quantities of protein and seeing how a lot of it’s oxidized.
Three research have used this technique to estimate protein necessities in skilled weightlifters. The common requirement throughout all three was about 0.85 g/lb. However to cowl nearly everybody—not simply the common individual—the estimate rises to about 1.07 g/lb.
In different phrases, whereas most individuals wanted about 0.85 g/lb to maximally assist muscle development, some individuals wanted considerably greater than this, and there’s no technique to know which group you belong to with out present process this sort of testing. These research additionally didn’t study how elements like complete muscle mass, calorie consumption, coaching depth and quantity, age, and so forth influenced the outcomes.
For instance, it’s doable that extra muscular, energetic individuals, who practice tougher than most, would possibly want extra protein. It’s additionally effectively established that it’s good to eat extra protein when limiting energy to keep away from muscle loss, and that folks over age ~60 typically want extra protein to assist muscle development than youthful individuals.
A 2025 systematic evaluation by Deakin College discovered that weight-reduction plan weightlifters typically wanted about 0.9 g/lb of protein to keep away from dropping muscle whereas in a calorie deficit. The leaner they had been, the extra essential hitting that focus on was.
As consultants like Lyle McDonald have identified for many years, many research on protein consumption solely measured muscle protein synthesis, however ignored different tissues in your physique that additionally want protein.
Your tendons, ligaments, and different connective tissues, your organs, your blood vessels, and even the mitochondria in your cells all want protein to restore and get well from train. It’s onerous to measure precisely how a lot, but it surely’s nearly actually not zero.
On a sensible observe, the distinction between 0.85 g/lb and 1 g/lb can be largely irrelevant. For a 180-pound man, it’s 25 grams of protein—about one scoop of protein powder. For a 120-pound girl, that’s the distinction between ~100 and 120 grams of protein—a cup of yogurt or a small rooster breast.
So, given the paradox within the analysis and the sturdy theoretical arguments for erring on the aspect of extra protein relatively than much less, consuming near 1 g/lb of protein per pound of physique weight per day remains to be smart.
There are some circumstances the place chances are you’ll need to eat barely kind of than this quantity, however that is simple to determine with a calculator like this one:
→ Protein Calculator for Weight Loss & Muscle Achieve
For many energetic individuals, although, 1 gram per pound of protein per physique weight per day is a great beginning place.