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Do you really need one gram of protein per pound of body weight to gain muscle?

As a personal trainer in Houston people always ask me if they need to have one gram of protein per pound of body weight. The answer is no, actually studies have shown that only 0.4-.06 grams of protein per pound of body weight is sufficient. Ingesting more protein will only result in your body storing it as flab. Of course you want to take in your protein with every meal throughout the day and if you are on a proper eating routine you are eating 5-6 times per day.

What is protein?

Protein is made up of amino acids. In other words amino acids are the building blocks of protein. In addition, there are two types of protein animal and plant. However, there are roughly 20 amino acids divided between essential and non-essential ones. Essential amino acids must be obtained from a food source.

How many amino acids do you need?

Your body needs all amino acids and depending on the amino acid composition, proteins are either “complete” or “incomplete.” Animal protein has the completer profile of amino acids where as vegetables are typically incomplete. Incomplete means that they are either missing amino acids or too few of them to maintain the body’s total needs.

So tonight enjoy some meat and below are a few good sources of protein.
Chicken Breast
Fish
Egg Whites