Submitted by Amy Sercel MS RD CD
Edited by Marcia Bristow MS RDN CSSD CD
“If some is good, more is better,” is an
all-too-common trap, not least in the nutrition world. Many people apply this idea to their food
choices, especially when they’re trying to use their diet to enhance physical
performance. Many athletes include very
large portions of protein-rich foods throughout the day to achieve muscle
growth or boost their strength. It turns
out that an extremely high protein intake is really not necessary to get the
results you may be looking for.
The average, minimally active adult needs
about 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight to maintain
overall health. For a 150-pound person,
this translates to a total of 55 g protein per day. Some athletes more than triple that intake in
an effort to build muscle, eating 3-3.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body
weight each day!1 These athletes are far exceeding their protein needs, and may be
putting their health at risk. In
general, athletes need about 1.2-1.7 grams of protein per kilogram of weight to
maintain muscle mass, or about 81-115 grams for a 150-pound athlete. Ammonia is produced as a byproduct of protein
breakdown, and when someone eats more than 2.5 grams of protein per kilogram of
body weight each day, they risk maxing out their body’s capacity to safely get
rid of that ammonia, which could lead the ammonia to build up in their blood.1
In reality, someone who is trying to build
muscle can expect to gain, at most, about 1 pound per week. If this is a goal for you, you only need an
extra 14 grams of protein per day. This means the 150-pound athlete would need 95-130 grams of protein per day to build muscle. An extra 14 grams of protein could come from 2 hard-boiled eggs, 2 oz of poultry or beef, 12 fluid ounces of
milk, or ¾ cup of tofu. At the same
time, you’ll need about 400 extra calories per day, on top of what you need to
maintain your current weight and activity level, to support muscle tissue
growth, because muscle building itself requires energy.1,2
If you don’t know your daily calorie needs,
you can use this calculator to get an
estimate. Once you’ve learned the amount
you need to eat to maintain your weight and activity level, add about 400
calories to support muscle gain. Since
you’ll need an extra 14 grams of protein, about 60 of these calories should
come from protein.
A protein-rich post-workout meal or snack
will help you build muscle mass by ensuring that your body has the building
blocks available when muscle synthesis is triggered. In one study, researchers compared the muscle
mass of a group who consumed 10 grams of protein immediately after exercise and
another group who had no post-exercise nutrition. The group who ate a post-exercise snack gained
muscle, while the group who didn’t lost muscle by the end of the study.2
Your diet is only half of the equation
though. In order to trigger muscle
growth, you also need to engage in some type of strength training. During strength training, the force on your
muscles activates the genes that regulate muscle synthesis and trigger them to
start making new muscle fibers.1 Once they’re activated, your body will use the energy and protein
from your diet to build muscle. If you
don’t have enough energy or protein available, your body will be unable to
repair the tears that occurred during your strength workout, and you will
likely experience some muscle loss.1,2
There isn’t a clear consensus on the type of
strength training that will result in the most significant muscle gains. This is partially because muscle increases
depend so much on individual body type, hormone levels, and genetics.1 Some people recommend using higher weights and lower repetitions,
while others suggest that the opposite type of lifting may be more
effective. One small-scale study of 15
men found that low-weight, high repetition training had a stronger impact on
muscle growth because the cellular signals triggering muscle growth remained
active 24 hours after the weight training session, while they only remained
active for about 4 hours after the high-weight, low repetition session.3 More studies with a larger participant pool are needed before we
can say for certain whether this advice applies to the entire population.
Another study examined frequency of training
and found that people who completed nine sets (or cycles of unique exercises)
over three days of the week gained the same amount of muscle as those who did
all nine sets on one day and didn’t do any other strength training during the
week. The researchers concluded that the total volume of training was more
important for muscle growth than the frequency throughout the week.4
The main take-away is, if you want to build muscle you don’t
need to take extreme measures in your diet and exercise. Incorporate weight lifting into your typical
workout routine each week, and make sure to include a post-workout meal or
snack that contains a good source of protein.
Get an idea of the amount you need to eat to maintain your current
weight, and add an extra 400 calories to that to support muscle growth. If you’d like more support with meal planning
and timing your nutrition around activity, or if you’ve made changes but aren’t
seeing the results you expected, meet with a registered dietitian who can give
you more specific, individualized advice.
The key to this long-term change
is to stick with it and remember muscle growth won’t occur overnight. Be
patient!
References:
1. Dunford M, Doyle JA. Nutrition for
Sport and Exercise. 3rd ed. Cengage Learning; 2015.
2. Weinert DJ.
Nutrition and muscle protein synthesis: a descriptive review. J Can Chiropr
Assoc. 2009;53(3):186-193.
3. Burd NA, West DWD,
Staples AW, et al. Low-Load High Volume Resistance Exercise Stimulates Muscle
Protein Synthesis More Than High-Load Low Volume Resistance Exercise in Young
Men. PLOS ONE. 2010;5(8).
4. Thomas MH, Burns SP. Increasing Lean Mass and Strength: A Comparison of High Frequency Strength
Training to Lower Frequency Strength Training. Int J Exerc Sci.
2016;9(2):159-167.
