How Much Protein Should You Eat to Build Muscle

Building muscle requires a combination of effective training, sufficient rest, and a well-balanced diet. Among the essential components of this diet, protein plays a crucial role in supporting muscle growth and repair. 

Whether you’re a seasoned athlete or a beginner in the fitness journey, understanding your daily protein requirements is fundamental to achieving your muscle-building goals. 

The Basics of Protein and Muscle Building

Proteins are made up of amino acids, which are the building blocks of muscles. When you engage in resistance training or other forms of exercise, microscopic damage occurs to muscle fibers. Proper nutrition, particularly protein intake, is essential to repair and rebuild these damaged fibers, ultimately leading to muscle growth. 

How Much Protein Do I Need to Build Muscle?

The current recommended protein intake for any average person is 0.8 gram per kilogram of body weight or 0.36 gram per pound of body weight. However, if you have been strength training or engaging in any sporting activities, the protein requirement will be significantly higher. Especially if your goal is gaining muscle mass. 

It is required to eat 1 to 3 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight or 0.45 to 1.36 grams per pound of body weight. This is a wide range and different sources recommend different amounts. Here I have compiled some of the numbers and sources who suggest them for the bulking, cutting, and recomp phases of the strength training. 

Bulking

Bulking season is when you try to pack on as much lean muscle as possible by eating slightly above your maintenance calorie requirement. So, it makes sense to eat enough protein, so you don’t miss out on gaining any muscle mass. 

Professional body builder and coach Jeff Nippard recommends eating 1.6 to 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of your body weight or 0.7 to 1 gram per pound of body weight. 

Jeff also mentioned he was eating 3 grams of protein per kilogram of his body weight while lean bulking in one of his videos. Although it is a good idea to eat in the higher end of the range, it’s not necessary to go super high on the protein intake as your body’s capacity to make muscle is limited. 

Cutting

In the cutting season, you do the opposite of bulking, eating slightly less than your maintenance calories. Watching your protein intake in the cutting phase is even more important as your body tends to burn some of the protein to fuel your activities rather than using them in building muscle. 

Although you are generally eating less during the cutting phase, your protein requirement is actually higher than in the bulking. Jeff suggests consuming 1.8 to 2.7 grams of protein per kilogram of your body weight or 0.8 to 1.2 grams per pound of body weight. 

Recomp

In the recomp period, you try and build muscle while losing fat. This is a type of exercise program that benefits the new trainers the most. 

Calories wise, recomp falls in between cutting and maintenance. So, you eat slightly less than your maintenance calories but more than what you would eat during cutting. For this reason, your protein requirement is slightly less than in cutting.  

During the recomp, it is recommended to eat 1.6 to 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of your body weight or 0.7 to 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. 

My Experience with Protein

When I initially started weight training, I did not track my protein consumption. I was getting leaner but wasn’t gaining any muscle. Perhaps, I may have been losing muscle as well.

After doing some research, I started tracking my protein intake and tried to eat around 1 gram of protein per kilogram of my body weight, which was 65 grams of protein for me. I did that for about 2 years. 

My recovery got better, and I was also gaining some noticeable amount of muscle. At one point, my gains stalled. I stopped putting muscle. It was time to rethink the amount of protein I was having.

I started gradually increasing my protein intake. I went up to 3 grams per kilogram of body weight but wasn’t feeling great. I felt dehydrated all the time and I didn’t have much energy to do anything. Then I decreased my protein amount to 2 grams of body weight. That is 130 grams of protein for me, a 65 kg person.

I have been consistently doing that for one year now. It’s more important to have balanced carbs, fat, and protein than just the protein to optimize its efficiency and stay healthy physically and mentally. Now, I’m following standard bodybuilding macros of 30% protein, 30% fat, and 40% carbs.

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