Proteins 1 | MAY ‘25
Why You Might Want to eat more protein
Whether you're a weekend warrior trying to build lean mass, or a serious lifter chasing progressive overload, you've probably heard the common guideline to eat 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight per day. But is that just gym bro lore or is there actual science to back it?
Spoiler alert: Yes, there is. And quite a bit of it.
Major organizations like the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND), the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), and a number of peer-reviewed agree that high-protein diets—especially in the range of 1.6 to 2.2 grams per kilogram of body weight (that's roughly 0.7 to 1 gram per pound)—can be essential for optimizing muscle growth, strength, and recovery.
With that in mind, let’s dive into 3 reasons why you should aim for about 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight daily, and how to do it without choking on a pound of grilled chicken at every meal.
1. Protein Is the Foundation of Muscle Growth—And You Need Enough to Build New Tissue
Let’s start with the obvious: muscle is made of protein, and without a steady supply of amino acids (the building blocks of protein), your body doesn’t have the raw materials it needs to repair and grow muscle tissue after training.
Numerous studies have shown that resistance training combined with higher daily protein intake leads to greater gains in lean mass and strength. A 2018 meta-analysis in the British Journal of Sports Medicine reviewed over 49 studies and concluded that protein supplementation significantly enhanced gains in both strength and muscle size, especially when protein intake exceeded 1.6 g/kg of body weight per day.
Why does this range matter?
The lower end (1.6 g/kg) covers most recreational lifters and athletes.
The higher end (2.2 g/kg or ~1 g/lb) is particularly relevant for intermediate to advanced trainees, people in a caloric deficit, or those trying to maximize hypertrophy (muscle growth).
Muscle protein synthesis (MPS), the process by which the body builds new muscle, is elevated post-training and can remain elevated for 24–48 hours. But if you’re not eating enough protein throughout the day—especially spaced across meals—you’ll short-circuit this process.
📌 Takeaway: Hitting 1 gram of protein per pound per day helps ensure you're giving your body enough amino acids to support muscle recovery and growth, especially in training-heavy weeks.
2. It Supports Better Recovery, Lower Soreness, and Injury Prevention
Training is only half the equation—recovery is where the gains happen. And protein plays a central role in that. Post-exercise, your body initiates repair mechanisms to heal damaged muscle fibers. This process relies heavily on essential amino acids, especially leucine, a key driver of MPS. Without sufficient intake, your recovery slows down, you’ll feel more sore, possibly train less intensely, and increase your risk of overuse injuries.
According to the American College of Sports Medicine, athletes engaging in intense endurance or strength training should aim for 1.2–2.0 g/kg of protein per day, with some populations needing more—especially during caloric deficits, injury rehab, or “two-a-day” training schedules.
Here’s the key point: Protein doesn’t just build new tissue—it helps maintain and repair existing tissue.
High-protein diets have also been shown to reduce exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) and delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), particularly when consumed in the 1.6–2.2 g/kg range and spaced throughout the day. Additionally, protein contributes to ligament, tendon, and joint tissue maintenance—critical for injury prevention over months and years of training.
📌 Takeaway: Higher protein intake improves recovery, reduces soreness, and protects your body’s connective tissue, letting you train harder and more consistently.
3. Protein Helps with Body Recomposition—Especially When Calories Are Tight
Even if your goal isn’t to get huge, you might want to lose fat while preserving muscle—aka body recomposition. This is where a high-protein diet really shines.
Numerous studies have shown that people who consume higher amounts of protein while dieting preserve more lean muscle and lose more body fat compared to those eating lower protein—even when calories are equal.
A 2016 study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that individuals on a calorie-restricted, high-protein diet (2.4 g/kg) not only retained more muscle, but also lost more fat compared to those eating a lower protein intake (~1.2 g/kg), even when doing the same resistance training.
And here’s something most people forget: to build muscle, you must be in a caloric surplus. But it’s a balancing act—too much of a surplus and you gain fat along with muscle. Too little, and you’re spinning your wheels. In either case, ample protein intake ensures that the calories you're adding go toward muscle repair and growth, not just fat storage.
📌 Takeaway: A gram per pound daily helps maintain muscle during fat loss and optimize muscle gain when in a surplus. It’s body recomposition’s secret weapon.
How to Actually Hit Your Protein Target (Without Losing Your Mind)
Here’s the good news: you don’t need to live on protein shakes to hit your goal. Let’s take a 170-pound person aiming for 170 grams of protein. A hypothetical meal plan might look like this:
🥚 Breakfast: 3 eggs + ½ cup egg whites + oatmeal with chia seeds = ~30g
🐔 Lunch: 6 oz grilled chicken breast + brown rice + veggies = ~40g
🐟 Dinner: 6 oz salmon + quinoa + greens = ~40g
🧀 Snacks: Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, mixed nuts = ~30g
💪 Post-workout shake: 1 scoop whey protein = ~25g
That’s over 160g without anything extreme—and most of it from whole foods.
You can also leverage plant-based proteins (tofu, lentils, tempeh, pea protein) if you’re vegetarian or vegan, but you may need to mix sources to ensure a complete amino acid profile.
Final Thoughts
✅ Get 1.6 to 2.2 g of protein per kg of body weight (0.7 to 1 g/lb) for optimal muscle growth, recovery, and body composition.
✅ A gram per pound is a safe, research-backed benchmark for most active people.
✅ You won’t grow without a caloric surplus—but high protein ensures that surplus feeds muscle, not fat.
There’s no magic number that works for everyone, but if you’re training regularly, aiming for around 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight each day is one of the simplest, smartest nutrition strategies you can adopt. And no, you don’t need to eat six times a day or turn into a chicken-broccoli robot to do it. Just stay consistent, track your intake once in a while, and give your body what it needs to recover and grow. The science has your back.