Tip #5
How Much Protein Do You Need?
You need protein for growth, maintenance, and repair of body tissue and for the manufacture of enzymes, hormones, and other organic compounds. No matter what your age, you continue to "grow" in the sense that you are continually replacing tissue such as making new blood cells.
Protein needs per pound of body weight are greatest for children whose growth demands far exceed that of adults. Your needs will vary depending on how active you are. The more sedentary your lifestyle, the less protein you need.
According to the expert advice of the National Academy of Sciences, most adults need from .4 to .5 grams of protein per pound of body weight. The lesser amount of .4 grams is probably plenty if you are sedentary. If you are more active your needs will be about .5 grams per pound. If you are very active (endurance sports such as running marathons) you will need more (.55-.65 grams/day).
Another way to determine your protein needs is by percentage. The National Academy of Sciences recommends that adults get 10 to 35 percent of total calories (see tip #3) as protein.
So What are Your Protein Needs?
Having a more precise understanding of your needs will help you make better dietary choices for both weight management and health.
ACTION STEPS:
1. Multiply your weight by .4 Then repeat this step and multiply your weight by .5.
(A)__________ (your weight in pounds) x .4 = __________
(B)__________ (your weight in pounds) x .5 = __________
Your protein needs range from ___________ grams of protein (result A) to __________ grams of protein (result B).
2. Multiply your caloric needs for weight loss or maintenance (see Tip #3) by 10% and then by 35%,
__________ (total calories) x .10 = ____________ mininum calories needed as protein
__________ (total calories) x .35 = ____________ suggested upper limit for calories needed as protein
Note:
[Optional: Each gram of protein yields 4 calories. So if you would like to determine the calories you need from protein each day in Action Step 1 multiply the grams of protein x 4 for both (A) And (B).
In Step 2 divide the protein calories by 4 to get the grams of protein.]
Did you do the optional step? How do the figures compare? As long as you are getting the minimum needs for your current weight you will be fine. The latest research suggests that getting somewhat more protein (higher in the 10 to 35 percent range) will provide you with greater satisfaction on a reduced calorie diet and may provide you with other health benefits as well.
The nice thing about knowing YOUR needs is that when you read a nutrition label you are no longer looking at from the perspective of a "reference woman" needing 2000 calories. You can assess your food choices based on what you need not an average. This can be especially helpful when you are on a reduced calorie diet.
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