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Contents of I. Proteins (2 of 2)

I. Proteins (2 of 2)

Lecture Notes

It's recommended that adults get about 0.8 grams per kilogram of ideal body weight of protein. So, for a 150 pound person, that would be about 54 grams of protein per day. For a 200 pound person, that would be about 72 grams of protein per day, and the reality is, in our culture meeting your protein requirements is pretty easy. And we also know that active athletes might need a little bit more protein, so 1 to 1.5 grams per kilogram of your ideal body weight.

But, it's important to note that excess protein does not necessarily equal bigger muscles. If you have excess protein, you eat extra calories as protein, that your body does not need or process, it's stored as fat because it's not as easily used as a body source of energy. So, eating more protein does not necessarily translate into bigger muscles like many people often think that it does.

And we're using ideal weight here because protein is not needed for fat tissue—only to build lean tissue.