Nutrition 101: How much protein should you be eating?

Article written by our Nutritionist partner, Hannah Norris ANutr MSc

 

How much protein should you eat a day?

This is a common question and there are a few things for you to consider. 

• How often do you work out? 

• What sort of exercise are you doing? 

• What is your overall goal? Weight loss? Weight gain? Health? Performance? 

• Are you vegan/vegetarian?

• How old are you?

What is protein, and why is protein synthesis so important?

Protein is one of three essential macronutrients. 

Protein is consumed and then broken down into amino acids

Amino acids are the building block for every cell and function in the body. Important for everything from muscle (obviously) through to hair, nails, skin, hormones, enzymes, bones, your genes and even nerves! 

Different mixtures of amino acids are essentially “codes” for the body to perform certain activities, and certain amino acids are crucial in certain functions for example protein synthesis.

Protein synthesis is most commonly thought of in terms of muscle protein synthesis (MPS) and most protein sources we eat are considered for their value depending on how well they trigger MPS and if they are a ‘complete’ protein with all amino acids. 

Animal proteins, such as eggs, meat, fish, poultry, dairy (but not gelatin) are considered high quality and complete proteins with all the essential amino acids, especially leucine, critical for MPS and therefore muscle building. 

What about protein for vegans and vegetarians? 

It was thought for a long time that plant based protein was not good enough but recent evidence suggests you can build lean tissue (muscles, tendons, bone etc) on a fully plant based diet. 

It is often seen however that vegan diets with no animal protein do need higher overall amount of protein to trigger the same level of muscle protein synthesis.

How much protein do you need in a meal? 

To trigger maximal and optimal protein synthesis you need 20-30g protein in a portion but the most important factor is how much protein you have over a day. 

New evidence shows for example if you are an older adult and only have two meals a day, you can still maintain muscle mass if you eat all your protein in these two meals rather than many smaller meals across the day. 

So, how much protein do I need a day? 

UK Dietary guidelines suggest the average person needs circa 50g protein a day or 0.75g of protein per kg of body weight 

So if you weigh 100kg you need 75g protein 

HOWEVER

This recommendation is recognised as too low and outdated - 1992!! 

Therefore new research over the past 10 years suggest this amount is just enough to prevent deficiency and to be optimal we should be aiming at least 1g protein per kg of body weight 

Safe amount for most people can be up to 2.2g of protein per kg of body weight but most people don’t need this amount in my opinion, it would be better to aim for calories coming from healthy fats and fibre, but it depends how many calories you can have (based on your personal requirements)

So with that in mind, older adults, vegans or anyone just aiming for general health and wellbeing should be aiming for at least 1.2g protein per kg of body weight

If your goal is weight loss, your body prefers to lose muscle mass (it’s more metabolically expensive) so aim for 1.6-2g protein per KG of body weight and ensure you are weight training so you can retain your hard earner muscle! 

If the goal is endurance training and performance ideally aim for 1.4g protein per kg of body weight

And if your goal is muscle mass gain, 1.5g-2.2g protein per kg of body weight. 

Protein in By Chef Jen meals

We aim to include 20g of protein as a minimum but the majority of our meals are high in protein with 30-50g per meal! You can also look out for our label for high protein which have 50g or more per meal. 

My nutritionist top picks: 

Chicken Tikka with rice & broccoli - a source of fibre and a whopping 62g protein! 

Halloumi Puy Lentil Salad - lentils are a legume, high in prebiotic fibre so great for the gut plus who doesn’t love halloumi? This salad is 39g protein and low in saturated fat 

Red Lentil Dahl - red lentils are one of the easier to digest lentils, and this vegan meal packs in 33g protein.