Calculate Your Personal Daily Protein Requirement!

If you’re serious about your physical performance, then you must also be serious about nutrition—especially when it comes to getting enough protein. Learn about your personal daily protein needs, and why protein intake matters so much for both performance and recovery. 

Amino acids derived from the foods you consume are the building blocks of muscles, tendons and ligaments, vital organs, and skin. Strenuous exercise increases protein turnover, so dietary protein requirements are higher for athletes.

How Much Protein Do You Need?

While the daily protein requirement for a sedentary person is pretty modest (0.4 grams of protein pound of body weight), the American College of Sports Medicine recommends upping that to 0.6 - 1.0 gram of protein per pound of body weight for athletes.

For the average athlete of slight build and moderate training volume, I recommend starting near the low end of this range (0.6 - 0.7 grams/lb/day). That’s approximately 80 grams of protein per day for a 120 lb female and 100 grams per day for a 160 lb male. You can easily consume this amount with a few servings of animal-based protein (skim milk, eggs, chicken, fish, lean red meat, or protein powder) along with several servings of nuts, seeds, and legumes.

For a hard-training athlete, however, a greater daily protein intake is needed to support higher rates of muscle protein synthesis, the immune system, among other vital functions. Total daily protein intake of 0.8 to 1.0 grams per pound of bodyweight may be optimal. (Scroll down to the Daily Protein Calculator to get your personalized protein requirements.)

But the story doesn’t end there, because not all proteins are created equal. Getting enough high-quality protein—with the specific amino acids needed to support muscle and collagen protein synthesis—takes a bit more effort.

Amino Acids as Building Blocks

The protein in the food you eat gets broken down into 20 different amino acids. These are then used to synthesize structural proteins throughout your body. Think of amino acids as the building blocks of your organs, muscles, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, skin, and other tissues. They also provide energy, support digestion, and are involved in numerous enzymatic reactions including vital hormonal and neurotransmitter signaling.

Different amino acids play different roles in the body, however, so the unique amino acid profile (a.k.a. the relative amount of each amino acid) of different foods matters. For example, the amino acid profile of red meat differs from that of eggs or milk.  The amino acid profile of vegetables, beans, soy, and other common vegan protein sources is drastically different from that of animal products.

Each amino acid (or combination of amino acids) is linked to different functions in your body. With that in mind, individual differences like lifestyle, stress, exercise, etc. can translate to unique amino acids requirements.

Leucine, for instance, is important for signaling muscle protein synthesis. Athletes undergoing hard training will likely benefit from high amounts of leucine (and other BCAAs). Tryptophan is needed to create serotonin, which impacts individuals under mental and emotional stress. Glycine plays an essential role in collagen synthesis for your connective tissues, muscle matrix, cartilage, skin, bones, and more.

3 Types of Amino Acids

All of these various amino acids can be organized into three main groups:

• Essential Amino Acids (*BCAA): Histidine, Lysine, Methionine, Phenylalanine, Threonine, Tryptophan, Isoleucine*, Leucine*, and Valine*.
• Nonessential Amino Acids: Alanine, Asparagine, Aspartic Acid, Glutamic Acid
• Conditionally Essential Amino Acids: Arginine (essential in children, not in adults), Cysteine, Glutamine, Glycine, Proline, Serine, and Tyrosine

Nine of these 20 amino acids cannot be made by your body. These nine Essential Amino Acids must be consumed as part of your daily diet. Three of those nine essential amino acids fall under the sub-category of Branch Chain Amino Acids (*BCAAs). These are the most rapidly available to your muscles and, hence, important for athletes. Conversely, Non-Essential Amino Acids are readily synthesized within your body.

Then there are the seven Conditionally Essential Amino Acids. In times of injury, growth, physical stress, and illness your need for these conditionally essential amino acids may exceed the amount your body can produce. In fact, emerging research has revealed that glycine deficiency is more common than previously thought and that this is a significant limiting factor in collagen production throughout the body. One recent study indicates that the human body makes about 2.5 grams of glycine per day, while the amount needed is at least 10 grams. That number increases to as much as 20-40 grams in seriously ill or injured individuals. Consuming anywhere near this amount is virtually impossible in a typical diet.

Do You Need to Consume Supplemental Protein?

If you live a low-stress life and you are able to prepare three balanced meals per day, each containing a high-quality protein from either animal protein or a combination of vegan protein sources, then you may be able to meet all your amino acids needs. If this is you, congrats!

Then there’s the rest of us: Enamored to the physical stress of sport and exercise, faced with frequent episodes of mental and emotional stress, and unable to prepare or consume the perfect diet of complementary foods necessary for an optimal amino acid profile. If this sounds like you, then consuming supplemental protein will be beneficial both to your health and your performance.

PhysiVāntage Offers You Three Best-in-Class (and Great-Tasting!) Proteins

PhysiVāntage Weapons-Grade Whey or plant-based Powerplex Complex provides an excellent amino acid spectrum for accelerating muscle recovery and strength gain.

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Calculate Your Daily Protein Requirement

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