You've probably seen that protein is a very viral topic lately. It seems like everyone has something to say about it, and sadly, most of the information out there just isn’t accurate. The right amount of protein is crucial for building muscle, preventing muscle loss, speeding up recovery, and enhancing body composition. But with so much conflicting information, it can be tough to figure out exactly how much protein your body needs to see results. 

If you agree – you're not alone! Today, I clear up the protein myths and share the exact calculations to determine the perfect amount for your goals. By the end of this episode, you'll know your ideal daily protein intake, the most common mistakes people make with protein, and some real-life examples of how proper protein can be truly transformative. Whether you've been on your health journey for a while or you're just starting out, this episode will help you optimize your protein for the best results!

Want FREE access to my brand new four-week strength training plan, Strength Without Stress? Head over to hollyperkins.com/review where you can upload a screenshot of your review and gain immediate access. This is a limited-time offer before it sells for $197, so be sure to grab it now!

Topics Covered:

• Why protein is just as important as carbs and fat
• Truth about eating your bodyweight in protein 
• Issues with a small protein intake 
• How to calculate protein intake for your unique needs
• My macronutrient distribution strategy

Resources Mentioned:

• Listen to the first 33 episodes of Holly Perkins Health Podcast HERE
• Check out The Body Composition Project HERE
• Listen to Episode 5: The Diet Swap That Changed My Life Forever HERE
• Research on women and protein HERE
• Research on protein and exercise HERE
• Research on higher protein diets in weight loss HERE
• Research on dietary protein and muscle mass HERE
• Research on amount, source and pattern of dietary protein intake across the adult lifespan HERE
• Research on dietary protein and better physical performance among post-menopausal women HERE
• Research on dietary protein intake, better physical function and muscle strength among elderly women HERE

Follow Me: 

Find me on Instagram: @hollyperkins

Learn more on my website: hollyperkins.com

Connect with me on Facebook: facebook.com/HollyPerkinsFitness/

Disclaimer: Content and information as part of The Holly Perkins Health Podcast is for general interest, education, and entertainment purposes only. The use of information on this podcast or materials or products linked from this podcast or website is at the user’s own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical or mental health condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions.

Getting your protein intake right is a powerful way to build muscle and prevent muscle loss, improve performance, speed recovery and improve body composition. If you haven't yet calculated how much protein your body needs each day, you're missing out on one of the easiest ways to improve both your health and your results. You can't just wing it, and there's a good chance that you're getting it wrong. So keep listening. Hello, and welcome to a very important episode, I am so glad that you're here. If you are new, welcome. My name is Holly Perkins. And after 30 years in practice, I've developed a system of best practices to help you become more muscle and less fat. And my principles are based on the art and science of body transformation. After 30 years of practice, I know a few things. And I focus 100% on women. So the information that you learn here is diluted and it's specific to the unique biology of a woman's body. Today's episode is dedicated to the viral topic of protein. Why? Because there is a ton of messages out there that are confusing, and I'll be honest, outright incorrect. And because they're confusing, a lot of people just aren't getting it right. If you consume any kind of media on the regular, you know, this topic is super viral right now it seems like every social media account and online publication has something to say about protein. And many of them aren't getting the story right. And even if they are, you most likely aren't. Even if you think you've got your protein intake, right? Stay with me, because there's a very specific range. And if you're getting too much, it's just as problematic is too little. Recently, I saw a video clip from probably the biggest podcast in health right now. And on this episode, it was two men, the host and another man discussing what's best for women to build muscle. And they spoke with great authority as they probably should. And they were referencing very legitimate research. But the problem is, neither of these men have ever trained, coached or counseled women, neither of them are actually in practice. They are simply great minds respectfully, who are sharing important information as they interpret from research. But my position has always been research is one thing. real life examples and doing the work with people is really different. They are the reporters in a sense, which is really quite different than being a practitioner. And by the way, there is nothing wrong per se with what they're doing. But if you're looking for guidance, I really encourage you to seek out experts who actually work with women in practice. And yes, based on research, of course, because all the research in the world cannot substitute for real world experience working directly with humans outside of a laboratory. And that was in part, the inspiration for this new series. That's all about viral topics. So stay tuned in the future for more viral topic episodes like this one, so that I can help you create the body that you need to keep up with this life that you love and do it in the easiest, most sustainable, most comfortable way, while also sorting through all of the hot headlines and all of the clickbait that you get exposed to each day.

There's a good chance that you're either confused by how much protein to eat. Or you simply have no idea how much is right for your goals and needs. Or maybe even you think you know, and you've been tracking it, but maybe you should double check. The truth is it is confusing, especially if you're someone who doesn't want to sit down with a calculator. It gets confusing. And as you'll see in a minute, protein intake is relative to myriad factors like age, life stage health, goals, your current activity, the type of training that you're doing. So even if you think you're getting it right, this episode will help you double check your math so that you can be 100% Certain. In this episode, you'll learn exactly how to calculate the Ideal Protein Intake for your body. The two methods that I use in my practice to help my clients fine tune for best results, a precise calculation if you're nerdy like me, and an even simpler calculation that works for pretty much everyone who doesn't want to put the time and the mental bandwidth in. And you'll learn about the times when you'll need more or less protein. My clients are proof that it is possible for you, my friend you to overcome health issues, and feel fabulous. And or become more muscle and less fat. So that you love how you look and how you feel every single day, every single minute. It's possible. I'm seeing women do it all the time. Every day, I guide women to the image of health that they want, whatever that means. And if you can close your eyes, and envision the you that you want to be, this episode is going to help because protein is just as important as carbs and fat. And yes, strength training. And protein isn't more important.

So as always, I want to start with a couple of stories, one from my own personal experience, because I feel it's relevant. And one from a recent client of mine So years ago, when I was all out of whack, if you've heard me tell my story before on earlier podcast episodes, you'll know that I had no idea that macronutrient balancing was important. I would eat according to this idea of eat this not bad approach, right? Like kale is good. Sugar is bad. Salmon is good. Gluten is bad. Vegan is good. Red meat is bad. You know what I'm talking about? Right? Do you remember those days. So thankfully, we're moving towards the day and age of moderation and really getting everything precise and calibrated. So despite always, always paying attention to my diet back then, and always doing what I thought was right. I always felt terrible. And what's unique here is I was trying, I really was doing research and applying what I had learned in college and in my experience as a coach. But I was exhausted and hungry all the time, I felt terrible. I had sugar cravings like an addict, I was a mess. So finally, eventually, way too long later, I learned about eating according to macronutrient balancing. And I realized that I was eating way too little protein. And that had a huge impact on my symptoms. Once I started getting protein, right, everything changed. Because also getting my protein right and then I got my carbs, right. And when I did, I dropped body fat fast, my muscles started showing. And I was finally able to start seeing progress in terms of moving higher weight loads during my strength workouts in the gym up till then I was always just hungry and tired, not really seeing progress. But I got my protein right, and I increased my carbs. And that's when it changed. The truth is my body thrives off carbs. And I rarely get too much protein. But for me, I have a tendency to under eat. And so getting really crystal clear on the bare minimum amount of protein that I needed, made a huge difference. But because protein is such a viral topic these days, more and more of my clients are calling me with a different set of issues.

So the body composition project is my live group coaching program where I guide you to become more muscle and less fat. And right now we're smack dab in the middle of the most recent round. As part of that program, I provide a diet audit every month, so that I can supervise what you're eating but also give you very specific feedback on the foods that you choose and the foods that you prefer. So recently, I noticed that one of the women in the group was eating way too much protein. I mean, I could just see the protein entries. And it was clear she was really just trying to eat more protein. She was front loading her day with almost all protein and therefore ending her A day with a higher protein percentage than what I prefer. And I recommend for my clients. So, in my voice memo to her with my observations, I said, hey, help me understand exactly why you're emphasizing protein so much, especially in the early part of the day, it appears to me that it's way more than what you'd get, if you would just simply follow my macronutrient breakdown. And I have to imagine that you're probably dealing with some digestive issues, because that's one thing that happens when you eat too much protein. So sure enough, she gets back to me. And her response was to no surprise that she was having issues with gas and bloating, she was having digestive issues. And she really wasn't seeing the progress from her programming as she should. She wanted to refine, and I was spot on. And she was surprised to hear that it's because her protein intake was so high, because she keeps hearing everywhere, that she needs more protein. And so she said to me, she's like, well, I just thought that I needed more protein. And this is why it's a problem. If you keep hearing, eat your body weight and protein, or get a minimum of 120 grams per day, it's important to actually calculate what you need, rather than arbitrarily eating more make sense? How could someone on social media who doesn't know you, they don't know your activity level, they don't know your age, they don't know your life stage. They don't know if your strength training or not, and they don't know how intensely you work out? How could they say, eat more, or get a minimum of 120 grams per day? It's not that simple. So please stay with me. Because how much do you actually need? Let's review. And key s, as always, I have linked some really great research probably too much. And some articles, if you would actually like to look at the science yourself. A lot of my links contain other links to other research, research research. So this is a real trove of information. If you're wanting to do it yourself. The first mistake that I'm still seeing, despite all of this messaging is eating too little protein, it happens to me, if I have a stretch, where I just don't have much appetite, and I'm not tracking my food. When I do go back and spot audit, what I find out is if I under eat, I'm also under eating and my protein No wonder I tend to be tired. So even if protein is at the forefront of your mind, you might still be getting it wrong, like me. Yes, there is a very real possibility that you're not getting enough protein for your needs. But how would you know if you're not actually calculating it, and then tracking each day.

Eating too little protein for your needs can result in a million issues. Here are some of them. Impaired recovery from injuries, poor recovery from workouts, muscle loss, the inability to build muscle, energy slumps, and food cravings, that's me, mood issues. That's me too. And a very real struggle to build muscle. So if you're someone who is working so hard in your strength workouts that you feel like you can't increase your weight loads, or you never seem to build the muscle or you never see seem to see the muscle that you're trying to build. This could be part of the problem, it is important to get enough protein, regardless of your desire to build muscle, because you also need protein for all of that other repair. And you need it just to ward off sarcopenia, which I've talked about in previous episodes here, which is the simple loss of muscle through the aging process alone. Now, you might think that simply eating more protein is the answer, just eat more, but it's not. If you've been hearing the messages to eat more protein, and you're doing just that. You could come up against some of the issues like my client did, whether it's digestive upset, energy issues, constipation, and hunger and food cravings. It really is about getting it right. More protein is not the best practice here. The right protein will help you get so much farther. So let's review the numbers so that you can be sure that you're getting at least is the bare minimum and hopefully the ideal amount.

All right, are you ready, I'm going to be throwing some numbers at you. So if you are not somewhere where you've got a pen and a paper and calculator, just listen, and then make sure that you bookmark this episode to come back and revisit it, when you can sit down for three minutes to do some calculations. So the government's RDA recommended daily allowance for protein intake is just point zero grams per kilogram of body weight. Or this is around 58 grams of protein per day, if you weigh 160 pounds. Now, I'm obviously in the US and we use pounds to weigh ourselves. So if you weigh yourself in pounds, you're going to divide that number by 2.2. To come up with your weight in kilograms, because generally, the rest of the world uses kgs. And most research references kgs. That's really important when you're listening to the messages out there, because some fitness social media influencers will say, Get 1.2 grams per body weight. But we got to denote if that body weight is pound or kgs. Cool. Got it, your current body weight in US pounds divided by 2.2 Is your kgs. And when we look at the government's RDA of point eight grams per kg, that's not a lot of protein. Because the government established this amount to reflect the minimum a person needs in order to avoid disease, not to thrive, not to build muscle, not to be happy, but to avoid famine and disease. So it's not actually the optimal amount, it's the bare bare minimum. And if you're active, that's not enough. It's said that the average American consumes 16% of their daily calories in the form of protein. Now in a minute, I'm gonna go over my percentage recommendation. But I'll give you a little foreshadowing, the average American consumes about 16% of daily calories in the form of protein, I recommend a bare minimum of 20, more optimally 25% of your daily calories coming in the form of protein. I'll walk you through that calculation in a moment. And here's the thing. If you're over 45, you need more protein than that. If you lift weights, you need more protein than that if you're a woman, you need more protein than that. If you're in a weight loss phase, you need more. If you're navigating trauma, injury, or any kind of big emotional stress, you'll need more. If you have a chronic disease, you'll likely need more. So how much more now you know that the bare bare minimum is point eight grams per kg per day, let's review how much more you actually need in order to get it right and optimal.

But first, if you suspect that you need more than the government's recommendation, hint, if you listen to this podcast regularly, there's a good chance that you're active that you're over 40, and therefore you do need more than the minimum. But the second most common mistake I see is to start blindly and arbitrarily eating more protein. I alluded to that already. And that's not optimal. Either. Eating too much protein is a problem too, because number one, it can lead to excess calories. And a calorie surplus can lead to weight gain, just like a calorie surplus coming from carbs or fat protein does contribute to your overall calorie slash energy intake. And number two, if you're over emphasizing protein, you may be under prioritizing fat and carbs, the other two macronutrients that are just as important as protein. So even if you're not in a calorie surplus, eating tons of protein at the same caloric intake means that you'll have to eat less fat and carbs and that's a problem too. And number three, too much protein tends to cause digestive issues like gas, bloating, indigestion and constipation. And there are other issues as well. But those are the things that my clients struggle with the most. So if the government's recommendation is point eight grams of protein per day per kilogram, it's most likely too little right? So what is the right amount? As always, I have linked a bunch of articles and read Search so that you can educate yourself if you're interested. One of the most trusted sources for information on sports nutrition is the International Society of sports nutrition, the ISSN, that's my home organization, they publish a series of position stands from time to time, that are the official word on various topics, their 2017 position stand on protein and exercise states for building muscle mass and for maintaining muscle mass through a positive muscle protein balance. And overall daily protein intake in the range of 1.4 to 2.0 grams of protein per kg of body weight per day, is sufficient for most exercising individuals. A value that falls in line with the acceptable macronutrient distribution range published by the Institute of Medicine for protein, you got it, that's a mouthful. Other resources, then narrow down this range a bit more. And what we then see in other research most often is somewhere between 1.6 and 1.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. And some sources suggest that 1.4 to 2.0 is the minimum and you might need more, depending on certain factors. Specifically, if you're trying to lose weight and fat while also building muscle, okay, follow. So our wide range is 1.4 to 2.0. And it's possible you could need more in my experience, that's rare. But I'm going to narrow that down a bit more for you in a moment. After looking at the research, I've landed on the range of 1.6 to 1.8 grams of protein per kg per day, if your head is spinning, I'm going to walk you through it stay with me, okay? I want you to think of your protein intake as a sliding scale. And that's what the research is already indicating. It's a scale. If you're inactive, and generally healthy, okay, inactive, but healthy, you might be able to get away with the government's recommendation of that minimum point eight grams. But if you're inactive, and dealing with health issues or chronic disease, you probably are going to need more in that 1.2 grams and up. If you are, okay, we're going to experience an aside. I'm in my studio in Pennsylvania, as you may or may not know. And standing about four feet away from me right outside my window is the biggest turkey I have ever seen. In my entire life, he literally just came running right by my window, stood in front of my window and is like pecking around in the grass. I wish you could see it back to the programming if you are active. But your activity level consists only of let's say, walking the dog or leisurely walking a few times a week, and you're over 40 You may need let's say 1.4 grams per day. And if you're over 40, and you strength train, and you're in a weight loss phase, which is a lot of women in my community, you're going to need between the target of 1.6 and 1.8. And yes, if you're crushing it with five hour long strength workouts every single week, and you're over 50, and you're a hard gainer, and life is busy, and you struggle with autoimmune issues, you might need more than that 1.8 to 2.0 grams, follow, it's a scale. Again, sit tight, I'm gonna walk you through it in a minute.

As you can see, you want to take into consideration how much you actually weigh. The first way is to determine how much protein you need is to take your current body weight and multiply it by a number that reflects all of the factors that I mentioned above. If you're healthy, active and strength training to become more muscle unless that I start with a body weight in kgs by 1.6 to 1.8. This is really a great target to start with. But it also gives you a little wiggle room on both ends. So it looks like this. Are you ready? If you're in the US or you measure your body weight in pounds us pounds, you're going to take your current body weight divided by 2.2. This is going to give your body weight in kgs kilograms then You're going to multiply your body weight in kilograms, that kilogram number by 1.6. And then 1.8. And this is going to give you a range for the total number of grams that you need to eat each day. And this is a good benchmark, but don't get all neurotic about it, it's a range and you've got wiggle room on both ends. Going back to the first example of someone who weighs 160 pounds, that is 72.57 kgs. And this would mean a daily protein intake range of 116 to 130 grams of protein per day, I took 72.57 times 1.6 1.8. And we've got 116 to 130 grams of protein per day. And it is rare that you'll need more than this. If you are eating more than this, your body will reflect it in some way, possibly with some of the symptoms that I've mentioned. In my experience, most women just do not need to eat more than the 1.8 grams of protein per kg per day, if you are crushing it, and working hard for two to three hours per day, and you're older than maybe. But 1.8 and above is usually recommended for professional athletes, this calculation is going to help you avoid getting too much protein. Now, there is an even easier way that I have found works great without all of this calculation nonsense. And without having to count the grams of protein all day, so stay with me. Because this part was for you. If you're like me, and you're a nerd, and you'd like precision, and you like the numbers, that's for you. And if your head is spinning, and you're like Holly, this is way too much, just give me the cliffnotes version, you're gonna get it here in a moment, because the simplest way is simply to follow my macronutrient distribution strategy.

Another mistake that I see is ignoring this topic altogether, or eating more protein without tracking to know where you are, because you might not be getting enough, right? So not tracking and not knowing is the mistake, if you want to get this right. And I suggest that you do because everything is just so much better everything. Even if you're not strength training right now, it's so much better when you get your protein right. So here are your two ways of calculating number one, calculate your range, as I just explained, and then start using a diet tracking app to look at the total number of grams for the day and hit that range. Or option two, you can use a diet tracking app to record what you normally eat just your normal day of eating, and then simply follow my macronutrient strategy. This works really well for most people who don't want to do the calculation. And I'll be honest, every single time I've done a case study, they always knit out to be about the same. So let me walk you through a quick example to illustrate everything that I'm talking about. It puts it into perfect clarity. So if you remember from earlier, we're using a 160 pound person, that person would need 58 grams of protein per day to get the bare bare minimum that the government recommends. And between 116 and 130 grams per day, based on the often recommended 1.6 to 1.8 range pay. So let's take this calculation a bit further and look at how it breaks down. If you simply want to follow macronutrient approach mine specifically, we're going to use that same example 160 pound person which is 72.57 kgs. Now depending on your specific goal, I'm going to calculate a target for your daily calorie intake. Okay, because that is important. That number ranges from 10 to 20. You don't have to remember this if you're driving or walking. But that number I'm revealing a bit of my secret sauce here by the way. My number ranges from 10 to 20. And it reflects the number of calories that you need based on your body weight in pounds per day. So I take your body weight in pounds and I multiply by a multiplier. If I know nothing else about you listening to this right now, I don't know you and you're healthy and As your strength training to build or maintain muscle, then I would assign a calorie multiplier of 12. So therefore, you would take your current body weight and US pounds, multiplied by 12. And you're going to arrive at the calorie target per day of 19 120 calories. Okay? This is just an example, I want you to understand this conceptually. And then you can come back and do this later. So I default to a 5025 25 macronutrient distribution for most women to start. This means that 50% of those 19 120 calories would come from carbohydrates. 25% of those 19 120 calories would come from both protein and fat. That's what a 5025 25 macronutrient distribution means 50 carbs, 25 protein 25 fat, expressed as a percentage, carbs and protein, both contain four calories per gram, and fat contains nine calories per gram. If you do some quick math, and you know what you're doing with a calculator, of course, I've done it for you. This turns out to be 240 grams of carbs, 120 grams of protein, and 53 grams of fat. So let me highlight that we just determined following my macronutrient approach, that it would yield the perfect amount of protein at 120 grams per day. And remember, when we calculated it, based on your body weight and kgs, we arrived at 116 to 130 grams of protein per day. So it's just so much easier in my experience to set your calories based on your current body weight and pounds and your goals and your activity level. And then just follow a macronutrient distribution, it's so much easier, and you're not going to get too much and you're not going to get too little as long as you're within a range. Like I said, there's wiggle room, so don't worry about getting specific down to the grant the gram.

Now, I realize that you may need to bookmark this episode and return to it when you have a calculator and a pen and a paper. But let me summarize. Okay. In order to get your protein right, you need to calculate your intake based on your body weight, then it's a sliding scale based on your unique factors. The government's recommendation is generally too low for everyone. So we looked at research to find a wider range of 1.4 to 2.0 grams per kg of body weight per day. And more specifically, let's narrow that down. You can use as I do 1.6 to 1.8 grams of protein per kg of current body weight per day. Option one, calculate your protein range and get the exact number of grams per day to target like I just walked you through. Or option two is to simply track your intake each day using a diet tracking app and aim for a 5025 25 macronutrient breakdown. It's that simple. Bookmark this episode, listen to it over and over. Please share it with your girlfriends because we need to spread the protein gospel. I realize this might sound confusing. But if you know that you can return to this episode and do some quick math, you'll find it pretty easy and you're gonna find that it's worth it. You do need to get enough protein each day and you don't need more than you need. more is not better. In fact, when it comes to your body and your health I have found more is Never better. Better is better my friend. If you want to learn more about my macronutrient eating approach, make sure that you listen to episode five, the diet swapped that changed my life forever. I hope you enjoyed this episode. Please share your feedback with me I thrive on your feedback. You can leave a comment and or a review wherever you're listening. Right now. If you grab a screenshot before you post that review, and bring that screenshot over to Holley perkins.com forward slash review. You can upload it and get free lifetime access to my four week strength without stress strength training program. It's amazing. It's going to change your life. It's the program that I use from time to time. Whenever I need the minimum to build muscle without causing too much inflammation, you'll get immediate access for free. So come on over to Holly perkins.com forward slash review, and stay tuned for another brand new episode on Tuesday of next week. Stay strong, my friend