I find a huge variation in daily recommended protein intake when I search online and it is quite frustrating. I am going to the gym regularly and trying to build muscle so this has recently become important to me as I don’t want to accidentally have a protein deficiency. Currently I use a protein powder and eat a lot of beans and lentils. I usually get 60g at least and I get the full spectrum of amino acids from other parts of my diet. I just do not believe I need double this as is currently recommended by the US government.

Anyone have studies on this? Recommendations for bodybuilding while vegan?

    • queermunist she/her@lemmy.mlEnglish
      4·
      3 days ago

      I don’t think that’s what it says?

      It says 1.2 to 1.6 g/(kg·day) which can also be written as 1.2 to 1.6g/(2.2lbs·day) which then comes out to 0.5 to 0.7 g/(lb·day)

      … I think, unless I really mangled that unit conversion.

      • NewOldGuard@lemmy.mlEnglish
        4·
        3 days ago

        That is true but in the literature for athletes they do recommend higher levels especially during caloric deficits. That’s where I get my range from, being 0.7 to 1 g/day for maximum muscle growth. Perhaps I’m too biased towards the specialized papers but i think my range is still representative

        • queermunist she/her@lemmy.mlEnglish
          5·
          3 days ago

          Nice and easy round numbers like 1 g/(lb·day) set off warning alarms in my head, seems like a gimmick.

          0.7 g/(lb·day) was in the link you gave, but was listed as the upper part of the range.

          Also, “athlete” covers a lot of ground. Is someone lifting three days a week to build muscle an athlete?

          • NewOldGuard@lemmy.mlEnglish
            2·
            3 days ago

            I gave 3 links, and the one covering intensely trained athletes cutting mentioned 2.4 g/kg as being the upper end of what is generally recommended for athletes. Thats a little over 1 g/lb.

            • queermunist she/her@lemmy.mlEnglish
              2·
              3 days ago

              I definitely didn’t notice three links - I assumed the sentence was a single link! The fact that two of the three of your links don’t support 1 g/(lb·day) is notable, though. In fact, one of them says that anything greater than 0.73 g/(lb·day) do not further contribute gains.

              The other link which supports 1g still runs into the problem of what is an “athlete”? Or even an “elite athlete”? Is someone just lifting for strength an elite athlete? It’s imprecise wording and makes it hard to evaluate.

    • ComradeSharkfucker@lemmy.mlOPEnglish
      1·
      3 days ago

      Damn that sounds miserable though. Guess I’ll be taking it a bit slow lol. Despite my dietary restrictions I do still get all my amino acids via the three sisters. Probably not in the ideal quantities but I definitely get them.

      • NewOldGuard@lemmy.mlEnglish
        3·
        3 days ago

        You should be alright. You dont have to optimize every factor to make progress, and especially at the beginning you will progress quite quickly just by showing up and doing the work. I wouldn’t sweat those details so long as you are getting enough to feel good and are making progress.