How much protein do you need?

by Martha Edwards (Subscribe to Martha Edwards's posts)
Apr 13th 2008 2:42PM

Categories: Vegetarian, Diet & Weight Loss, Alternative & Green Health, Nutrition & Supplements

We've all accepted the fact that we need protein. But do you know specifically how much protein you need to be getting as part of a nutritious diet? If you're anything like me, you might not be getting enough. I'll be honest here--I'm not a protein person. I prefer carbs, veggies and fruits to anything else out there, and seeing as I'm not much of a meat eater, it's sometimes a struggle to get my fair share. But I do ok--or at least I though so.

I recently paid attention to what the recommended daily intake of protein is for people depending on their weight. Here's a quick breakdown (to find out your own, just multiply your weight in lbs by .36:)

If you weigh 100 lbs, you need 36g
If you weigh 120 lbs, you need 43.2g
If you weigh 140 lbs, you need 50.4g
If you weigh 160 lbs, you need 57.6g
If you weigh 180 lbs, you need 64.8g

That seems like an awful lot, doesn't it? But there's good news--protein isn't only in meat. You can find it in a variety of dairy products, not to mention nuts, beans, lentils and vegetables.

How do you get your protein?

Comments (7)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Samir Kilachand 4-14-2008 @ 8:14PM

Hi, had a question. I am a 30 year old male. I am 163 cms tall and weigh about 53 kg. I was told that I should have about 1 gram of protein per 1 kg. of weight. Also, that protein should make up about 40% of my diet. Doing, the math, 53 grams x 9 = about 500 cals... How do I reach 1800 to 2000 cals per day.

Raina 4-17-2008 @ 11:37AM

Samir,

Protein isn't the only source of calories in your diet. Carbs, fluids, fats, and even fruits and veggies have calories as well. So even if your protein intake is only 500 calories per day, you can easily hit 2000 calories just by adding in everything else. Try going to www.fitday.com and inputting everything you eat in a day. It has a cool pie chart which will show you the proportion of protein to fat to carbs that you eat and will calculate the total calories. I found this to be a useful tool and was often surprised at how low/high certain foods were in protein or carb or fat.

WeightingGame 4-13-2008 @ 4:28PM

I JUST ate three hard-boiled egg whites...am on my way to a long yoga class. Tonight - salmon, veggies and quinoa. I'm sure some chocolate will be thrown in, too!
Love your blog...
http://theweightinggame.ivillage.com

Kyle 4-13-2008 @ 6:27PM

Getting that amount of protein is a cinch for me, and I'm a vegan! I've always used that formula, and I always found it INSANE when other people would recommend .8 grams per lb of body weight (and alot of people still recommend that!)

ChelbB 4-16-2008 @ 3:57PM

I agree with you! : ) I'm also a vegan too so I've had no problem getting my necessary daily amount of protein either.

ChelB
http://veganandgrainfreebrownwife.blogspot.com/

iamjames 4-13-2008 @ 10:09PM

The 1 gram per lb of body weight is for weight lifters or bodybuilders, not your average joe

Judy 4-13-2008 @ 10:13PM

The protein recommendations always confuse the heck out of me, but I'm pretty sure I get that much. It might come from cheese too often, but the overall diet is good, so I don't sweat it. I'm mostly vegetarian, too, and I just don't seem to have a problem getting enough protein.