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How much protein in grams do I need at 74 kg on 900 kcal a day?

Asked 23 May 2024Modified 2.0 years agoViewed 29k times
27

Stated plainly: 74 kg · 900 kcal.

I have worked this out and I would like someone to find the error, because I suspect there is one.

My working so far, for the record, is below, and I am fairly sure the error is in the unit conversion rather than the algebra.

Is my approach right even if my number is wrong?

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DK
askeddermot_kiely12k1623 May 2024
8Same situation here, so I will follow this one. – Dr_Signe_Baldursdottir 2 months ago
7What is the actual intake? Most answers here will start by asking for that. – harriet_lonsdale 15 days ago
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3 Answers

Accepted answer first, then by votes
86

Accepted answer

118 to 163 g a day. The range the resistance-training literature supports is 1.6 to 2.2 g per kilogram, which at 74 kg is 118–163 g. At 4 kcal per gram that is 474–651 kcal, or 53–72 per cent of a 900 intake — which is why protein has to be planned first at this energy level rather than fitted in afterwards. Split it across three or four servings; roughly 0.4 g/kg per meal saturates the synthetic response and the surplus in one large serving does not carry over.

The honest answer is that most people in a deficit fall well short, and closing that gap matters more than any refinement above it.

Older adults need more per meal to overcome anabolic resistance, with 1.2 to 1.5 g/kg daily commonly quoted for maintenance and more in a deficit.

Use reference or adjusted body weight rather than total weight where adiposity is substantial: a common approach is ideal body weight plus a quarter of the excess, which avoids targets that no one could eat.

Stable-isotope feeding studies establish the per-meal saturation of muscle protein synthesis at around 0.4 g/kg in young adults and higher in older ones.

Nothing here is dietetic or medical advice.

Plan protein first in the day; with suppressed appetite it will not happen otherwise.

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RP
answered · acceptedrhian_prydderch23k273 Jul 2024
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77

Answering this needs to know whether appetite is suppressed, because in this class the practical problem is achieving intake rather than choosing a target.

Hydration requirements rise modestly with protein intake because urea excretion increases, which is a real effect and a small one.

On the detail: appetite suppression makes protein-rich foods harder to eat because they are satiating. Liquid protein and leaner, less voluminous sources are the usual practical workaround.

Per-meal saturation is real. One enormous serving does not do the job of three.

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KL
answeredkirsi_lahtinen25k2722 Jun 2024
40

Plant-based patterns need somewhat higher totals and more attention to leucine content per serving to produce an equivalent response.

A practical construction: 30 to 40 grams at each of three meals plus a 20 to 30 gram snack covers most targets without any protein powder at all.

Worth being precise here: the leucine threshold for triggering the response is around two and a half to three grams per meal. Thirty grams of most animal protein reaches it; thirty grams of many plant proteins does not, which is why plant-based targets run higher.

Leucine threshold effects are documented across protein sources and explain the difference in per-serving requirements between animal and plant proteins.

Plant-based patterns need a higher total and more attention per serving.

edited 31 Jul 2024 by ahmed_zerouali — fixed an arithmetic slip in the third paragraph

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AZ
answeredahmed_zerouali15k1715 Jul 2024
8Any published number for how long the counter-regulatory response persists? – Dr_Fatima_Belkacem 19 days ago
7Does the protein target use total weight or reference weight? It changes it substantially. – plunger_stop 9 months ago
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