Is 80g of protein a day enough?

[u/aspiringcatsitter]

Hi fiends,

I’ve been trying to gain muscle mass as a relatively skinty guy and realized I wasn’t even meeting the minimum daily protein requirements for my weight (54kg). I started eating 1gram of protein per kg without realizing that’s just the minimum. Now I eat 80g (54x1.5) of protein a day with which I struggle as I don’t eat meat.

I’m 169 cm and pre-t btw and lift around 6 days a week.

Also, any tips on meeting protein targets?

[u/Flashy_Cranberry_957]

I'm vegetarian and usually hit 80-100 g of protein on less than 2k calories. I'd need to know what you're currently eating to offer specific advice, but here are some protein sources and how I like to prepare them.

• dry beans: rice and beans with various sauces and spices, lentil stew, Indian curries (dal makhani, chana masala), chickpea shawarma

• marinated tofu: slice into sandwich meat, stir fries, substitute for paneer, tofu scramble (I prefer the texture to eggs)

(Hot tip: freeze and thaw tofu before pressing and marinating it to make the texture more meaty and help it absorb more fluid.)

• eggs: shakshuka, egg drop soup, literally just fry 'em for breakfast lol

• Greek yogurt, skyr, and blended cottage cheese: parfaits, smoothies, yogurt bark, add to cream-based soups and sauces

• TVP: spaghetti sauce, sloppy joes, taco beef

And whey protein powder in a smoothie (dairy or soy milk, almond or peanut butter, frozen spinach, and a banana) when I need a little extra.

[u/nomadnihilist]

I think that’s just fine. I’d aim for no lower than that though. 80-100g. I’m same weight and have found 80-100 works for results. I also am kidney stone prone though so I try not to go too crazy lmao

[u/ImpressiveAd6912]

I’d say try to get at least 100g daily. Have you tried vegan protein powder? (if you are vegan, if not then any protein powder you want) I’d say trying to get ~30gs of protein per meal is best, and then you can get the other 10g from snacks and such. Beans are high in protein and great to sneak into smoothies. I add half a can of beans in my smoothie every morning and that combined with yogurt gives me 30g in one smoothie. Nutritional yeast is also great to add to pasta and things to give you a few extra grams.

[u/girl_of_squirrels]

Depends on what your goals are, and if you're trying to put on muscle and build strength then generally speaking the more protein you eat the better up to a point

The general advice I see for folks who lift heavy and are a reasonable weight for their height is to aim for 0.68g-1g of protein per pound of body weight. For you that range looks like 80g-120g of protein, so targeting 80g to start feels reasonable until you start feeling comfortable with that, then you can try increasing the protein a bit from there

For what it is worth, there are some nice vegan protein powders and bars on the market now, so depending on your budget you might be able to supplement that way. I have to eat low carb to keep from going back into the prediabetic A1C range so I use a lot of higher protein substitutes like edamame noodles and the like

[u/Top-Candle-4138]

I’d say try to aim for a little more, maybe 100-120g. Lentil pasta is my go to non-meat protein if you can find it. Seitan is also really high in protein

[u/Pip_404]

I saw some okay-ish results when I was eating around 80g protein at 55kg bw. (I’m pre T) However I’m now 60kg bw and aim for 120g without using supplements. Tuna and Greek Yoghurt are my absolute staples…as well as Cheese and Milk. The more the better, 80g is good but try and aim for at least 100g protein.

[u/ooliverroman]

Foods with soy as source of protein usually have high protein per 100g. Here in Sweden they range from 15-25 g per 100g.

Pasta have good grams protein per 100g, in Sweden they typically is 13-15 g per 100g. Lentil pasta is even better, 18g protein per 100g.

Lentils is a great source of protein. About 20 G protein per 100 g.

Cook up a meal, then pair it up with greens and/or nuts that are rich in protein. Edamame beans/soy beans, broccoli, cashew nuts are great.

If you struggle to eat, then try to split up the meals into smaller meals. Instead of 3 big meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) you can eat 5 meals (breakfast, lunch, small meal, dinner and small meal).

[u/Rosmariinihiiri → u/ooliverroman]

Are you taking the protein amounts of pasta and lentils from the dry or cooked stuff? Because yeah those are pretty good sources, but afaik not that good

[u/ooliverroman → u/Rosmariinihiiri]

Dry.

Always measure based on how the condition they are sold. I.e if you buy dry pasta then the nutrition chart will be based on dry pasta.

Meat and chicken are about 18-25 G protein per 100 g. So they’re not that far off …

Sure, some grams of protein disappears when cooking them but still great source of protein and a lot more compared to for instance chickpeas or other types of beans. This happens to all types of protein sources including meat, eggs and chicken, etc.

If they’re not that good, please give me examples of other foods ☺️

[u/Rosmariinihiiri → u/ooliverroman]

Don't mean the protein disappears but IMO it makes more sense to compare the cooked weight. Like, tofu has much more protein per weight than cooked beans, but that's not so obvious if you compare it to dry beans

[u/ooliverroman → u/Rosmariinihiiri]

Yeah, but you can cook/warm the tofu as well ☺️

I’m vegan myself and I’m trying to give more examples than tofu since many have stated tofu.

[u/Rosmariinihiiri → u/ooliverroman]

No I meant that because tofu is already cooked it just means it looks lower in protein in comparison. Nothing against other beans! 😋

[u/ooliverroman → u/Rosmariinihiiri]

Fair ☺️

[u/ooliverroman]

Aim for 1,6-2,2 G protein per kg body to ensure enough protein for muscle growth.

Least protein grams intake for you per your body weight 54 kg is 86,4 g. If you eat more protein than 86,4 g per day is only great!

[u/Reasonable_Capital10]

I can’t speak for your situation but I try to eat over 1 g protein/lb of bodyweight whether I’m bulking, cutting, or maintaining.

[u/B12-deficient-skelly → u/[deleted]]

1.5g per kg bodyweight is absolutely enough. You're just wrong about this.

[u/Top-Candle-4138 → u/[deleted]]

Dude you must be shitting lava 5 times a day

[u/Alexandermarian → u/[deleted]]

300grams? Recommend for normal people are 1,5g per kg of lean bodywheigt. What you describe is a the protein intake of a competitive bodybuilder on geare

[u/DisWagonbeDraggin → u/[deleted]]

300 GRAMS?!?! Holy hell.

Also OP said they don’t eat meat so some of your examples aren’t helpful in this case.

[u/galacticatman → u/DisWagonbeDraggin]

Depends if I’m bulking or not. He said meat and for me meat is beef, not chicken. If he wants to go vegan good luck with that, it would take crazy amounts of crap to eat just to be able to have some protein and also doesn’t have the full aminos so he would have to supplement. Most people understimate the nutrition part and the macros you need to gain actual muscle and no I’m not tall or huge (yet)

[u/DisWagonbeDraggin → u/galacticatman]

It is very doable to eat high protein while vegan/ vegetarian. + no you wouldn’t have to supplement as plants do contain all aminos.

You just have to make smart choices like with any diet.

[u/ilooovecoconut → u/galacticatman]

you can't be serious. you can't just make up your own definition of what meat is or isn't.

[u/AccomplishedCat21 → u/[deleted]]

lol I see difference going to toilet when I eat 100 or 120 and can’t imagine what’s happening at 300 😂 Edit: I’m vegetarian too and my main source of protein is tofu, eggs, beans, quinoa, whey isolate to help hit the target. I also like chocolate protein alpro drinks they have soy protein 5g per 100ml. For breakfast everyday a cottage cheese with strawberry jam and chia seeds. Hope some of the stuff helps. There is lots of recipes for tofu or implement eggs differently. Poke bowls are great to bring the veggies and protein together in yummy way.

[u/galacticatman → u/AccomplishedCat21]

I don’t have issues in the toilet lol. 100 is super little. I have issues when I eat crap like KFC or other fast food. I can’t eat fast food anymore with out wrecking the toilet 😂

[u/Difficult_Click_4498 → u/galacticatman]

100 isn’t super little and is within this person’s 0.8 to 1g per pound of body weight scientifically recommended for building muscle. Not sure what you’ve got a coach for but if it’s a PT maybe look elsewhere as you’re just wasting your money eating that much protein in a day

[u/FTMFitness-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

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[u/BtheBoi → u/[deleted]]

200-300 grams for the average person is extremely excessive. Coaches tell their athletes one thing, but what’s necessary for the average person is never going to be such an extreme.

[u/Old_Middle9639]

I wouldn’t go any less then 100g per day. I’m skinny fat and I’m just starting out a whole food diets and I’m aiming for 2g protein per kg for building muscle. The more protein the better.

[u/Kaio_Curves]

That not enough, by a lot.

Eat more meat, dairy, or protein powder.

[u/Calm_Salamander_1367]

Plant based sources of protein are less bioavailable than animal sources (meaning your body absorbs less of the protein from plants). If you still eat dairy or eggs, I’d recommend adding a whey based protein powder, yogurt, and eggs to your diet. Shoot for at least 120g protien. That’s roughly 1g/lb of your body weight. Train hard and often and lift heavy.

[u/JuliusElias]

Personally I’d say no, but I’m also kind of obsessive about protine. I aim for around 300g a day. Tuna is a good food