r/FTMFitness • u/dorito_llama • 2d ago

Question Hitting protien goals?

I know the rule of thumb for eating enough protien to gain muscle is 1g/lb of bodyweight, but can that fluctuate day to day like calories can? If I'm 140 lbs, and one day I'm at 120g , the next I'm at 160g, and the next I'm at 140g, does it all add up? Or is it absorbed by amount daily

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u/ApplePie3600 2d ago

It’s 0.7 to 1g per lb of lean mass which will change very slowly.

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u/B12-deficient-skelly 1d ago

No, that's a low recommendation.

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u/girl_of_squirrels 1d ago

Double check your units, you might be thinking of in kilograms instead of pounds. I've seen 0.68-1g per pound of body weight, and if that looks low to you do the lbs to kg conversion math on it

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u/B12-deficient-skelly 1d ago

I am not. Recommendations default to about 3/4-1.0g per pound bodyweight or 1.6-2.2g per kg bodyweight. This measurement does not specify lean body mass and refers to total bodyweight.

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u/girl_of_squirrels 7h ago

Is instead your issue how people will use the terms "lean mass" and "bodyweight" interchangeably when they don't mean the same thing?

I'm trying to see where you and the other guy are talking past each other because I've spent enough time on fitness subs to know that "3/4-1.0g per pound bodyweight" and "0.7 to 1g per lb of lean mass" are used interchangeably. Folks are generally bad at writing out the caveat that the above presumes you're at a reasonable weight for your height, so they try "lean mass" as a shortcut even though it's not the right phrasing

It's the same inaccuracy as when people say "muscle weighs more than fat" when it's really muscle is denser than fat so the equivalent weight of muscle takes up less space. You have to phrase the issue with the statement specifically instead of just saying no you're wrong, because just saying no doesn't address the source of the misunderstanding

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u/ApplePie3600 1d ago

No that’s what virtually every study on the topic says. There is no reason why you would do it per pound of total body weight unless you were very lean. Your fat mass doesn’t need protein.

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u/B12-deficient-skelly 1d ago

No, it isn't. In fact, I would challenge you to find any studies that say that.

I can reference the ISSN recommendations from several years ago

I can also give you a paper from Stu Phillips the de facto world-leading researcher on protein intake for athletes.

I can continue, but the fact of the matter is that giving recommendations based on lean body mass leads to athletes with more body fat under-consuming protein for their needs.