How to Get 200g of Protein in One Day
How do you get 200 grams of protein in just one day? That was a question one of you asked after reading one of my articles. So how easy is it to eat 200g of protein in one day? Read on to find out…
If you’re looking to build muscle, lose body fat or generally be a bit healthier, you’re going to need to eat protein.
Lots of protein.
When you’re doing some kind of weight training and particularly programmes such as Jim Wendler’s 531, your protein requirements will go up.
That’s because you’re body needs protein for growth and repair.
Because you’re stressing your body through exercise, this stimulates it into needing to repair and grow more – specifically muscle.
This is because your body likes balance or homeostasis. This is when your body is able to cope easily with stresses put upon it. That’s why your body grows muscle in response to exercise stimulus.
It literally doesn’t want to be weak!
Steak is one of the tastiest ways to get 200g of protein. Just fry in a little oil or butter, salt and pepper. And enjoy!
Get 200g of Protein: How Much Do You Really Need?
This is a hotly debated question. If you pick up a food label, it might tell you that your protein needs are 40g a day.
Which is correct, if:
- You sit around all day basically doing nothing.
- Changing what’s playing on Netflix is the most exercise you get.
- The closest you get to lifting weights is picking up your smartphone.
If you flick through a bodybuilding magazine or read a bodybuilding forum, you might come out believing that you need two or even three grams of protein per pound of body weight.
Which is a lot.
This could be true if you’re on anabolic drugs, weigh 260lbs and have a competition coming up.
Or it could be that the supplement companies that fund these sites and magazines want you to buy their super high protein ‘60g in ONE SERVING‘ shakes and meal replacement powders.
The approach that I’ve taken is one of experimentation. As my training and body has developed, I’ve reached a point now where I know that, to recover and grow optimally, my body needs around 200 grams of protein a day.
This works out at around 1 gram per pound of body weight (Pro Tip: If you need to convert kilos to pounds, multiply by 2.2).
If I eat much more than this, I get fat. If I eat less I’m sore and lethargic. 200 is my magic number.
You might be completely different. You might need more or less protein than me. There isn’t a quick fix other than experimenting and being mindful of how your body feels in response to diet changes.
Wholefoods vs Protein Shakes and Meal Replacement Powders
If you read magazines and forums, you’ll begin to believe that drinking four protein shakes throughout the day is normal.
You’ll also believe that drinking protein shakes instead of eating whole foods is fine.
But is it?
The problem is that shakes, while convenient, are not particularly satisfying. The same can also be said for bars, cookies and other protein supplement foods.
Over consumption can also lead to the build up of salts in your urine which will burn when you pee. When you go to the doctor to see about this, he will erroneously refer you to a sexual health clinic.
Have fun explaining that one to your other half.
Although it takes a bit more effort, I prefer to get most of my protein from whole foods and use shakes to supplement my diet – not prop it up.
So how do you get up to 200g of protein in one day?
Eggs are a cheap and convenient way to get plenty of protein with 7-9g in each one.
Eating 200g of Protein a Day is Easy
If you’ve read some of my other nutrition articles, you’ll know that I don’t really buy into the ‘6 or 7 small meals’ ideology that is so popular with fitness professionals.
Instead I go for four medium sized meals throughout the day along with a pre-bed snack and a post workout shake on the days that I lift weights or do circuits.
Sometimes I might lift and do conditioning on the same day – for those days I’ll take two shakes and generally rest the following day.
On cardio and non training days, it pretty much looks the same but without the protein shakes.
This is a sample meal plan that works for me. I’d encourage you to experiment and see what works for you. You will have to ‘eat like you mean it’ if you’re going to reach that magic 200g number though!
Meal 1: 4 eggs and 2 slices of High Protein Bread (54 g protein)
Train: Jim Wendler’s 531
Post Workout Shake – 2 scoops 75% whey powder (48g protein)
Meal 2: 1 tin tuna and rice cakes (35g protein)
Meal 3: Chicken breast, rice (35g protein)
Meal 4: Ground beef, tomatoes, vegetables (35g protein)
Pre Bed snack: Greek yogurt, peanut butter (15 g protein)
Total 222g protein
You can buy a great brand of High Protein Bread here.
(If you’re in the US – this equivalent brand has 20% protein which works out at about 10g per slice)
I also sip an amino drink during the day. I prefer BSN Amino X for flavours and taste. Watermelon and blue raspberry are probably the most refreshing. You can get it here
If I’m on the go or in meetings, I’ll take a protein bar with me. Quest bars are the best tasting and have some of the best macros of any bar. These are easy to stash in the glove box of your car or college backpack too.
Mint chocolate chip is my favourite but they all taste pretty good. You can buy them from most good supplement stores but the best deals are often online. There are some insane flavours of Quest bars. To see a full range, click here.
I use a whey concentrate (75 – 80% protein) because it’s affordable and good quality. Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard has 24g of protein per serving so is a great way to add to your protein intake especially on those tough training days when you need a little boost (get it here).
A protein supplement is a worthy investment. Don’t use it in place of real food though!
For meal prep, you can either prepare from scratch or buy what you need ready cooked (this can be expensive).
Something I’m doing more is leftovers. My wife makes a lot of healthy meals in the slow cooker (crock pot).
I’ll save the leftovers into individual portions and add microwaveable rice for a convenient meal.
A protein powder supplement can help up your intake. Try not to rely on shakes for more than 25% of your 200 grams.
Final Thoughts on A High Protein Intake
If you’re new to training you might be tempted to go all out too soon. If you’re serious about having a fit body, consistency, balance and trial with a bit of error are going to serve you well.
Don’t rush out and buy every protein powder and fortified food there is.
Do focus on eating quality, whole foods that will nourish your body. Adjust your intake to your needs. If this means measuring/weighing foods or tracking on an app like MyFitnessPal, do that. Most likely you’ll reach a point where meal planning and timing comes naturally and you don’t need to over think what you eat.
Use supplements intelligently. They should always supplement a healthy balanced diet of animal proteins, fruit and vegetables as well as whole grains. They should never replace or substitute it.
Eating 200g of protein in one day doesn’t have to be a trial or expensive. By making smart choices and supplementing intelligently, you can reach 200 grams helping you grow, recover and put on more muscle.
Neil
P.S. My book A Father’s Mission has a whole section on fitness and nutrition (including great recipes). Get it here.
P.P.S. For email updates, free resources and more, sign up here:
I was reading that a high protein diet was ideal for weight loss and hopefully lowering my blood glucose (diabetic). My weight is presently 273 and height 6’4″. So calculating to lose around 50 lbs, I should aim for 200 grams protein per day. Because of a herniated disc I can’t do any weights. Am I understanding this right and will I be able to lose weight with just the increase of protein? Thank you for your opinion!
Hi Scott. Thanks for reading and commenting on this post. I really appreciate it. I’m not the right person to give out medical advice about your weight regime if you are recovering from a herniated disc. My advice would be to follow whatever your physician or physio has said. I would add that increasing your protein intake is likely to add to greater fat loss. Studies have shown that this is the case
I’d recommend taking regular exercise – probably low impact with your injury so something like a static exercise bike or swimming would do the trick. I hope this helps and all the best with your weight loss.
I feel your pain bro. I too have herniated discs in my neck. 5 of them which only 1 bothers me due to a pinched nerve. I got my best recovery after trying almost everything from regular chiropractor visits to slowly get some space back and from epidural injections, the 2nd one did the trick. I don’t have the luxury of fully resting as I work Sanitation and it constantly gets irritated but is totally tolerable now. I also supplement with CBD and MSM which seem to help and Gabapentine for relief when I sleep. Due to COVID-19 I haven’t been in the gym since March but I think my body is ready. I’m 6’1 300 my absolute heaviest and I wanna get down to 225lbs and go from there. I’m trying to figure out how to remain in a calorie deficit and get this protein in. I’m aiming for 200mgs as well. I’m currently trying Optavia nutrition plan as my fuelings sandwiched by breakfast and dinner made by me. I will add 2 protein shakes during the day to curb my appetite and hit my mark. I’ve added a 60 min walk to my busy morning at work and work part time at night which I avg 10k steps. The weight should pour off if I get the nutrition in check. The more protein the fuller and more energetic I feel. My carbs I try to get from non gluten, non starchy choices like fruit and sweet potatoes. It really is a chore to get all my water, protein in daily while staying the course. Good luck with your herniated disc, that should be a top priority along with your other health goals. We can do it, time + consistentcy = results. Another thing for me is preparation in everything from my gym bag, clothes, food, charging headphones, all these details help rid of any excuses I may think of 🤜🏼💥🤛🏼
Great testimonial Mike. I really hope you have a great success. You sound very motivated.
studies have shown more than one egg a day gives you the same level of plaque build up in the artery’s as a smoker. So maybe use egg whites only.
Hey Andy, thanks for reading and commenting. I take your point that some studies have shown this however more recent research has suggested that there are lots of health benefits from eating the yolks including Vitamin D, healthy fats and extra protein. I’ve personally eaten whole eggs every day for years and my cholesterol regularly tests at healthy levels. That said, it comes down to individual choice and goals whether you keep them or not.
your GI does not process cholesterol from eggs. eat as many eggs as you want.. egg whites… blah, no worries for plaque build up. in fact your blood serum cholesterol level is produced by the liver. so, it doesn’t really matter. have you apoB level checked, that will tell you the degree to which you have or might develop ACVD
Only free or unesterified cholesterol (UC) can be absorbed through gut enterocytes. In other words, cholesterol esters (CE) cannot be absorbed because of the bulky side chains they carry.
Much (> 50%) of the cholesterol we ingest from food is esterified (CE), hence we don’t actually absorb much, if any, exogenous cholesterol (i.e., cholesterol in food). CE can be de-esterified by pancreatic lipases and esterolases – enzymes that break off the side branches and render CE back to UC — so some ingested CE can be converted to UC.
Furthermore, most of the unesterified cholesterol (UC) in our gut (on the order of about 85%) is actually of endogenous origin (meaning it was synthesized in bodily cells and returned to the liver), which ends up in the gut via biliary secretion and ultimately gets re-absorbed by the gut enterocyte. The liver is only able to efflux (send out via bile into the gut) UC, but not CE, from hepatocytes (liver cells) to the biliary system. Liver CE cannot be excreted into bile. So, if the liver is going to excrete CE into bile and ultimately the gut, it needs to de-esterify it using enzymes called cholesterol esterolases which can convert liver CE to UC.
Also realize that the number one way for the liver to rid itself of cholesterol is to convert the cholesterol into a bile acid, efflux that to the bile (via a transporter called ABCB11) and excrete the bile acids in the stool (typically most bile acids are reabsorbed at the ileum).
One of the unfortunate results of the eternal need to simplify everything is that we (i.e., the medical establishment) have done the public a disservice by failing to communicate that there is no such thing as “bad” cholesterol or “good” cholesterol. All cholesterol is good!
The only “bad” outcome is when cholesterol ends up inside of the wall of an artery, most famously the inside of a coronary artery or a carotid artery, AND leads to an inflammatory cascade which results in the obstruction of that artery. When one measures cholesterol in the blood – we really do not know the final destination of those cholesterol molecules!
Cholesterol is “just” another fancy organic molecule in our body, but with an interesting distinction: we eat it, we make it, we store it, and we excrete it – all in different amounts.
The pool of cholesterol in our body is essential for life. No cholesterol = no life.
Cholesterol exists in 2 forms – UC and CE – and the form determines if we can absorb it or not, or store it or not (among other things).
Most of the cholesterol we eat is not absorbed and is excreted by our gut (i.e., leaves our body in stool). The reason is it not only has to be de-esterified, but it competes for absorption with the vastly larger amounts of UC supplied by the biliary route.
Re-absorption of the cholesterol we synthesize in our body is the dominant source of the cholesterol in our body. That is, most of the cholesterol in our body was made by our body.
The process of regulating cholesterol is very complex and multifaceted with multiple layers of control. I’ve only touched on the absorption side, but the synthesis side is also complex and highly regulated. You will discover that synthesis and absorption are very interrelated.
Eating cholesterol has very little impact on the cholesterol levels in your body. This is a fact, not my opinion. Anyone who tells you different is, at best, ignorant of this topic. At worst, they are a deliberate charlatan.
Hello sir!! I’m wanting to use your meal plan as a guide but in confused on how much chicken, ground beef and rice to eat in 1 serving. Can you please explain?
Hi Luke. Thanks for your comment, I really appreciate it. If you take my meal plan as a guide, 225 grams (1/2 lb) of ground beef would give you 35 grams of protein. 120 grams of chicken breast would give you 35 grams of protein. For rice, it depends on your energy needs. I would start with 50 grams (dry weight) per meal and see how you get on. If you are feeling lethargic, try increasing it to 75 grams. I hope this answers your question. Have a great day.
For the Meal Plan you have laid out roughly how many calories are you talking.
Hi James, this works out at about 2800-3000 calories which is what I need if I’m looking to put on muscle without mad weight gain. Your calorie needs will vary depending on your build, metabolism and general levels of activity throughout the day.
This article was the literal exact information I was looking for. I needed some kind of base idea for planning better protein consumption. I really appreciate that you promote whole food intake as opposed to solely getting protein from shakes or what not.
Hey Chris, thanks so much. Yeah its pretty easy to get that much protein from shakes. But that’s not a sustainable way to live or even a healthy way to eat. Much better to eat whole foods and supplement with shakes or high protein sports foods.
Hi Neil..
Thanks for this article and valuable insight. I’m 6ft3 and around 217 pounds atm. I’ve been training a few weeks and looking to go 200g protein a day so will try your diet out!
In the past I just don’t seem to add muscle which is probably due to poor diet rather than training. Hopefully this can see me add some muscle finally.
Simon
Hi Simon, thanks for reading and commenting. I really appreciate it. Its great that you’re looking to up your training and focus on diet too. This meal plan is definitely a good starting point but don’t feel like you need to stick to it rigidly. Try other high protein meals that will get you to that 200 number too!
Hi, just read part of this. And you mentioned that how much protein works for each person varies, but it takes experimentation. My gym trainer’s suggestion is about a gram of protein per pound of body weight.
Hi Will
Thanks for reading and commenting. From my perspective, protein needs depend on a few factors: existing muscle mass and body composition, training or weight loss goals, workout intensity and frequency. That said, one gram per pound of body weight is probably a good place to start and see how you get on.
Neil
Hi I think your meal plan is fine but I weigh 160pounds and body building just over a year and see Great results but would like to ge bigger . with my weight I mention would I need as you mentioned 200grams of protein daily kind regards
Hi James, it will probably take a bit of trial and error to find your ‘sweet spot’. Why don’t you try 150-160 grams per day and if you need more, add 20-30g per day.
This is exactly the information I was sourcing, clear and easily understood, to fuel and ignite my 2020 transformation. 215g of b protein per day now looks achievable without compromising quality. Thank you
Hi Marko. Thanks for reading and for your kind words. I hope you get on great with your nutrition. Be sure to come back and tell me how it’s gone. Neil
So I’m 5”4 and am 201 pounds. I want to lose a significant amount of my body fat percentage while gaining muscle. Mostly in my legs and glutes. I still have a high percentage of body fat I need to lose. So if all the calculations are right I need to be consuming 200 g of protein a day. Does the amount of protein consumed depend on how tall I am though?
Hi Josie, thanks for reading and commenting. Great that you have decided to lose body fat. I wish you every success with that. Something to consider with the sample diet plan is the amount of calories you could be consuming. The sample meal plan here is based on my own eating plan – I’m 6’1″ and weigh around 190lbs. 200g of protein might be too much for someone of your height who is also looking to lose body fat. Excess calories from protein will be turned into fat (no matter what anyone tells you). I’d suggest starting a bit lower – in the 100-120 gram range and seeing how that fits with your diet and training goals.
Found this information helpful thanks
Hi Harry, thanks for your email. Let me know how you get on with the meal plan.
Hello Neil, thanks for the article. You mentioned only rice here with the protein and vegetables at the end of the day, but do you use any other forms of carbs/grains/starches with your diet?
Hi Abe, it depends what I’m in the mood for really. Rice is a nice easy to digest and cook carb but you could use white or sweet potatoes, pasta, quinoa (I’ll happily eat any of these). What carb sources do you normally eat?
Hey Neil, I’m 6’4 1/2 and 234 pounds and looking to lose body fat and gain strength. Do you think it’s realistic to hit a g of protein per pound while maintaining a caloric deficit consistently?
Hi Dante, thanks for your comment. I can answer your question: yes absolutely! 1g lean of protein is about 4 calories so for you to eat one gram per pound you’d be consuming a little over 900 calories per day. The rest of your calories can be made up from healthy fats and carbs depending on your weight loss goals. I hope this helps.
A great article was exactly what I was looking for. I’m 6ft2″, about 260-270 pounds I’m what some people refer to as skinny fat. Now I cycle back and forth to work its about 13-mile round trip at least twice a week sometimes more. I’m more lean muscle than bulk muscle and I have plenty of protein but just can’t seem to bulk up and feel its the cycling that’s stopping that for me, but I love cycling come rain, thunder, snow I bike to work. I lift weights on a night to when I can. How can I keep bulk muscle?
Hi Royston, I’m not a nutritionist or a PT or anything and it’s difficult to make suggestions without knowing more specifics but generally I’d say your cycling isn’t hampering your gains if it’s only a couple of times a week for 13 miles. I’ve found that building muscle takes time – a lot of time actually. And it involves having your diet right, not too much junk food and alcohol and minimal tobacco products. Do that over several years and you’ll gain considerable muscle mass.
Hi Neil,
I’m looking to lose body fat (mostly in my belly area) while gaining muscle (mainly in my arms). I’m 5’7 and 285 pounds. How much protein would you suggest i start with?
Hi Christine – thanks for reading and commenting. Rather than focusing on a specific number of grams of protein (this article was the result of years of me finding my own ‘sweet spot’) I have three suggestions for you:
– Aim at a small calorie deficit most days. A combination of physical activity and controlled diet is best.
– Do some light to moderate exercise once every day (i.e. walking) and lift some weights three times a week.
– Drink plenty of water (not sodas even diet).
I recommend the MyFitnessPal app for calorie tracking and exercise.
Thanks a lot for your post! I was trying to find a way I can cram in protein within my eating window. It’s a bit harder for me because I am trying to do intermittent fasting at the same time as building muscle. I was told to pick one or the other. I read that I can still build muscle while intermittent fasting as long as I get that gram of protein per pound of body weight requirement. I weigh 185-190lbs, I want to weigh 165-170lbs. Would it be ideal to bring up my protein intake to just 165-170 grams because that’s matched to the weight I want to be? I’ve been lifting the past month and I have lost some weight, muscles look a tiny bigger and a bit more tone but def not “large”. I know it’s a process but could my 40 gram a day protein intake be hindering my results? Will increasing my protein intake to 160-170 grams show me definite results?
Hi there. I would say that 40g per day is way too low and you want to be aiming for at least 1g per lbs of bodyweight. Your body will find it much easier to grow and recover with that amount of protein.
Hello Neil!! I am 74 kg, 5”9 in height. I want to increase my muscle in my body. I am a regular gym goer and works hard. How many calories I can take on 200 gm of protein per day for a muscular gain which can show my abs. I am afraid that going on 3000 calories will increase my carb and fat and will ruin my abs visibility. Please advise as I want heavy muscular gain.
Hi Moshin, first up I’m not a personal trainer or anything like that. If you’re serious about fitness etc I’d advise getting a trainer that can advise fully on your specific nutritional needs. In terms of your goals, that’s great to want to add muscle and still have abs but it will be difficult to both add muscle and keep your bodyfat low enough to have visible abdominal muscles. This article suggests that you’d need around 44 calories per kilo of bodyweight to add muscle so for you that would be around 3,250 calories per day. This will generate a calorie surplus enough to build muscle. But it will probably mean adding some fat. So I’d suggest this: Go up to 3000 calories and see what the effect is – are you building muscle with not much fat? Great. But if you’re adding too much fat, reduce your calories by 250 a week and re assess in a couple of weeks.
You didn’t mention how much chicken breast contains 35 grams of protien and how much beef is needed to get 35 grams of protien. Thanks.
Hi Khawaja – there is around about 35 grams of protein in 150g of ground beef at 85% lean, 15% fat.
Great real life write up, thank you. Question for you, I’m 45, weight 218 and want to lose a good 20-30lbs. I am aiming for daily cardio as well as some weight training, woudl you recommend to still aim at 1lbs per body weight or maybe scale it down to .5 to .75lbs. I’ve read where .75-1lbs of gram per body weight may be too much and hindering on the weight loss, with the magic numbers being between .5 to .75 which is between 109 grams to 164 grams @ 218lbs. What are your thoughts?
Also, how do you like the ON product? I see it’s pricey compared to others, is it really worth the extra money, what makes it worth it in your opinion and experience? I’m just trying to see if justified.
Hi Juan – thanks for your comment and for reading. I really appreciate it. Great news that you want to lose some weight – you won’t regret it!. In terms of protein intake, I would keep this constant as you try to lose weight. Maybe start at 180 to 200g per day for your bodyweight and see how you feel. The way to reduce calories is to reduce your carbohydrate intake – especially refined carbohydrates, starches and sugars. Keep fats and oils quite high – the older a man gets, the more you need oils in your diet for hormone production etc.
For the ON product – it’s a solid whey concentrate product but there are others out there. The key thing is to go for a whey concentrate that is around 75 -80% protein. Less than this and you’re getting a lot of carbs and fat for your money. Taste is important too. There’s no point buying a bulk bag of whey powder that tastes like dead rats arse – you won’t want to drink it. Try a few and see what you like.
But there is a max to how much protein your body can use at a time. Going over 50 g is way to much. You should be around 25-40 g pr. meal. And 40 g might even be to high.
Hi Morten, thanks for your comment. However it’s not quite that simple. Some studies have suggested that 25g of protein is the optimum amount, however there are limitations in how this was studied and actually protein that is consumed as part of a whole food meal is absorbed much more slowly than whey powder so your body can make more use of it.
Also there is a big variance in how much your body can absorb based on your existing lean mass. Think about this: a 4 year old child is going to absorb a lot less than a 24 year old college football player. This study is quite helpful for reference. It suggests that maximum protein intake of 2.2g per kilogram per day split over four meals would equate to 0.55g per kilo per meal. So for someone weighing 90 kilos, that would be around about 49.5g per meal – 100 kilos is 55g. Eddie Hall (the World’s Strongest Man) weighs 164kgs so his intake would be 90g per meal.
Also protein requirements vary depending on your activity levels, training regimen etc – a marathon runner has different protein needs than a power athelete like a weight lifter for example.
Hi Neil,
Thank you for this extremely informative piece. I am 6ft2 and weigh about 245lbs. I have a body fat percentage of 36%. I have been going to the gym for a month now. I read your article and then started counting how much my protein intake was per day and I was barely reaching 40-50gms. I have now made changes to my diet and am able to reach about 120g a day but it is not possible for me to reach the mark. Will protein shakes help me bridge the gap or will they make me fat? Thank you
Hi Zohair, thanks for commenting and great that you’ve started going to the gym. Keep going and don’t get discouraged. Good news that you’ve increased your protein intake. Can I suggest keeping it at 120g at the moment and see how you feel. If you feel like you need more for recovery, try increasing by 25 to 30g per day. I wouldn’t go straight to protein shakes though. If you want to add muscle, best to try and do it mainly through whole foods. However a protein shake after a workout is a good idea. That will give you 25 to 30g extra a day.
Protein shakes contain calories the same as all foods so if you drink too many and don’t burn off the energy, you will gain weight. So don’t take too many and stay active as well as going to the gym.
Hey Neil, i have a few questions, i was just wondering how much veggies should we have per serving with each meal, last question so i do a lot of exercise in a day Exp Gym, kickboxing, boxing and work through out the day i weigh 97kg and 6’4 Should i have more protein in my diet
Hi Leon, I’m a big fan of veggies. Leafy green vegetables are best such as kale, cabbage, broccoli and brussels sprouts as these add a lot of fibre and nutrients but not many calories. You could eat salads too, cucumbers, gherkins are also great. You might find for your weight and activity level you need more protein than 200g. My suggestion would be to start with 200g and if you find you are getting sore and stiff much more then gradually increase by 10g per day until you find your sweet spot.
Just a heads up, someone has ripped a portion of your article, word for word. I have reported it. See it here https://www.quora.com/How-can-I-eat-200-grams-of-protein-a-day
Thanks Jacob – I’m still number one on Google with this post though so it really sucks to be them. You can’t fake true value.
Which brand of high protein bread are you consuming? I read that your breakfast meal was four eggs and two slices of high protein bread. If that gets you to 50 grams of protein, I’d love to find that brand of bread
Hi Jay B. Thanks for your comment and for reading. This meal plan was based on using Dr Zaks high protein bread which works out at around 30g for two slices (plus the eggs, cheese – that gets you to 50g easily). I used to link to it on the post but it’s not available everywhere. If you’re in the UK you can buy it here (no commission) https://www.bio-organixhealth.com/products/dr-zaks-protein-bread-low-carbs.html.
Im 6,3 and 82kg, with the amount of activity that I do per day and the fact that I am trying to bulk to build muscle, I have found that calculators are telling me to eat around 3805 calories a day. If I am eating 30% protein 20% fat 50% carbs I will be eating about 285 grams of protein per day. I see online that when building muscle you should aim for about 1.5x your body weight(KG) in grams of protein which is not even close to the 285 that I am currently aiming for. Should I really be eating that much protein everyday? it seems impossible without having 3-4 protein shakes everyday which would lead to an unbalanced diet.
Hi Max, thanks for reading and for your comment. I’m not a nutritionist or a doctor so probably not a good person to advise what you should or shouldn’t be eating. Buuuuuuut… here’s how I would approach it if I were in your situation: I would look at what I’m eating in a day – say 2500 calories. And I’d increase that up to 2,750 calories but focusing on increasing protein and healthy fats (I mean animal fats, nuts, dairy). After a few weeks, I’d increase that up to 3000 calories and see how I felt and looked. If I was starting to put on muscle, I’d stay there until my gains plateaued. I’m wary of getting too much protein from shakes. They’re ultra processed and make you gassy. There are more cost effective options (eggs for example). Let me know what you think of that idea.
Protein requirements can be fulfilled with supplements and can be used daily. Do you think we can use supplements for vitamins and other nutrients daily? By the way, great work Neil.
Hi Mike, thanks for reading and your comment. I’m not sure I agree (or maybe I misundertood) that you can fulfil your protein needs by using supplements. I’m much more a fan of getting the basics from whole foods and using supplements to add a little bit extra when I need it. It’s tastier too.
Hi Neil,
Thanks for making it simple. I’m a former trainer and former Precision Nutrition coach but sometimes I don’t want to think. I look forward to giving this a go.
Mike
Hi Mike, thanks for that, I really appreciate it. I’m the same, I like things nice and simple – that’s why I created this meal plan as I didn’t need to think about it, just do it and BAM – 200g of protein every day.