If you exercise for 30 minutes every day…how much protein should you eat?

Whether your goal is to lose weight, gain muscle, or stay healthy, protein is the most important nutrient. Protein helps with metabolism, immunity, keeping you full and satisfied after a meal, supports weight loss, and stimulates muscle growth. So how much protein should you consume every day?

British daily newspaper ‘Liverpool Echo (liverpoolecho.co.uk)’ has revealed a simple method to calculate the protein you need to consume every day for a healthy diet.

“In general, you should consume 1 gram of protein per kilogram of body weight every day,” says health trainer Cono O’Brien. He said, “If you want to lose weight, aim to consume at least 0.8g of protein per kg of body weight, and if you want to gain muscle, aim to consume 1.2g of protein per kg of body weight from lean meat.”

Protein intake may also vary depending on the type of exercise you do. “Protein needs largely depend on your activity level,” says Dr. Stella Volpe, a registered dietitian and president of the American Sports Medicine Association. “It depends on the frequency, intensity, type, and duration of exercise.”

The American Fortune magazine presented the amount of protein needed for exercise through interviews with nutritionists and exercise experts. If you exercise for 20 to 30 minutes every day or take the occasional Pilates class, you probably don’t need to worry about your protein intake. “For most people, the recommended daily intake of 0.8 grams per kilogram is actually just about right for their needs,” Dr. Volpe said.

However, people who engage in heavy exercise, such as those training for a marathon or doing frequent, intense weight lifting, have higher protein needs. These people are advised to increase their daily intake by up to 1.5g per kg of body weight. Marathon runners don’t build as much muscle as weightlifters, but they both need more protein. This is because endurance athletes (e.g. runners, cyclists, triathletes) have severe muscle breakdown.

If you have just started exercising, you should also increase your protein intake. The newer you are to lifting weights or training for a marathon, the more muscle you break down, so you need to compensate with more protein. However, once you get used to exercise, you can maintain protein intake of 1.1 to 1.2 g per kg of body weight. It is also important to reduce protein intake during periods when you are not training with heavy weights to avoid consuming more than necessary.