How Many Grams Of Protein Should I Eat To Maintain And Build Muscle While Getting Lean?

How Much Protein Should I Eat To Maintain Muscle While Cutting?

On today’s episode of Live Lean TV, we’re answering a viewer question who asked, how many grams of protein should I eat to maintain and build muscle while getting lean?

Today’s viewer question is from #AskLiveLeanTV Ep. 022.

@Callnyrbluff from Twitter asks:

How many grams of protein should I consume per pound of bodyweight? I’m trying to lean up, while maintaining and building muscle?

How Many Grams Of Protein Should I Eat To Maintain And Build Muscle While Getting Lean?

Brad: I’ll give you a simple way to calculate how much protein you need daily.

Just take your bodyweight in pounds and eat that in grams of protein.

Jess: One for one.

Brad: Yes, one for one.

If you are overweight, some people lower that protein intake by using their lean body mass rather than their current weight.

Lean body mass (LBM) is calculated by: your bodyweight minus your fat mass

If you know what your body fat percentage is, subtract your total body fat from your total bodyweight to get your lean body mass.

You can then consume 1 gram of protein per pound of lean body mass.

Jess: Yes, I would use the lean body mass calculation more for weight loss.

He says he’s trying to build muscle.

If you are really obese and you’re starting out 300 pounds, you don’t need to eat 300 grams of protein.

In that example, you would want to base your daily protein intake mostly off your lean body mass.

The protein calculation really depends on your starting weight.

Brad: You can also base your daily protein intake off a percentage of your daily calories, however the starting point is one gram of protein for one pound of bodyweight.

Jess: Yes, that’s the easiest way to calculate how many grams of protein you should eat to maintain and build muscle while getting lean.