Protein protein protein. Everyone loooves telling us how important protein is for our muscles.
Some even made it into a slogan! Can you believe that?
But, in this video, we’re going to find out if it really is THAT important or can
you still get all the good muscle gains without the protein gains.
When it comes to building muscle, experts often recommend getting about 1.6 or more grams of
protein per kilogram of bodyweight per day. However, this is not exactly feasible for
everyone, both digestively and even financially since many gym-goers
require purchasing protein supplements to reach these higher levels of protein.
So if we do eat less than what is considered optimal, what can we really expect to happen?
Looking through the research, one thing’s for sure is that eating less protein does
lead to less gains, but in terms of how much, it varies wildly from one study to the next.
Which makes sense if we think about it. Protein, as important as it may be, is really only one
factor among many factors in the fitness equation. So to deal with this variability, it’s probably
best to go over research reviews evaluating all the relevant data and
condensing for us into more practical insights. One of which is a 2022 systematic review,
where Tagawa and colleagues analyzed 66 relevant studies to evaluate a dose-response relationship
between protein intake and lean mass gains. In the findings, based on an average intervention
period of 20 weeks, they observed that for every 0.1 grams of protein per kilogram added to your
diet, lean mass gains go up by 0.39 kilograms until you reach 1.3 grams of protein per kilogram,
where then it goes up by only 0.12 kilograms. This review is one of the few if not the only
research that extrapolated the data this way, giving us a visual and statistical
insight on the relationship between lean mass gains and protein intakes.
I do wanna point out, though, that there was a wide range of subject populations included
in this review. And although they did adjust for some factors like age, sex, and training,
there are many other factors to consider. Perhaps a more relevant dataset for people
watching this video is from a 2018 systematic review, where Morton and
colleagues investigated similar outcomes but narrowed their scope to healthy young
adults participating in resistance training. Although they did not evaluate the specific
effect sizes, they did produce their own figure showing the magnitude of the dose-response
relationship of protein intake and lean mass. And when we compare this figure to the figure
from the previous review, the trends aren’t all that much different.
In fact, when the 2022 data is further adjusted for weight changes,
since a lot of its data came from weight loss studies, they become even more similar.
If there’s only one thing you take away from this video, it should be these figures:
Both show that you can build muscle at lower protein intakes but notably less the less protein
you eat. But if you gradually increase your protein, then you can further enhance your growth.
A few more tidbits worth mentioning: Older people generally require more
protein to stave off muscle loss, but they tend to respond the least with higher protein
intakes when paired with resistance training. If you’re cutting, more protein is important,
as is resistance training, to preserve your muscles and improve fat loss.
Beginners respond really well to resistance training early on,
even at lower protein intakes. So, if you’re new, you do have some time to figure out your protein.
In the 2018 review, the researchers found that trained individuals responded the best with
higher protein intakes, recommending as much as 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight
per day for those wanting to fully maximize their growth. However, 1.6 should be fine for most.
Before we close, let’s go back once more to the figures. Yes, you will build less muscle if you
eat less protein, but you will STILL BUILD MUSCLE. Just make sure that you are resistance training,
like lifting weights, on a regular basis. Down the line, if you can change your
protein situation, then great. But, don’t feel like it’s not worth
pushing for your goals just because you’re not getting the supposed “optimal” levels of protein.
Getting close enough can still lead to great r esults, so keep at it.
And that’s it for this one. I hope you found this video useful. Also,
please consider supporting the channel by becoming a channel member. It will
help a lot and I appreciate it so much. Other than that, if you enjoyed this video,
please give it a lean thumbs up and share it with your muscle loving friends.
Subscribe for more. As always, thank you for watching
and the best slogan in the world: don’t forget to get your PROTEIN! Even if it’s a little bit.