- Just as some people use mortgage calculators to figure out how much house they can afford, a protein calculator that has an equation can let you know what your daily protein intake should be
- Making sure the right protein amount is consumed in your diet is critical for maintaining good health no matter what your age, size or physical condition
- The biggest factors in determining what to plug into the protein calculator equation are your level of physical activity and your nutritional/health goals
You’ve probably read about the latest nutritional and medical benefits of eating enough protein in your diet as part of a healthy lifestyle. High protein low carbohydrate diets are all the rage and everyone says their diet is the best and everyone has an opinion on how much protein is adequate.
So exactly how much protein does your body need? The recommended daily allowance of protein is 0.8 grams for every 2.2 pounds of body weight. That level of daily protein intake is sufficient for the majority of the population. For example, a 130-pound female would have to intake 47.3 grams of protein to meet the RDA (recommended daily allowance). To put that into perspective a typical lean chicken breast purchased at your local grocer contains anywhere from 35-42 grams of protein.
To say that this calculation will meet all your protein needs is far from the truth. What if the 130-pound female was 65 years old and lived a sedentary life style? Would she need less protein than the 130-pound woman who was 20 years old and worked out 6 days a week? Conventional wisdom rings true in this nutritional instance and the 130-pound female athlete would need to consume anywhere from .75 to 1.0 grams of protein per pound of body weight. So the 47.3 grams the government recommends jumps up to a range of 97.5-130 grams daily.
Men generally need more protein than women. Men have more muscle mass so to maintain it more protein needs to be ingested. For the active male who weight trains at least three days per week and wants to grow muscle the protein calculator should read like this: 1.5 grams of protein x bodyweight = daily protein consumption. Active males who are at least eighteen years of age should follow this guideline. Younger people under the age of eighteen should not supplement protein in their diets as it can lead to health problems. For the male who exercises on a regular basis at least three times a week your protein intake would range anywhere from .75 to 1.0 grams per pound of body weight.
As you can see the protein guidelines vary from person to person depending on a variety of factors. Your body needs adequate protein from lean sources such as chicken, fish, beans, and dairy products. To properly figure out what figures to put into your protein calculator evaluate your fitness goals, current or expected level of physical activity and use the RDA guidelines as a base.
Tags: daily protein intake, protein amount, protein calculator
