How do you calculate protein requirements?
The minimum protein requirement ranges from 0.6 to 1 gram per pound of lean body mass depending on the level of physical activity. It is calculated like this:
Sedentary. A person who gets no physical activity needs 0.5 grams of protein
per pound of lean body mass.
Moderately Active. Someone who exercises 20-30 minutes two or three times per week needs 0.6 grams of protein
per pound of lean body mass.
Active. Someone who exercises 30 minutes or more three to five times per week needs 0.7 grams of protein
per pound of lean body mass.
Very Active. A person who exercises an hour or more at least five times per week needs 0.8 grams of protein
per pound of lean body mass.
Athlete. A competitive athlete who trains twice a day for an hour or more needs 1 gram of protein
per pound of lean body mass.
We also recommend that if someone is more that 40% overweight they should increase their protein requirement one level.
figuring lean body mass:
find out your body fat % and the % left over is your lean weight.. so for me (the best i can figure) is im about 30% body fat (you can find body fat calculators throughout this site.. simply click here to
for them.. so i take the leftover 70% (of 210) and that leaves me with 147 as a lean body mass.. then i use the figuring up there..
for me it would be 88-102 grams (on average i get about 89)
now im not on protein power, however this has been helpful to many people to figure out about how much
MINIMUM protein they should get.. fitday.com will help you in this area ( on atkins, protein should be about 25% of your menu)
on another thread, natrushka said to someone "120g is no where near "too much" - don't be alarmed!
The amount of protein you'd have to eat to hit that 'excessive' mark would blow your mind - and render you very, very full "
now im not sure what the 'excessive mark' is.. as ive been having questions similar to yours on protein over the last week or so.. anyhow my belief is that Atkins does not really cover this in detail as Protein Power does.. and although youll find knowledgable people following Atkins, your best bet is to ask a question pertaining to protein amounts in the Protein Power forum.. natrushka, kristine and Karen seem extremely knowledgable about this! (ive not read others so i apologize if i have missed some other posters) even if you are following Atkins, they will welcome your questions in that arena
best wishes to you!!