Wonder how much meat you need to consume to hit 30+ grams of protein? Don’t want to track your food?
Here’s a cheat sheet of a variety of meats & animal based foods to make this as easy & basic af as possible! Protein requirements will vary for different individuals, your goals, food & training preferences, health history, digestibility, etc…
I would still recommend weighing out your meat raw, which is the information available on the label. Meat shrinks down 20-30% in weight after cooking. I find most people are either weighing & logging meat incorrectly &/or are inefficient at eyeballing. I was too! I also made the mistake of not adding the fat back on my meat after cooking which accounted for hundreds of calories less than I thought I was consuming. This can make or break your progress.
Hitting protein goals is a non-negotiable just like getting quality sleep. Protein helps us build muscle, recover, & keeps us more satiated in contrast to eating carbs. Most find you’re hungry an hour or so eating a carb based meal or snack.
Our need for protein becomes even more important if we’re avid exercisers, in a muscle-gaining phase, a fat loss phase, &/or as we age.
To quote Examine.com + current research: “if you’re of healthy weight, active, & wish to build muscle, to aim for 1.6–2.4 g/kg (0.73–1.10 g/lb) in grams of protein.”
My typical range is .8-1.2g/lb of bodyweight for most active individuals. The leaner the individual, the higher protein most can tolerate or require. I’ve had some even prefer up to 1.5g/lb of bw especially if they’re carnivore & in a fat loss phase. Those with more body fat, I’d likely have aim closer towards that ~0.8 recommendation.
Some examples I’ve used with clients:
21-40 y/o, 105 lb, 5’0-5’2 lean individual = ~105-158g protein (~1.0-1.5)
30 y/o, 120 lb, 5’2-5’3 lean individual = ~120-135 grams protein (~1.0–1.1)
30 y/o, 160 lb, 5’3-5’5 individual = ~130 grams protein (~0.8)
45 y/o+, 130 lb, 5’3 individual = ~130-145 grams protein (~1.0-1.1)
Now go smash some meat!
oxox