Sport Do I really need that much protein

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shafdude

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I'm 16 years old weighing 120lbs no fat all muscle.
I'm 5 feet and 9.6 inches and I'm one of the extreme pure ectomorphs.
Ectomorphs usually are said to need more protein than other body types.

According to Vince Delmonte's nutrition calculator I need 295 grams of protein and 3000 calories to gain a few pounds of muscle a month.
I'm guessing that I could still build muscle with half of that (150 grams of protein) but I can't seem to get that much in my diet either.

Does anybody have any experience building muscle with very little protein? Can I still build muscle with 150 grams or less of protein everyday?
If not what are some high protein foods excluding dairy products that are not going to kill my digestive system???
 
In short you can't build muscle without protein.
Proteins
1. Ground Beef
2. Beef Steak (Porterhouse, Ribeye, Round, T-Bone, Sirloin, etc.)
3. Beef Roast (Chuck, Rump, Arm, etc.)
4. Chicken Breast
5. Chicken Thigh
6. Ground Turkey
7. Turkey Breast
8. Pork Steak
9. Sausage
10. Bacon
11. Salmon
12. White Fish (Tilapia, Halibut, Mahi Mahi, etc.)
13. Beef Liver
14. Eggs
15. Grass-Fed Hot Dogs from Applegate Farms
 
To answer simply, if you're not currently gaining weight with what you're eating, then yes, you do need to increase your protein and overall calorie intake. Exact requirements might vary, so just start increasing your intake gradually and watch for results. If you have trouble increasing your protein intake, then that's where most people tend to look at supplements.

In terms of foods with protein that will be easy on your GI tract, I would say anything except red meat and dairy. There's a reason why red meat is only recommended to be eaten once or twice per week, and that's because, in blunt terms, too much will back you up. Fish, poultry, protein-rich grains (soy, quinoa, etc.) are all good choices.
 
295g protein/day for a 120lb kid is beyond excessive. I've said this before, and I'll say it again: while I can't be certain of exact science here (and frankly, this is a field where the very notion of there being such a thing as exact science is currently ludicrous), people who recommend ridiculously high amounts of protein (3, 4 5+g/lb; or a high percentage of your macros being protein [eg the supplement company that created Max-OT prescribe 53% of your energy intake come from protein]) are usually trying to sell protein supplements. People who recommend ghastly low levels of protein (eg 0.5g/lb or <10% of your calories) tend to be trying to sell vegan and vegan-esque diets. People who recommend amounts close to 1g/lb or 1.5-2.5g/kg tend to be trying to get you stronger. The motives behind someone's advice neither qualify nor villify the advice given, but they are worth factoring in when deciding who to trust.

I've found that when I'm bulking, I don't need to put much consideration into my diet to get my protein needs, working around the assumption that I need roughly 2g/kg. I just try to eat two meals with meat in them each day, drink lots of milk and eat some grains. When I'm cutting, I'll use protein supplements to make up for the protein I'm no longer getting after reducing my grain and dairy intake. You mentioned excluding dairy. If you need to exclude dairy, you may be able to get your protein from eggs, soy and kidney beans??
 
Last edited:
Goldfish said:
295g protein/day for a 120lb kid is beyond excessive. I've said this before, and I'll say it again: while I can't be certain of exact science here (and frankly, this is a field where the very notion of there being such a thing as exact science is currently ludicrous), people who recommend ridiculously high amounts of protein (3, 4 5+g/lb; or a high percentage of your macros being protein [eg the supplement company that created Max-OT prescribe 53% of your energy intake come from protein]) are usually trying to sell protein supplements. People who recommend ghastly low levels of protein (eg 0.5g/lb or <10% of your calories) tend to be trying to sell vegan and vegan-esque diets. People who recommend amounts close to 1g/lb or 1.5-2.5g/kg tend to be trying to get you stronger. The motives behind someone's advice neither qualify nor villify the advice given, but they are worth factoring in when deciding who to trust.

I've found that when I'm bulking, I don't need to put much consideration into my diet to get my protein needs, working around the assumption that I need roughly 2g/kg. I just try to eat two meals with meat in them each day, drink lots of milk and eat some grains. When I'm cutting, I'll use protein supplements to make up for the protein I'm no longer getting after reducing my grain and dairy intake. You mentioned excluding dairy. If you need to exclude dairy, you may be able to get your protein from eggs, soy and kidney beans??
Click to expand...

A lot of great advice in this response!

I agree, 295g for a 120lb person sounds ridiculously excessive. It's always difficult to put an exact number on it because (as was said before) it isn't an exact science. That being said, I think roughly 120-150g of protein per day sounds much more reasonable, more easily achievable (a few good sized chicken breasts, maybe ~12oz a day will do that no problem), etc. It kind of depends on how much you're looking to bulk up of course.
 
Agreed, something between 100-150g per day sounds about right and should be easy enough. You need to make sure the rest of your calories are good ones too. What macros are you hitting?
 
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