Everyone knows how important protein is for the body. Along with carbohydrates and protein, it makes a large part of our daily food plate. Protein is said to be a building block for our body. From helping in increasing muscle, balancing PH & acid-base, fighting infections, body temperature, enzymes, hormones till serving as fuel for the body.
Protein requirements:
Protein requirements depend on an individual’s exercise level, calorie intake, quality of protein sources, and carbohydrate intake.
From plants to animals, our nature is filled with an abundance of natural sources of protein.
- Vegetarian sources
Amaranth, bajra, barley, quinoa, oats, foxtail, muesli, barnyard, vermicelli, green gram dal, black gram dal, rajma, peas, moth, soya, tofu Brussels, almonds, walnuts, etc
- Non-Vegetarian sources:
Milk, paneer, buttermilk, chicken breast, chicken thigh, chicken legs, pork shoulder, ham, bacon, eggs, etc
- Other sources:
Spirulina, wheatgrass, microgreens
For Sedentary Lifestyle like Netflix and chill:
0.8g/ kg of body weight/ day (Females)
1g/kg of body weight/day (Males)
Sedentary is someone who spends most of his time seated or inactive. Maximum of us have a sedentary lifestyle. Be it a desk job, office goer, teacher, housewife, businessman, children, etc. I like to categorize it like Netflix and a chill lifestyle. During pregnancy and lactation, the requirement increases.
To calculate your daily requirements, multiply your current weight by 0.8 (females) or 1 (males). For example, if you are a male weighing 76kgs then 76 X 1= 76g of protein/ day.
For Strength training/ lifting weight/ maintain muscle/ increase muscle
1.6-2.0g/ kg of body weight/ day or
When we start exercising, our body requirements for energy increase. There is a breakdown of muscles which further helps in building muscles. If you lift heavy then the protein requirements are much higher than the sedentary one.
To build maximum/ maintain muscle mass, calories are increased or surplus. Whereas to maximize fat loss, calories are decreased or deficit. Protein requirements during maintenance and muscle gaining are a little less than fat loss.
For Fat loss–
1.9-2.0g/ kg of body weight/ day
You might have often heard people saying that by increasing their protein intake, they can lose weight much better. Protein makes you fuller for a longer period. If you are dieting to lose weight or have an uncontrolled appetite, adding protein to every meal helps to curb hunger.
Tolerable limit
Our body can take up only a certain amount of protein. Different individuals will have a different protein. Protein per day should not exceed more than 40% for males, lactating and non-pregnant women. For pregnant women, it should not exceed 30% and 15% for children.
(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of HelloPost.)
