I’ve been in the industry for 20 years and back then 1.2-1.8g per kg of lean mass seemed like the universal go-to. It was everywhere. Every trainer I knew- myself included- regurgitated that without even knowing where it came from.
Every time I heard someone say 1g per lb I just assumed it was the bro-science way of rounding up because “more protein is obviously better”.
I hear it now more than ever and I think that just due to social media and fitness influencers gaining legitimacy through followers. I really think it’s just that. Bro science having a massive platform.
> I assume it was the protein shake industry? Or maybe the meat industry?
I first experienced it on bodybuilding forums. IIRC the minimum recommended amount was 1g protein per kg of lean muscle mass.
There are studies where they measured muscle protein synthesis in lifters. mps reached its peak until around 1g/lb bw. If you don’t do resistance training it’s not relevant. For lifters it is, and it’s not a myth. Also no one needs to have a shake. You can easily reach it by a whole diet. Lentils, beans, dairy products like Skyr, whole grains, meats, fish, eggs, etc.
The studies I’ve seen show no benefit to muscle gain past .6-.8g/lbs of high quality protein. If you’re vegan, you’ll end up needing more because of poor amino acid makeup. Maybe 1g is to account for for lower quality of many protein sources. Maybe 1g is just easier to remember and calculate.
I don’t think it’s necessarily a myth, but ‘m pretty sure that’s only what you want for bulking/muscle building. If that’s not a goal, which unless you’re a bodybuilder it most likely is not, you only need around 50g a day. What is however a myth is that the majority of Americans do not get enough protein. If you eat meat you’re pretty much all set, vegetarians and especially vegans have to focus a little more but it’s still not very difficult to meet the minimal requirements.
Not necessarily a myth since protein requirements are rather high. I know I struggle to keep up with eating protein requirements through only my food especially when I’m trying to eat clean. And your protein requirements increase exponentially with age. By middle age I think your needs increase by like 50% in order to avoid common aging body problems. We’re basically made of protein and water. So maybe 1g per lb of body weight isn’t accurate but…. it probably isn’t far from the high end of the appropriate amount. So maybe it’s more of something to strive. Shoot for the moon and you land amongst stars mentality.
.7 - 1.2g/lb is what science shows for proper MPS. Each person would be diff..lots confuse grams per KG with grams per lb. I think following 1g/lb will cover 90% of population. Any not digested would aid in fat loss due to its thermic effect.