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I've read several places you should try to at least get .5 g of protein per pound of weight. Note that I don't know my lean weight. Now I'm a 186 cm(~6 feet) tall male weighing 111.8 kg(~246 lbs), which means I should be eating 246 / 2 = 123 g of protein per day. However, currently my average protein intake is around 70 - 80 g per day.

Does this mean mean I should try to get more protein in my diet, and is there a chance my muscles are/could be taking damage? I'm a naturally strong person, and haven't felt any problems so far, however, I just recently started eating healthier, and I want to avoid any ill effects of doing so.

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.5g protein per pound weight is for sedentary individuals to maintain muscle mass. Losing muscle mass is not necessarily a fast process, but there are ill effects over time. If you are exercising, you will need more protein.

I would increase your protein intake. It has a double advantage of being more satiating (allowing less room for junk food) and having a higher thermic effect--i.e. it burns more calories to process.

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  • What's the easiest way to add more protein in a natural way? Meat or cheese?
    – William
    Commented Feb 15, 2012 at 23:05
  • Can't edit the comment, but it was a bit misleading, I meant, meat, cheese or something else? I'm not doing a strict diet, and I'm keeping well below my RDI, without going hungry, so just looking for a good natural source.
    – William
    Commented Feb 15, 2012 at 23:20
  • Meat, cheese, eggs are all good sources. Its best to mix it up and vary it rather than just focus on one source.
    – Mongus Pong
    Commented Feb 16, 2012 at 9:38
  • Don't forget milk, chicken and all kind of fishes. It's the easy way to increase protein intake without eating unnecessary fat. Most fishes have healthy fats (poly-unsaturated).
    – boiky
    Commented Feb 21, 2012 at 19:10

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