How Much Protein Can Your Body Use In A Meal? | Protein Absorption Explained
#buildmuscle #protein #musclegrowth
How much protein can your body use in a meal? If you're a beginner, you've probably heard people say that your body can only absorb a certain amount of protein before the rest of it all goes to waste. Because of this, you've you probably been told that you should space your protein intake throughout the day and consume no more than 20-30g of protein. Any more protein than that per meal, and you will be wasting that protein which could have gone to muscle protein synthesis. But is this actually true and if so, how can we put this information into practical application? If you are used to eating 3 meals per day, do you now have to change it to 5 meals in order to maximize your protein usage?
So the first thing we need to understand is that absorption and utilization are two different things even though people tend to ask this question using the two terms interchangeably. However, absorption simply means breaking down the foods you eat into their basic molecules so that they can then be absorbed. Realistically, there’s no limit to how much your body can absorb.
So the real question is: how much protein can you utilize per meal to maximize muscle growth. While there’s still ongoing research in this area, current studies proposes that the amount of protein you can use to maximize muscle protein synthesis is between 0.4-0.55g/kg of body weight over the course of 4 meals throughout the day. So for example, I’m 185lbs. If I ate 4 meals per day, I would ideally aim for 35-45g of protein per meal. If I ate three meals a day, I would aim for 45-60g of protein per meal.
Now you might think to yourself “well I actually heard that we can only use 20-30g of protein before the rest goes to waste.” And that’s just not true. Any additional protein per meal that isn’t used in protein synthesis can still be used for energy or other bodily function because we can’t actually store amino acids in our bodies like we can with fats or carbs. Another thing to address is that there have actually been studies that indicate protein intake above 20-30g per meal to provide greater muscle protein synthesis. Besides think about the practicality. If you really only could utilize 20g of protein, then you’d have to eat 9 meals if your daily protein goal was 180g in order to maximize synthesis.
It seems many people adopt this “all or nothing” mindset with protein, and by extension, with a lot of concepts in fitness. It’s either used or its wasted and that’s honestly a very inefficient way to think of our bodies. However, given that muscle protein synthesis appears to be maximized at a certain amount relative to each individual, it does suggest that it’s in your best interest to aim for 3-5 meals spaced over the course of the day to maximize protein synthesis as opposed to eating only 1-2 large meals. And ideally, each of those meals would be between 0.4-0.55g/kg of bodyweight. The way I interpret it is this: you’re not losing muscle…but you might be leaving potential gains on the table.
Of course, there is flexibility with this information and it shouldn’t be viewed as a limitation. For starters, your total daily protein intake is more important and should be something you figure out and prioritize first. Additionally, the quality of your protein and its source is important as well. So rather than think of meal frequency as a constraint, look at it as something you can combine as you advance in your training.
Topics like protein are controversial by nature and based on how people interpret or prioritize the data. There are also other factors that affect each individual differently, such as age, training status, and body composition which is why recommendations on protein intake are usually given as a range rather than a singular number. In the end, things will simply vary somewhat from person to person.
So to sum it up, all of the protein that you consume, whether it’s in one sitting or throughout the day, will be absorbed by your body. But there appears to be a threshold where only a certain amount of it is UTILIZED for building muscle. Because of this, it’s advised that you consume between 3-5 meals per day, which in turn, allows you to space out your protein intake to promote the most amount of muscle protein synthesis. However, the most important thing is still to first make sure you calculate how much protein you should consume in a day and reach that number. Oh and…the myth about only being able to utilize 20-30g of protein is largely debunked.
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Sources:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29497...
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29414...
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33361...