Protein consumption as a percentage of total calories

The best (And most accurate) method for determining protein consumption is to calculate protein needs as a percentage of your total caloric intake. First, you determine your daily calorie needs based on your lean body weight.  The next step is to select the optimal percentage of calories from protein. The percentage you choose must be in line with your goals, activity requirements, body type and metabolic rate.


The baseline recommendation for people who participate in cardiovascular and resistance training exercise on a regular basis is 30% of total calories, although this percentage can vary depending on your needs.  As we discussed in the chapter on carbohydrates, some people get better results with a lower carbohydrate intake. If carbohydrates are lower, then fats or protein must be higher. This is why, if you’re carbohydrate sensitive, you might decrease your carbohydrates to about 40% and increase your protein to as much as 35-40% of your calories.


Once you’ve selected your percentage of calories to come from protein, simply multiply the percentage of calories from protein by your total calories for the day the
same way you did for fats and carbohydrates. This will tell you how many calories should
come from protein. The final step is to divide the protein calories by four (there are four calories in each gram of protein) and this will tell you how many grams of protein you should eat per day.


Example 1:
You are a female, 130 lbs. very active
Your optimal calorie intake to lose fat is 1700 calories per day
To determine your protein intake, multiply your caloric intake by 30%
1700 calories per day X .30% = 510 calories from protein
There are 4 calories per gram of protein
510 protein calories divided by 4 calories per gram of protein = 127.5 grams of protein


Example 2:
You are male, 190 lbs., moderately active
Your optimal calorie intake to lose fat is 2600 calories per day
To determine your protein intake, multiply your caloric intake by 30%
2600 calories per day X .30% = 780 calories from protein
There are 4 calories per gram of protein
780 protein calories divided by 4 calories per gram of protein = 195 grams of protein


As you probably noticed, the 30% figure came out fairly close to one gram per pound of bodyweight guideline. This will always be the case if your body composition is average or better and your goal is fat loss (When there’s a calorie deficit)