can you still build muscle without enough protein?

so due to certain circumstances, i haven't been able to purchase my monthly supply of protein. i've gone 2.5 weeks without it. my usual daily intake is around 160-180grams. (i weigh 200). i usually supplement my meals with protein shakes in between to get enough protein in my diet. but since i haven't gotten around to ordering my powder i've only been eating around 60-100 grams a day (things like cottage cheese, grilled chicken breast etc) ...

will i be breaking even, or even losing as far as my gains go? i feel like i haven't been able to progress in my lifts as i usually do.

What's your body fat %. As long as you are getting at least 1gr. protein/pound of LBM you should be fine. And whole foods sources are better than supplements IMHO.

60g of protein per day?????????

Bro, you can find some 5lb whey powder for like $17 OR UNDER online.

And no, you will not get ANYTHING accomplished at 60g per day.

You can't build muscle without enough protein. That's pretty much a given. The [i]real[/i] question is how much is "enough?"

Individual demands are going to vary slightly, but he old standard, "1 gram per pound of bodyweight" usually works.

If you feel like you're not getting enough protein, maybe you aren't. You're the only person in a position to determine this.

[QUOTE=ironwill2008;513815793]You can't build muscle without enough protein. That's pretty much a given. The [i]real[/i] question is how much is "enough?"

Individual demands are going to vary slightly, but he old standard, "1 gram per pound of bodyweight" usually works.

If you feel like you're not getting enough protein, maybe you aren't. You're the only person in a position to determine this.[/QUOTE]

The number goes up every decade. I remember Dorian Yates years ago talking about needing .8g per lbs of LBM etc. I've made gains in size going under 200 grams when weighing 240+. A high protien intake is an absolute requirement for muscle growth but honestly people's idea of "enough" is really on the high side IMO.

[QUOTE=kusok;513815783]60g of protein per day?????????

Bro, you can find some 5lb whey powder for like $17 OR UNDER online.

And no, you will not get ANYTHING accomplished at 60g per day.[/QUOTE]


it wasn't a money thing...

thanks everyone for your input! im back on my normal protein intake. i guess whats in the past is in the past and time to start making up and back moving forward.

[QUOTE=MASSter;513815743]What's your body fat %. As long as you are getting at least 1gr. protein/pound of LBM you should be fine. And whole foods sources are better than supplements IMHO.[/QUOTE]

i would love to get my protien from whole food sources. but i personally find it very hard to each that much food. ive been cutting and ive been getting full alot faster from my multiple small meals a day vs when i use to just stuff my face twice a day.

[QUOTE=jumpa;513826493]i would love to get my protien from whole food sources. but i personally find it very hard to each that much food. ive been cutting and ive been getting full alot faster from my multiple small meals a day vs when i use to just stuff my face twice a day.[/QUOTE]

A lbs of chicken breast takes 20 seconds to wolf down and has over 100 grams of protien in it.

actually yeah u can build muscles with 60 to 100 grams of protien as long as ur good on the others aka fat and carbs.

as long as u give ur body enough carbs to use but not over use ,then yeah overtime the protien will be jumping up the muscle fibers , so ur body will keep building muscles gradually with the 60-100 g until it reachs its threshhold ,meaning untill u have enough muscle which 60-100 grams can maintain ,so from their ur body will either maintain or lose muscle depending on ur activity

[QUOTE=waelkd;513839173]actually yeah u can build muscles with 60 to 100 grams of protien as long as ur good on the others aka fat and carbs.

as long as u give ur body enough carbs to use but not over use ,then yeah overtime the protien will be jumping up the muscle fibers , so ur body will keep building muscles gradually with the 60-100 g until it reachs its threshhold ,meaning untill u have enough muscle which 60-100 grams can maintain ,so from their ur body will either maintain or lose muscle depending on ur activity[/QUOTE]

lol wat?

you can get a gallon of milk for a couple bucks. problem solved.

Can you build a house without enough bricks/wood?

[QUOTE=ChecksandGiggles;513839923]lol wat?[/QUOTE]

yeah u need to read it like 30 times b4 ur mind peace the fukc out but after that ull understand lol

[QUOTE=mobikwa;513848813]Can you build a house without enough bricks/wood?[/QUOTE]

Do you need 5x as many bricks to build a house as you plan on putting in the house? Would you build the house any slower if you only bought 2x as many bricks as you need... or 1.5x as many?

What about other materials? Why don't people talk about the specific essential fats they need to form the membrains or to produce higher levels of the hormones (testosterone, HGH, IGF-1 etc)... which are like the workers? Why do people buy 5x as many bricks as they need to build the house then only hire 1 or 2 workers instead of 5 to do the construction, or only half the wood they need? 15-20% fat diets for gaining muscle mass? lulz

While we are using analogies.... LoL

Everyone talks about protien like anyone who trains and reads any of these forums doesn't eat enough of it to build muscle...

The general consensus is that protein is more efficient than carbs or fat for muscle building. You definitely need protein, though your gains will be less than that of someone who consumes at least 1g/1lb. Most of the people I've seen that eat rather low (less than 100g) protein amounts are usually leaner, but also smaller muscle-wise. Of course, one lady I know is following a 80/10/10 plan. She is super lean, but seems rather frail at times...almost sickly.

Edit: I'm still studying up on the actual numbers but have yet to see anything that says how efficient or if efficient is even the right word to applied to this situation.

A year ago, I've tried .5g per/lb for a month just to see if it's pratical to cut back on food cost and I did not find it to affect my gains and workouts negatively as much as alot of people here say. Wasn't long enough to determine whether I can grow on it because I'm at the point where I'll be lucky if I can add an extra 10lbs on my lift in a year lol.

[QUOTE=jumpa;513826493]i would love to get my protien from whole food sources. but i personally find it very hard to each that much food. ive been cutting and ive been getting full alot faster from my multiple small meals a day vs when i use to just stuff my face twice a day.[/QUOTE]

What's your kcal intake per day?

Living in Mauritius, that same 5lbs whey powder cost us $ 90 plus, -_- and this SUCKS.. -_-
Just saying anyway, :/.

Protein is "the building blocks of muscle" So I am taking in about 220-270g a day I weigh 138 I could be eating more or taking in more but I am trying to maintain my lean mass not add much too it so I dont need more right now. :)

strong 3 year bump

I would like it to be proved that you don't have to eat so much protein for the following reasons:

1. It's a struggle to eat all this protein, especially when cutting.
2. I like animals and chicken and dairy seems to be a major bodybuilding protein source, dairy animals and chickens are farmed really cruelly.
3. Long term excessive protein intake is linked to things like osteoporosis and kidney failure and probably a load of other stuff.
4. Expensive

So it would really annoy me if I and millions of other people are eating all this protein and causing damage to their health just because of marketing lies. Imagine having kidney failure or something due to too much protein and then finding out later you never needed that extra protein.

It's never been proved that you need all this protein, why not? I can see how people could believe you need it because everybody who is bodybuilding is eating protein and taking shakes, nobody wants to experiment with only eating 60g a day because they would feel they were wasting their time in the gym. Then because they believe that you need the protein, they get the placebo effect when they don't get enough and believe that any bad results are to do with the lack of protein, when it could be down to a stall in gains that you get all the time or lack of calories.

I'm sure that all the top bodybuilders will use the best protein sources they can get their hands on and make sure they never miss a meal and eat loads of protein, but are they eating it because they really need it, or is it just in case they need it and don't want to lose the edge. These bodybuilders probably got where they are because of excellent genetics as well as all the hard work, but maybe they could have got there on 60g of protein a day, but we'll never know cos they're never going to risk eating 60g of protein for a year. And it's unlikely that somebody who is eating 60g of protein a day will ever do well just because of numbers, like 99.99% of anyone who body builds is eating loads of protein, so likely that anyone who does well is also eating excess protein.

People in prison don't need excess protein to build muscle and I've heard different reasons for it, like steroids, mesomorphs and desperation to survive, but surely with all those things you would still need protein if excess protein was a requirement to build muscle.

[QUOTE=phoxyphysique;1062737851]Protein is "the building blocks of muscle" So I am taking in about 220-270g a day I weigh 138 I could be eating more or taking in more but I am trying to maintain my lean mass not add much too it so I dont need more right now. :)[/QUOTE]

You've got to be kidding. 270g?

And yes, holy bump.

[QUOTE=phoxyphysique;1062737851]Protein is "the building blocks of muscle" So I am taking in about 220-270g a day I weigh 138 I could be eating more or taking in more but I am trying to maintain my lean mass not add much too it so I dont need more right now. :)[/QUOTE]

Your taking in almost two times your bodyweight when people are successfully cutting at 1 gram per pound of lbm. Your protein intake is like lance Armstrong bragging about beating a bunch of wheelchair bound kids in a race. Completely unnecessary :)

[QUOTE=SacramentoZach;1115687043]You've got to be kidding. 270g?

And yes, holy bump.[/QUOTE]

She took broscience too far. Yes I bumped this thread. She will understand when her kidneys fail. Lol.

[QUOTE=Eurthquake;1162510453]She took broscience too far. Yes I bumped this thread. She will understand when her kidneys fail. Lol.[/QUOTE]

You bumped the thread to show that you're an idiot and have no understanding of how the body works? Congratulations.

There was guys getting huge and building muscle years ago like in the 50's and earlier… I mean Arnie started training in the 60's and he was in the army so there was no way he was able to eat the amounts of protein we talk about today and he could press 150 lbs by the time he was 15 and ripped?? People need to sell diet books and sell mags and all sorts of ****, there is no evidence… most athletes are optimal at .7g/lb, no one has an exact clue! They just want us to keep buying ****! Surely as long as you work your balls off and your muscle fibres break down and yes you need protein for them to grow and repair but that is the sole purpose of protein no matter how much you intake. Also everyone knows a guy that doesn't bother a damn about protein or anything with their diet and he's still one of the biggest guys you know!!