Step 2. Calculate Your Daily Protein Needs

In the previous post, we calculated the amount of calories we each will burn at our current body composition and a moderate activity level (you are planning to add in some Primal Fitness, aren't you?).

The Primal Blueprint weightloss plan targets 1-2 pounds of body fat loss per week. I say body fat, because you want to lose fat, not muscle don't you?

Well, then, you'll have to eat your targeted amount of protein every day.

Tip: If this is making your head spin, please buy the book The Primal Blueprint and just follow the eating plan. Erik and I like all this calculation stuff.

(A) If you know your body fat percentage, calculate your lean body mass.

You need to get a body fat measurement of yourself, somehow. Erik bought a weight scale that does measure a frequency in the body (you hold the wand in your hands as you stand on the scale), so this easily tells us our body fat percentages, and we can re-measure whenever we want.

I am about 30% fat. Of course I plan to improve this ratio in favor of muscle by going from "lightly active" to "moderately active" or better. To me, this also means that the more muscle I gain and continue more exercise, the more protein I will be able to eat without gaining body fat! Mmmm, protein! Are those almond flour cookies I smell??

Rachel
160 pounds with 30% fat
160 x 0.7 = 112 pounds of lean body mass

Erik
250 pounds with 37% fat
250 x 0.63 = 157.5 pounds of lean body mass


(B) How much protein to eat each day?

For "moderately active" (which you are going to be, right??), you can use 0.7 as your factor for how much protein you need.

Rachel
112 pounds of lean body mass x 0.7 = 78.4 grams of protein intake per day

Erik
158 pounds of lean body mass x 0.7 = 110.6 grams of protein intake per day

See my next blog post!