Protein for Muscle Mass

The International Society of Sports Nutrition’s recommendation (Jäger et al., 2017) is that 1.4–2.0 g protein/kg body weight/day is enough to gain muscle mass, but that 3.0 g/kg/day or more can continue to be beneficial for balancing overall body composition.  They recommend consuming protein every 3-4 hours throughout the day, including before bed.  A home-cooked breakfast (Palacios et al., 2018), lunch, and dinner (O’Dwyer et al., 2005) can all contribute healthy sources of protein.  The International Society of Sports Nutrition (Jäger et al., 2017) does not think that a high protein diet poses any health risks for otherwise healthy and active people.   Antonio et al., (2014) also explained why it is common to make protein recommendations in grams per kg rather than percent of calorie intake.  There is a pretty big range of total calorie intake depending on whether someone is trying to gain or lose weight and their level of activity.  But the amount of protein they need to maintain lean muscle mass is probably more dependent on their total weight than it would be on how many calories they decide to eat each day. 

 

I was particularly interested to learn about the benefits of bedtime protein intake.  I looked at a randomized controlled trial by Trommelen et al. (2023) where young men were given 45 grams of protein at 11:30 at night after having exercised from 7:45-8:45.  They found that while they slept, those who were given the protein synthesized mitochondrial protein at a rate 23-37% higher than those given the placebo.  So not only does protein intake at bedtime help to increase muscle mass (Snijders et al., 2015), it will also help increase muscle efficiency by increasing the number of mitochondria in the muscles.  I would recommend this strategy to athletes wanting to gain muscle mass.  Burk et al. (2009) found that 18-19 year old men who began resistance training gained an average of one kg of fat-free mass when consuming a 40 g protein supplement at bedtime, whereas those who consumed it in the afternoon did not. 

 

References:

 

Antonio, J., Peacock, C. A., Ellerbroek, A., Fromhoff, B., & Silver, T. (2014). The effects of consuming a high protein diet (4.4 g/kg/d) on body composition in resistance-trained individuals. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 11(1), 1–6. 

 

Burk, A., Timpmann, S., Medijainen, L., Vähi, M., & Ööpik, V. (2009). Time-divided ingestion pattern of casein-based protein supplement stimulates an increase in fat-free body mass during resistance training in young untrained men. Nutrition Research, 29(6), 405–413. 

 

Jäger, R., Kerksick, C. M., Campbell, B. I., Cribb, P. J., Wells, S. D., Skwiat, T. M., Purpura, M., Ziegenfuss, T. N., Ferrando, A. A., Arent, S. M., Smith-Ryan, A. E., Stout, J. R., Arciero, P. J., Ormsbee, M. J., Taylor, L. W., Wilborn, C. D., Kalman, D. S., Kreider, R. B., Willoughby, D. S., … Antonio, J. (2017). International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: protein and exercise. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 14, 20. 

 

O’Dwyer NA, Gibney MJ, Burke SJ, McCarthy SN, O’Dwyer, N. A., Gibney, M. J., Burke, S. J., & McCarthy, S. N. (2005). The influence of eating location on nutrient intakes in Irish adults: implications for developing food-based dietary guidelines. Public Health Nutrition, 8(3), 258–265. 

 

Palacios, O. M., Edirisinghe, I., Wilcox, M. L., Burton-Freeman, B., Xiao, D., & Maki, K. C. (2018). A Lean Pork-Containing Breakfast Reduces Hunger and Glycemic Response Compared to a Refined Carbohydrate-Containing Breakfast in Adults with Prediabetes. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 37(4), 293–301. 

 

Snijders, T., Res, P. T., Smeets, J. S. J., van Vliet, S., van Kranenburg, J., Maase, K., Kies, A. K., Verdijk, L. B., & van Loon, L. J. C. (2015). Protein ingestion before sleep increases muscle mass and strength gains during prolonged resistance-type exercise training in healthy young men. The Journal of Nutrition, 145(6), 1178. 

 

Trommelen, J., van Lieshout, G. A. A., Pabla, P., Nyakayiru, J., Hendriks, F. K., Senden, J. M., Goessens, J. P. B., van Kranenburg, J. M. X., Gijsen, A. P., Verdijk, L. B., de Groot, L. C. P. G. M., & van Loon, L. J. C. (2023). Pre-sleep Protein Ingestion Increases Mitochondrial Protein Synthesis Rates During Overnight Recovery from Endurance Exercise: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Sports Medicine, 53(7), 1445–1455.