Macro partitioning
Physique athletes should consume 1.8-2.7 g/kg/day of protein (up to 3.5 g/kg for hunger mitigation) to preserve lean mass and manage satiety during caloric deficits.
Aim for 1.8 to 2.7 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily. If you are struggling with hunger during your diet, you can safely increase this to 3.5 g/kg, provided you still eat enough carbohydrates and fats to train effectively. Spread this protein across 4-5 meals, ensuring one is near your workout and one before sleep.
we recommend 1.8-2.7 g/kg/day, or up to 3.5 g/kg/day for those specifically attempting to mitigate hunger, so long as such high intake does not displace fat or carbohydrate in the diet to a degree that it impairs performance.
Why this rating
Based on meta-analyses and specific intervention studies in athletes, though observational data shows wide variability.
Source
Nutritional Recommendations for Physique Athletes
Brandon M. Roberts et al. · Journal of Human Kinetics · 2020
DOI 10.2478/hukin-2019-0096
More from this paper
- Creatine supplementation (3-5 g/day maintenance or 20 g/day loading) is safe and effective for increasing lean body mass and high-intensity exercise performance in physique athletes.Strong
- Fat intake should be maintained at 10-25% of total calories during contest preparation to allow for adequate carbohydrate intake for performance, avoiding very low fat for long periods.Moderate
- Consuming 4-5 protein boluses per day, with one near training and one before sleep, optimizes muscle protein synthesis without requiring precise peri-workout carbohydrate timing.Moderate
Related findings · Macro partitioning
- Total daily protein intake of 1.6 g/kg/day is sufficient for maximizing resistance training-induced muscle gains, with an upper confidence interval of 2.2 g/kg/day.Strong
- Resistance exercise training combined with sufficient dietary protein intake acts synergistically to maximize skeletal muscle hypertrophy, with protein intake saturating around 1.6 g/kg/day for general populations and potentially requiring 2.0-2.2 g/kg/day for resistance-trained individuals.Strong
- Trans fats should be completely eliminated from the diet, as they increase LDL cholesterol, decrease HDL cholesterol, and are directly associated with increased coronary risk.Strong
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