MPS vs Daily Protein requirements per bodyweight. Which is more important

Nutrition Q&A [Moderated]
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I am 59 years old and have been weight training since 1982. I am 5’ 11” and weight 170 lbs. In the 1980s I was a powerlifter and bodybuilder. Now I train for health and would like to add another 10 lbs of muscle with minimal fat gain over the next year. I know it will take time to add this amount of weight and still keep fat level under 15%.

I am following the Hypertrophy II template and starting week 7. Love the program. Making strength gains, but still hovering around 170 lbs, so I would need to increase my calorie intake. According to NHI Body Weight planner I need to 2898 calories to maintain my weight and 3135 calories to gain 10 lbs in 180 days.

I read “7 Rules to Optimize Protein Level”, which I found very informative, which has generated the following questions:

Since I want to gain weight, I heard you mention I should stay at the lower level of protein intake around the 1.6 times my bodyweight in Kg which is ~124 grams of protein per day. In the article it mentions to optimize MPS you should get 3 to 4 g of Leucine every 3 to 5 hours. Here’s my dilemma:

• If I try to get 3 to 4 grams of leucine at each protein meal then I would only be able to eat two protein meals per day at approximately 200 grams of a protein source at each meal. I will need to eat 4 to 5 meals a day in order to get the 3135 calories (124gP, 450gC & 93gF) as trying to get this number of calories in two meals is a huge task, as I prefer to eat smaller meals every 3 to 4 hours.

• If I try to get 3 to 4 grams of protein in 3 to 4 meal space apart 3 to 5 hours my protein grams per day increase to 180 to 200 gram per day, which moves my grams per kg of bodyweight to 2.3 times at 180 grams and 2.6 times at 200 grams.

So, what is more important in my situation?

• Get the maximum MPS per day to increase muscle growth and do not worry about eating 180 (2.3 times) to 200 (2.6 times) grams of protein per day or

• stay as close as I can at 124 grams of protein per day in two out of my 4 to 5 meals to get two meals in the 3 to 4 grams of leucine or

• do not worry about MPS and just split the 124 grams of protein in the 4 to 5 meals per day or

• is there another option?

1 Like
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Hey Bill,

Since you’re 59, I’d probably recommend somewhere in the 1.6-2.0 g/kg/day for protein. I’m not sure I really understand the second bullet point, but I would aim to hit your daily protein levels first and foremost. To be clear, I’m not sure there’s a meaningful difference between any of the 3 scenarios for you, though I would try to get 20-40g per meal, 3-4x/day.

-Jordan

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Thanks Jordan for your suggestion on the amount of daily protein. I will make the necessary adjustments.

I will try to clarify the second bullet point with an example of the nutritional value of skinless boneless chicken thigh uncooked

If I eat 100 grams of the chicken thighs at one meal it gives me 19.7 of protein but only 1.7 grams of leucine which does not fall within the optimal MPS range of 3 - 4 g
However if I ate 200 grams of the chicken thighs it provides 39.3 grams of protein and 3.7 grams of leucine which falls within the recommended 3 - 4 grams

So my question is:

Is it best to make sure the majority of your protein meals per day stay with in the optimal MPS range of 3 - 4 grams per meal or is making sure you have 20 to 40 grams of protein per meal three to four times per day more important?

Hope this helped clarify my second point

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Is it best to make sure the majority of your protein meals per day stay with in the optimal MPS range of 3 - 4 grams per meal or is making sure you have 20 to 40 grams of protein per meal three to four times per day more important?

I don’t think it really matters, though I’d prefer getting 3-4 meals per day with larger amounts of protein.

Don’t forget about the protein in the other components of your meals.

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Will not forget. Thanks again for your help. Have a great day.