JJ Virgin argues the RDA for protein is too low for adults over 30 and recommends roughly double that amount. Her practical guideline: consume 0.7 to 1 gram of protein per pound of your target body weight to maintain muscle as you age.
They don't have time to look at the data. Tell us what we're getting wrong about protein. Usually the diet wars over the years, they were always carbs versus fat. In any diet, it was like, okay, carbs are up, fats down, fats up, carbs are down. And then it got to be like carnivores versus vegans. And now finally protein's having its day. Protein chips, protein cookies, protein— I was like, oh no, we're doing it again with protein. A couple things that we've gotten right now is that we're focusing on protein. As you age, you need higher levels of protein, not less. At least 30+, it should be double where the RDA is. In perfect world, we'd be dosing it based on our fat-free mass, but at least dose it per your body weight. And that's where, in looking at all the literature, because I was like, okay, I'm gonna have to make a decision for my new book as to how much to tell people, and I won't be able to change it, but I think you can safely say 0.7 to 1 gram per pound of target body weight. Target body weight being that weight that you feel your best at, that would give you a normal healthy body fat.
