Can You Gain Muscle Without Eating Protein?

You may have heard that you can not build muscles by simply lifting heavy weights and incorporating progressive overload. Certainly, you must have heard that you also need to be in a calorie surplus, which you can maintain by eating a lot, and a lot of protein. However, protein is slightly costly, and you want to know, can you gain muscle without eating protein? This article will look into the question and examine whether you can really gain muscles without eatinf proteins.

Off the bat, it will be very challenging to gain muscle without eating protein, primarily because of the critical role protein plays in building muscles. Protein is essential for muscle development as it contains amino acids necessary to build muscles. Essentially, protein is the building block for developing muscles. To put this into context, muscles are made of protein; they are the raw materials for building muscles. 

That said, you must have heard that your body produces protein, which leads you to wonder why you need to eat them if your body does produce protein. The short answer is that your body does not produce sufficient protein for muscle development. While your body can create amino acids, you can only find other vital proteins from soy, meat, nuts, beans, etc. As a result, you have to eat those meals to give your body the necessary protein for developing your muscles. 

How much protein do you need to eat?

Now that you know you need to eat protein to gain muscle, the next question is how much you need to eat. Per the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2015-2020, a male of ages 31 to 50 requires around 56 grams of protein daily if he consumes about 2,400 calories daily. On the flip side, a female between the same age, eating 1,800 calories daily, requires about 46 grams of protein.

Another way to understand how much to eat is with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ direction that your total daily calories should comprise 10-35% protein. More specifically, the advisable dietary allowance for an average adult is 0.8 grams of protein per kg of body weight. That means that if you weigh 85kg, your recommended daily protein intake is about 68 grams. However, you should know that this is simply a baseline, and you would require more than this if you want to build muscles, as your body would need more proteinous resources to build them.

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Protein powder and protein shakes

It is one thing to know that you need protein and another to know where to get your protein. One of the best places to get sufficient protein is through protein shakes. Protein shakes contain about 120-160 calories and 20-30 grams of protein per serving. As a result, they are a ready-made source of protein to help you up your protein intake. If you prefer to have more control over what your protein shake comprises, you can opt for protein powders instead. Protein powders are the powdered version of protein shakes; you have to mix them with water or any liquid you want to drink. You can mix your protein powder with a shake, smoothie, baked goods, or mashed potatoes to help meet your daily protein goals. Either option you go for, you may find the VOLTRX Premium Electric Protein Shaker Bottle helpful in transporting your liquid protein around.

Is there a daily limit to protein shakes?

While it is advisable to take a lot of protein to bulk up, it is advisable that you stay within two to three protein shakes per day. While exceeding three protein shakes may not cause physical harm,  it may yet be detrimental to your goals. This is because excess protein can lead to gastrointestinal issues like stomach upset, bloating, or gas. Furthermore, it can influence your intake of other essential macros. Lastly, your body will probably store excess protein as fat, hindering your aesthetic goals. This is as your body can only take in so much protein.

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Other essentials for building muscles

Eating enough protein is not the only requirement for building your muscles. Here are other essential tips you must follow if you want to see gains:

Workout consistently and progressively

It is not enough to ingest the raw materials to build muscles; you need to push your body to the point of building muscles. You do this through consistent resistance training. Resistance training forces your body to get used to stress levels it was not used to, forcing your muscles to develop and adapt to them. Your workout must be consistent and comprehensive to work out well enough to see gains. 

Furthermore, you must progressively overload your resistance to your muscles or body parts to keep your muscles growing. This is because your body adapts very fast, so you want to keep increasing the stress, so it keeps building more muscles to adapt. A ubiquitous resistance training weight is the dumbbells, you can use them to work your upper and lower body effectively, and I recommend Rubber Hex Dumbbells.

Get adequate rest

Resting well is also essential in developing muscles. This is because after training your muscles and pushing them to the point where they build muscles, you need to sleep so that your body can channel all the protein and calories you have eaten to repair the torn muscle tissues and build new ones. 

As a result, you have to practice healthy sleeping habits while working out so your body can build muscles. Furthermore, rest is not simply by sleeping; you also need to rest your muscles by not working them out daily to allow them to recover. This necessitates having rest days while you work out to ensure your muscles remain capable of optimal development.