There’s Really Only 1 Surefire Way To Know If You’re Eating Enough Protein

When searched on Instagram, the word “protein” garners 26.9 million results, many of which are influencers touting its benefits or tips for adding more to your day-to-day meals.

And these social media personalities are right — protein is good for you.

“Protein is a macronutrient that is essential for the growth, repair and maintenance of the tissues in the body,” said Albert Abayev, a registered clinical dietician from Cedars-Sinai Weight Management and Metabolic Health Center in California.

“Protein is important in a well-rounded diet to help maintain appetite satiety, it helps to promote muscle recovery, especially in people that are active or athletes, and it aids in the body’s ability to repair itself,” Abayev explained.

Just how much protein you need will vary depending on your gender, size, age and how much you exercise, experts say. But “we don’t need as much protein as many people believe” to maintain muscle tissue, said Braeden Yacobucci, a registered dietician at OnPoint Nutrition in Philadelphia.

Fitness and nutrition personalities on social media are quick to encourage protein-packed meals. But the reality is, if your goal is to maintain muscle tissue, you’re probably eating enough protein as-is without adding in things like protein bars and shakes.

“The minimum recommendation for protein is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight per day. So, for example, someone who weighs 180 pounds would need about 65 grams of protein per day,” Yacobucci said.

This isn’t actually that much, he noted — 65 grams of protein is roughly 10 ounces of animal protein each day. “So, take a chicken thigh, for example — that ranges to maybe 4 to 6 ounces,” Yacobucci said, so you’d need a little more than two chicken thighs in a whole day to hit that 65 grams of protein.

“I’s not a ton, [and] we are getting protein from other sources besides animal proteins every day as well,” he said.

For those who work a desk job but work out most days of the week, one gram per kilogram of body weight is recommended, while that’s 1.6 grams per kilogram for people who regularly lift weights.

Vegans and vegetarians tend to be the folks who don’t eat enough protein, said Yacobucci.

The one surefire way to know if you’re getting enough protein is through medical testing, such as blood, urine and muscle mass tests, said Kathleen Melanson, a nutrition science professor at the University of Rhode Island.

Fatigue and a weakened immune system are among the signs of early protein deficiency, said Melanson — but those are, of course, signs of a multitude of other issues, too. (You could just be sleep-deprived, for example.)

You may also find you get hungry quickly if you aren’t eating enough protein. “Protein is the macronutrient that keeps you more full and satisfied,” Abayev said.

Yacobucci noted that fiber could be at play here, too. “The two most satiating nutrients are fiber and protein,” he said. ”[It could be] a case of not getting enough fiber, maybe, in addition to protein.”

You could also notice muscle loss if you don’t get enough protein, Abayev said.

But all of these symptoms are vague and could be the result of other issues, too.

“That’s kind of the tricky part of knowing if you’re getting enough protein,” Melanson said. “Some of the symptoms, particularly in the early stages, are general [and] would also be seen for other kinds of conditions.”

If you do fear that you aren’t eating enough protein, keeping a consistent eating schedule is a good place to start, said Abayev. Foods including lean meats, fish, poultry, tofu, quinoa, beans, hard-boiled eggs, cheese and low-sodium beef sticks are all good sources of protein, Abayev noted.

You can also work with a registered dietician, “who can document protein intake over time” and give feedback, Melanson said.

There are some physical signs that you might not be getting enough protein, Yacobucci said — though, since they take a while to show up, take them all with a grain of salt.

Signs of a long-term protein deficiency include thin or patchy hair, loss of natural skin color, horizontal grooves on the nails, concave nails, slow wound healing and decreased lean muscle tissue, he said. Vegetarians and vegans are are at highest risk.

Edema, or the swelling in the limbs, is a sign of more advanced protein deficiency, added Melanson.

Protein balls, protein ice cream and protein coffee may sound appealing (and be a good source of protein), but your meals shouldn’t be ruled by your protein intake. Instead, you should focus holistically on your nutrition.

“There is not any one macronutrient that is better or worse than the others — carbohydrates, protein and fats are all necessary for a well-balanced diet,” Yacobucci said.

Instead of upping your protein intake blindly, consider talking to a doctor or nutritionist about your protein needs and levels to see if you really need to add in protein-packed meals and snacks.