How much protein do I need as a skinny guy?
A skinny guy trying to build muscle needs 1.6-2.2 g of protein per kg of bodyweight a day, which is about 0.7-1 g per lb. Going higher doesn't add much: the benefit flattens out. What matters most is your daily total. Splitting it into 3-4 meals of 20-50 g makes it easier to hit.
What does that look like for a skinny guy?
A 65 kg (143 lb) guy needs roughly 104-143 g of protein a day. Not a crazy amount. But if your day is coffee, a sandwich and pasta, you're probably way under.
Is more protein always better?
No. Past 2.2 g per kg the extra does very little. And protein can't do the job on its own: if you're not eating enough calories in total, more shakes won't build muscle.
How should I spread protein through the day?
Your daily total comes first. After that, 3-4 meals with about 0.4 g per kg each (20-50 g of good protein) help. That gets you to around 3 g of leucine per meal, the amino acid that tells your muscles to start building.
Easy version: a solid protein source at every meal. Eggs, Greek yogurt, chicken, fish, tofu, lentils, a shake if you need it.
Do I need meat or whey?
No. Research from NutritionFacts shows long-term vegetarian and vegan athletes don't have less strength or lean mass than meat eaters. Where your protein comes from matters less than hitting your total.
My case
I went from 63 kg to 83 kg (139 to 183 lb) in five years, most of it muscle, and I spent a lot of that time guessing. Knowing my protein number and my calorie number is what stops the guessing.
Read next: How many calories does a skinny guy need to build muscle? and Skinny fat: what it is and where to start
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