"How do I get enough protein?" - Jacked Nerds Issue #016

And the warmest welcome to the 154 new Jacked Nerds who joined us last week.

“How do I get enough protein in my diet?”
“My doctor/nutritionist/trainer says I’m not eating enough protein.”
“I’m struggling to hit my protein goal.”

I hear these questions all the time. The phrasing might change, but they all point to the same core issue:

“How do I get more protein?”

And any question that includes words like "enough" or "more" is, at its core, a math problem. It implies there's a current state, and a target you're trying to reach.

So to answer the question “How do I get enough protein?”, we first need to break it down into two parts:

In today’s issue, we’re going to tackle that first part. Next week, we’ll get to smart and sustainable tracking.

I’m not here to give you a one-size-fits-all number or tell you exactly what to eat. Everyone’s preferences, restrictions, and goals are different.

But I am going to give you the frameworks and fundamentals—so you can confidently find your own answers, and apply the system to your lifestyle and goals.

Let’s get into it.

To figure out your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure)—the number of calories your body burns through rest, movement, and exercise—you’ve got two solid options:

Multiply your bodyweight (in pounds) by 15 to estimate your daily maintenance calories.

This is based on a general principle: a moderately active person typically needs about 15 calories per pound of bodyweight to maintain their current weight. You can read more about that here.

Example: A 200-lb person × 15 = 3,000 calories/day.

This method isn’t hyper-precise, but it’s a reliable ballpark, especially if you’re new to setting calorie and macro targets. It’s simple, fast, and good enough to get started

If you want a more personalized estimate that considers variables like height, age, sex, body fat %, lifestyle, and training volume, you can use one of many solid calculators or apps out there.

Some of the most popular ones include (none are sponsored):

These are great if you’ve got more experience with tracking, train at a high intensity, are recovering from metabolic adaptation, or just want data tailored to you.

Whichever route you go, the most important thing is this to set a target, start tracking, and adjust based on trends over the next 2–3 weeks.

Once you’ve estimated your maintenance calories, the next step is to adjust based on your goal.

Broadly speaking, there are three fitness goals one can track again. Here’s how to approach it:

Note: fat loss and cutting aren’t technically the same thing. They all mean to “lose fat”, but for very different motivations. I’m grouping them here for simplicity sake.

To lose fat, you need to create a calorie deficit. For most people, a 200–500 calorie deficit per day is the sweet spot. It’s enough to drive steady fat loss without tanking your energy or sacrificing lean muscle.

Going beyond a 500-cal deficit is usually too aggressive, and often backfires. You are likely to experience low energy, stalled progress, increased hunger, and muscle loss.

💡 Where does the 500-calorie rule come from?
It’s based on a common approximation: 1 pound of fat ≈ 3,500 calories.

So, to lose 1 pound per week, you’d aim for a 500-calorie daily deficit (3,500 ÷ 7). It’s not perfect, as your metabolism adapts over time, but it’s a solid, sustainable starting point.

If you’re new to lifting, coming back after a break, or slightly overweight, you can actually build muscle and lose fat at the same time — especially if you train consistently and hit your protein targets.

It’s not easy to do for beginners, but it is possible to achieve. Recomp usually means:

To build muscle, your body needs a slight surplus—extra fuel to recover, repair, and grow.

The goal here isn’t to eat everything in sight. Small, consistent increases lead to better results (and less fluff to cut later).

Once you’ve established your calorie target, it’s time to divide those calories into the three macronutrients: protein, fat, and carbs.

Carbs are your body’s preferred energy source—particularly important for high-performance training, recovery, and brain function. Once you’ve set your protein and fat numbers, the rest of your calories go to carbs.

Because carbs are flexible, you can adjust them based on:

As I covered in Jacked Nerds Issue #006 – Get Jacked with Basics Part I: Nutrition Label, each macronutrient contributes a specific number of calories per gram:

Let’s walk through a real-world example to see how this plays out:

Let’s assume Ashley weighs 165 lbs and her goal is fat loss. She wants to lose 30 lbs, aiming for a target weight of 135 lbs. Her estimated maintenance is 2,000 calories per day, and she’s planning a caloric deficit—eating 1,600 calories per day.

For protein, Ashley chooses to eat 1g per pound of target bodyweight.
For fat, she selects 0.3g per pound of target bodyweight.

Protein:
135 lbs × 1g = 135g protein
135g × 4 cal/g = 540 calories

Fat:
135 lbs × 0.3g = 41g fat
41g × 9 cal/g = 369 calories

Carbs:
1,600 total calories − 540 (protein) − 369 (fat) = 691 calories left
691 ÷ 4 cal/g = 173g carbs

That’s it.

You now have a framework you can use to figure out your own macro targets—based on your goals, body, and preferences.

💪🏻 Week 3 and we’re moving and grooving!

Made solid gainz across most lifts this week, kept pushing progressive overload and stacking on the weight. I’m only three weeks in, but so far I’m really happy with this program. Energy’s good, progress feels strong, and I’m feeling confident about hitting 315 in the next 15 weeks!

📣 Check out my post for more on the program I’m running, and give me a follow if you haven’t already!

I don’t know if I’d call myself a movie buff or movie nerd, but I’ve definitely seen my fair share of the movies. So when I read “The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century” released by New York Times this week, I felt it had some interesting takes.

For instance, Interstellar at #89 feels way too low. In comparison, the Reader’s Top 100 List ranked it #5 which makes more sense in my mind.

Do you agree with either list? Which do you think is ranked too high, too low or got snubbed altogether?

I hope you’re getting real value from this newsletter!

If you are, it would mean a lot if you shared it with a friend, family member, or anyone you think could benefit from the frameworks and tips I share here.

Thanks so much for being part of this — I appreciate you! 🙏

My mission: 10,000 like-minded legends in the Jacked Nerds crew by end of year.
Help me get there 💪

Getting “enough” protein starts with understanding what enough means for you.

So pick one method from Step 1 and calculate your maintenance calories. Then adjust for your goal using Step 2. Don't overthink it—just start with the numbers and tweak as you go.

Next week, I'll share practical tips and tricks on how to track your macros without burning out—based on over 10 years of my personal experience hitting targets consistently across a wide range of fitness goals.

That’s all for this week.

Catch y’all in the next one! ✌️