Daily Protein Requirements

• In order to build cellular tissue, your body requires a supply of protein. Protein breaks down in the digestive tract to form amino acids, which in turn form cellular tissue and organelles. According to life.familyeducation.com, protein requirements vary. For every pound of weight, if you're sedentary, you should have between .36gs and .5gs of protein in your diet. If you're a moderately active person, your protein intake should be .8gs per pound of body weight. If you want to gain muscle, you need at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight, according to stronglifts.com.
  
  

Sources of Protein

• You get the most concentrated sources of protein in meat, whether it's white or red meat. Steak, venison and turkey breast are the most abundant sources of protein at 26 grams per serving (see References). Cottage cheese is also an efficient source of protein, in case you don't want to eat meat. It contains 14gs of protein in 1/2 cup. These foods are also high in calories, so you get plenty of energy to work out and gain muscle. A common misconception is that high-calorie foods are a bad dietary choice when working out. The body needs more calories than it consumes in order to gain muscle mass.
  
  

How To Get Protein

• A high-protein diet contains lots of meat, eggs and dairy. A cup of oatmeal with a spoonful of peanut butter, eggs, bacon and toast will give you at least 85gs of protein at breakfast, and a glass of whole milk will add 8gs. That's 93gs of protein just for breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day--especially when gaining muscle--because your metabolism is lowest after waking up and you can therefore get the most out of a meal. If you work out in the mornings, your body will use the energy from your breakfast to build muscle. For lunch, you should have fruit and a sandwich with turkey breast for another 40gs. For dinner, a bowl of brown rice will yield 5gs of protein. More food can be added as needed for your weight and dietary requirements.