What builds/spares more muscle high carb moderate protein or high protein low carb when calories are equal?

[throwawayoutlaw]

I was told to shoot for 400g of protein, roughly 2x bw (lbs).

Then someone else said that's excessive and all I need is 1x bw and more carbs because carbs are anabolic.

Protein is unlikely to offer any special benefits (to added muscle mass) beyond optimal consumption, but because carbohydrates lead to insulin secretion, and because insulin is highly anabolic over time and when paired with resistance training, eating as much carbohydrate as possible within constraints is practical for muscle gain. Carbohydrates are so valuable for muscle gain that the recommendation for maximum protein on a hypercaloric diet should likely be capped at around 1.5g of protein per pound of body weight per day so that a greater caloric value of carbs can be programmed.

Data has consistently shown that consumption above about 0.9g of protein per pound of body weight per day does not enhance muscle gain. Since carbs do not have quite as low a cap for their anabolic effects, any extra protein consumed is going to risk pushing out carbs within the constraint of calories, and thus net anabolism could suffer. Our recommendation for optimal muscle growth is therefore around 1.0g of protein per pound of body weight per day.

Consuming carbohydrates is an extremely powerful means of preventing muscle loss. Carbs provide an energy source that prevents the breakdown of tissue for fuel. In addition, anabolism is achieved via both glycogen- and insulin-mediated pathways, both of which are directly affected by carb intake. Elevations in blood glucose resulting from carbohydrate consumption lead to the secretion of insulin, a highly anabolic hormone. Although insulin is anabolic to both muscle and fat tissue, for leaner individuals doing resistance training, the net effect of insulin is biased towards building muscle tissue more than fat tissue. Like many other hormones (be it testosterone, growth hormone, estrogen, etc.), insulin exerts most of its power when its concentration is chronically elevated. If insulin is high post-workout for an hour but very low during the rest of the day, the total exposure of the muscles to insulin is relatively insignificant. If insulin is instead elevated for a large portion of each day, its anabolic and anti-catabolic signaling effects can add up to make substantial differences in muscularity over the long (months) term.

What is the correct answer?

 

[Phreezer]

So.. A High protein diet and a caloric excess diet is ideal for muscle growth and for muscle sparing and retention.

2g of protein per lb of body weight is bull shit marketing from supplement companies to sell protein powder imo.

It's more about eating enough to grow and about recovering after working out.

Don't get me wrong. You need a very high protein diet but you need calories and you don't want them to be from junk like highly processed food. Chips, candy that kind of bull shit.

Lots of meats, dairy, carbs and fats (mostly good fats like omega 3's) are essential for growth. You can't do it on supplements alone and you can't do it on a 2000-2500 calorie a day diet either.

Imo, if you're getting 200 grams of protein a day and eating enough calories to grow on you'll be fine.

You'll just have to find out what works best for you and adjust your diet accordingly. Not growing? Try increasing your daily caloric intake by adding 20-30% more. Growing too much? Aka getting fat.. try eliminating 20% of your calories via carbs and fats.

Experience with your own body is necessary. We all have to learn what works for us best with time and experience and adjust accordingly.

Cookie cutter diets are bull shit and won't work the same for everyone. They are "guideline" not full on rules.

Also the way you eat depends on your goals. Are you dieting and training for a show? If so, The answer on how to eat depends on how far out is the show and what phase are you in. Your diet at 12 weeks out will be marketly different than 2 weeks.

Focus on training consistently, eating consistently and sleeping consistently and the rest will fall in place.