I am talking about “a gram of protein per pound of bodyweight.”
For example:
Lets say I workout… and don’t get enough protein…
do the muscles heal back to its original state?
or
do the muscles heal, but not as well as if I got enough protein?
what if i get enough calories, but not enough protein?
Enough protein will depend on the rest of your diet as well. For example, carbs are protein sparing, meaning that if you have a higher carbohydrate diet then you can afford less protein. And on low carb diets, you will likely need more protein–some authors have even suggested up to 2x bodyweight in lbs for grams of protein.
If you aren’t getting enough protein, you won’t recover from workouts like you should, but it’s a continuum and not black and white. It’s not like once you fall below 1g/lb-BW you will stop gaining. Also, if you are low on protein for one day, it is not a big problem. It will only become a problem if you don’t resume eating healthy amounts for a while.