Too much protein?

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I eat clean and cardio daily, with appropriate rest. Added consistent weight lifting in March, with good results. Not bulking, but working on adding/toning muscle (low weight/high reps). *47 years old, 6'3", 240 lbs, male*

Question: Is it true my body can't process more than 60g of protein in one meal? I've got a buddy who tells me I'm wasting protein intake (i.e. today's breakfast had 75g protein). He's says I'll just crap it out. Thanks in advance for your wisdom.

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  • dalerst
    dalerst Posts: 174 Member
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    Not true my dinner tonight will be more that 75g. How does he work it out when a 200g chicken breast is 55g on it's own?
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,977 Member
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    False. Your body does not leave anything you eat unused. How it is digested and metabolized will vary but it's never wasted.
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
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    I currently eat 1 meal a day and consume over 150g protein in that siting. Hope I'm not wasting it...............
  • Rusty740
    Rusty740 Posts: 749 Member
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    If it's true, then it's all the more reason to eat the whole bag of chips instead of just a few. After all, if I eat that much fat all at once, my body will just get rid of it. :tongue:
  • PPumpItUp
    PPumpItUp Posts: 208 Member
    edited July 2017
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    This topic confuses me. You need .24g/kg of protein and 2.5-3g of leucine per meal to have the optimal conditions for muscle protein synthesis. Studies show that you run out of ATP to fuel the synthesis and around 2-4 hours after the meal, depending on your protein source, your ATP will be recharged and ready for another bout of protein synthesis. So lets say I have a whey protein shake every 3 hours and I am awake for 18 hours. That is 6 meals of 33g of protein. This would create a total protein intake of 198g of protein. Studies show that on a calorie deficit you max out benefits at 1.2g of protein per lbs of body mass which would put me at 360g of protein, almost double what is recommended to maximize my muscle protein synthesis. I should read more since I bet there is a study that talks about that but I am betting there is a slow leaching affect from the extra protein. You are not having a full blown bout of muscle protein synthesis but the ATP that still has that 3rd phosphorous attached is still working while the other ADP are gaining back their lost phosphorous.
  • piperdown44
    piperdown44 Posts: 958 Member
    edited July 2017
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    PPumpItUp wrote: »
    This topic confuses me. You need .24g/kg of protein and 2.5-3g of leucine per meal to have the optimal conditions for muscle protein synthesis. Studies show that you run out of ATP to fuel the synthesis and around 2-4 hours after the meal, depending on your protein source, your ATP will be recharged and ready for another bout of protein synthesis. So lets say I have a whey protein shake every 3 hours and I am awake for 18 hours. That is 6 meals of 33g of protein. This would create a total protein intake of 198g of protein. Studies show that on a calorie deficit you max out benefits at 1.2g of protein per lbs of body mass which would put me at 360g of protein, almost double what is recommended to maximize my muscle protein synthesis. I should read more since I bet there is a study that talks about that but I am betting there is a slow leaching affect from the extra protein. You are not having a full blown bout of muscle protein synthesis but the ATP that still has that 3rd phosphorous attached is still working while the other ADP are gaining back their lost phosphorous.


    That range is 0.8-1.2 grams protein per kg of body weight or 0.5 - 0.8 grams per lb of body weight.
    Although I have seen it listed as high at 2.3-3.1 grams per kg. But that was for professional natural bodybuilders that compete. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4033492/

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3529694/

  • PPumpItUp
    PPumpItUp Posts: 208 Member
    edited July 2017
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    It is in lbs. .8-1.2g/lbs
  • piperdown44
    piperdown44 Posts: 958 Member
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    PPumpItUp wrote: »
    It is in lbs. .8-1.2g/lbs

    Where are you getting that from?


  • jseams1234
    jseams1234 Posts: 1,216 Member
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    Rusty740 wrote: »
    If it's true, then it's all the more reason to eat the whole bag of chips instead of just a few. After all, if I eat that much fat all at once, my body will just get rid of it. :tongue:

    Remember Olean/Olestra - you eat a whole bag of those chips and you will certainly get rid of a lot of things. lol
  • PPumpItUp
    PPumpItUp Posts: 208 Member
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    PPumpItUp wrote: »
    It is in lbs. .8-1.2g/lbs

    Where are you getting that from?


    A whole bunch of studies.
  • piperdown44
    piperdown44 Posts: 958 Member
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    PPumpItUp wrote: »
    PPumpItUp wrote: »
    It is in lbs. .8-1.2g/lbs

    Where are you getting that from?


    A whole bunch of studies.

    Wait... you're 300lbs?
    I know most shoot for 1gram per lb bodyweight, which is just slightly higher than recommended for weightlifting folk but lower than what they recommend for natural competitive bodybuilders.

  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,389 MFP Moderator
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    PPumpItUp wrote: »
    This topic confuses me. You need .24g/kg of protein and 2.5-3g of leucine per meal to have the optimal conditions for muscle protein synthesis. Studies show that you run out of ATP to fuel the synthesis and around 2-4 hours after the meal, depending on your protein source, your ATP will be recharged and ready for another bout of protein synthesis. So lets say I have a whey protein shake every 3 hours and I am awake for 18 hours. That is 6 meals of 33g of protein. This would create a total protein intake of 198g of protein. Studies show that on a calorie deficit you max out benefits at 1.2g of protein per lbs of body mass which would put me at 360g of protein, almost double what is recommended to maximize my muscle protein synthesis. I should read more since I bet there is a study that talks about that but I am betting there is a slow leaching affect from the extra protein. You are not having a full blown bout of muscle protein synthesis but the ATP that still has that 3rd phosphorous attached is still working while the other ADP are gaining back their lost phosphorous.

    This is severely complicating things and most is theoretical (spreading protein vs small windows). I don't think there is any evidence to suggest one is better than the next, even in bodybuilders.

    Also, here is one of the most recent meta analyses. They recommend 1.5 to 2.2g/kg while losing weight. That equates to .68 to 1g/lb

    http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/apnm-2015-0549

    In very lean individuals, there is some potential its slightly higher, but that is for males who are sub 10% bf . If a person ia overfat, its lower.
  • mndamon
    mndamon Posts: 547 Member
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    Long story short, your body will process anything you put in you won't just crap it out. It might not be an ideal intake but your body will in fact process it.

    One other point I don't think has been brought up, most studies say it's grams to LEAN bodyweight, not just whatever your full weight is.

    Bottom line is unless you're planning on doing a bodybuilding show and need to be concerned with every exact nutrient being used optimally just keep your macros fairly in check along with calorie intake.
  • comptonelizabeth
    comptonelizabeth Posts: 1,701 Member
    edited July 2017
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    This confuses me,too. I'm in the UK and rda for protein is around. 75 per kg.But mfp calculates it as twice that amount. Which is correct?
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,389 MFP Moderator
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    This confuses me,too. I'm in the UK and rda for protein is around. 75 per kg.But mfp calculates it as twice that amount. Which is correct?

    RDAs are generally the bare minimum to sustain muscle during maintenance and sedentary. It increases if you are active and/or losing weight
  • PPumpItUp
    PPumpItUp Posts: 208 Member
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    PPumpItUp wrote: »
    PPumpItUp wrote: »
    It is in lbs. .8-1.2g/lbs

    Where are you getting that from?


    A whole bunch of studies.

    Wait... you're 300lbs?
    I know most shoot for 1gram per lb bodyweight, which is just slightly higher than recommended for weightlifting folk but lower than what they recommend for natural competitive bodybuilders.

    Yeah, I have around 30lbs of fat I am trying to loose.
  • blakejohn
    blakejohn Posts: 1,129 Member
    edited July 2017
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    PPumpItUp wrote: »
    PPumpItUp wrote: »
    PPumpItUp wrote: »
    It is in lbs. .8-1.2g/lbs

    Where are you getting that from?


    A whole bunch of studies.

    Wait... you're 300lbs?
    I know most shoot for 1gram per lb bodyweight, which is just slightly higher than recommended for weightlifting folk but lower than what they recommend for natural competitive bodybuilders.

    Yeah, I have around 30lbs of fat I am trying to loose.

    You're doing great, keep up the good work