Question regarding protein intake

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baschwal
baschwal Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I've been logging my food for about a month now. My goal is just to maintain weight and be more healthy and conscious of what I'm eating and keeping a balanced diet. Regarding protein, I've heard women should consume .4 grams per lb of body weight. This puts me at a roughly 52 grams per day. Currently my macros percentages thru myfitnesspal are 50 carbs 30 fats and 20 protein, which from what I've read is pretty reasonable. BUT my question comes into play with myfitnesspal saying I should be consuming like 88grams a day, unless I work out and it gets bumped up more, sometimes to 100+ grams. I find it easy enough to consume at least close to what myfitnesspal is recommending, but why is there such a huge difference? I read recommendations for pregnant women is 80-100, so me being not pregnant, should I really be consuming that much? My maintenance calorie intake is around 1800.

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  • sgthaggard
    sgthaggard Posts: 581 Member
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    I consume 40carbs, 30fats, 30protein which typically puts me well over 100g a day.

    FTR, I'm a 121 lb woman.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    edited March 2015
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    I've never heard .4 grams per bodyweight for protein. I do follow that as my minimum for fat.

    I have seen recommendations for anything from .8 g to 1.5 gram per pound of bodyweight or lean bodyweight. There's a huge range out there. From what I've read, though, studies have generally shown that something in the .6x-.7x gram per pound of bodyweight range was sufficient in various test groups of athletes/bodybuilders/lifters (each study had a different focus.) So I pretty much follow .8 gram per pound of bodyweight as it seems like that amount should be sufficient and allow for a margin of error. That means my goal is 120 grams per day. Plus, I try to get that as a minimum so there are many days when I go over and then a few when I'm under but I figure it all evens out.

    As for the difference between various recommendations and MFP, I believe MFP's numbers are based on the minimum RDAs, which are not necessarily for athletes or very active people.
  • dawnmcneil10
    dawnmcneil10 Posts: 638 Member
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    I just figured out my average for you, .6 per pound is what I aim for as my average intake. I also have my settings at 40% carb 30% protein 30% fat and have really found that works great for me.
  • SciranBG
    SciranBG Posts: 97 Member
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    It depends on your goals, but protein should be calculated based on lean body mass. Like .8 all the way up to 1.5 per lb if bulking.

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