protein needed for weight loss

85kurtz

Hi I recently went to a dietitian after realizin
g that I was not eating enough and also my weight loss had stalled. The dietitian told me that a lack of protein can stall weight loss. Thoughts?

Liftng4Lis

Can you open your diary? Also some stats would be helpful.

85kurtz

Diary open,sorry. I am 175 cm tall and started off at 124kg I am now 112.3 kg and have been for a few weeks. I do circuit training for6 days a week and walk for 15,000 steps/day 6 days a week. I have persistent pain when I eat, so have had trouble with coloric intake for years. Prior to the past few months one meal a day was as much as I could tolerate. I was however completely sedentary. I have also had a thyroidectomy and a total hysterectomy (both because of cancer).

lemonsnowdrop

Protein won't make you lose weight. It will keep you from losing muscle if you eat enough, though, so a diet with more protein (but still a deficit) will burn more fat rather than muscle.

85kurtz

Thank you for that. It does seem odd that I am not losing weight, but I guess it will come off eventually.

lemonsnowdrop

Have you spoken to your doctor about this? If your health is stabilized, a calorie deficit is all you need. Make sure to set your goals according to your body and only aim for what you're capable of. Weigh and measure your foods for accuracy. Remember that weight loss isn't linear - it may take a while to see results! Be patient and good luck.

mathandcats

Your logging is probably very inaccurate. Using a generic entry is not going to accurately reflect the calories in whatever meal you prepared. Log the ingredients separately (or use the recipe builder), and weigh your solids. You're eating more than you think.

lalabrucey

I bought some electronic kitchen scales and spend a lot of time creating 'my foods' as I have found that many entries in the database are not accurate. Once you get the staples in it becomes really easy to log dinner accurately. It took me a while to find the info about fresh vegetables but here is a site I used to get the per 100g details: vegetables.co.nz/select_a_vegetable/

If it helps - look in the MFP database for names ending in " - Apr2015" as they are mine based on the above link

Also one of my workmates had a dietician tell him that it was the ratio of carbs:protein. She told him if the food has higher protein than carb then it will aid loss... Don't know if its true but protein definitely makes you less likely to snack as you feel satisfied.

Oh, there was recently a good post on the motivation board about plateu's and what to expect - I found that helpful in not loosing hope and was happy I read it

HTP

L.

Aemely

85kurtz wrote: »

Diary open,sorry. I am 175 cm tall and started off at 124kg I am now 112.3 kg and have been for a few weeks. I do circuit training for 6 days a week and walk for 15,000 steps/day 6 days a week. I have persistent pain when I eat, so have had trouble with caloric intake for years. Prior to the past few months one meal a day was as much as I could tolerate. I was however completely sedentary. I have also had a thyroidectomy and a total hysterectomy (both because of cancer).

I am so sorry to hear about your health, but happy you are beating the big C! I hope it stays far, far away. :flowerforyou:

Protein and healthy fats are critical for weight loss due partially to the fact that they can keep you satiated (feeling full) longer than carbohydrates (in my experience). Perhaps that's what your doctor was trying to say, but I'm not sure. It does not make sense that you were eating much too little and did not lose weight. Did the doctor have an explanation for that???

If you are accurately weighing/measuring/logging food & drinks consumed, I'm guessing you might be earning/logging too many exercise calories from "steps" (pedometer?). Those things are notorious for over-estimating calories burned. You might want to adjust that linkage and ensure your profile is set to Sedentary so that you aren't double-counting exercise level.

Best wishes on staying healthy and happy!

jacqueline7599

I noticed when I eat higher protein I do lose weight. When I slack on it I stall. My nutritionist has me eating certain amount of protein according to my weight and I get checked every 4 weeks. If I don't eat amount I should then I stall.

85kurtz

barneygood wrote: »

Your logging is probably very inaccurate. Using a generic entry is not going to accurately reflect the calories in whatever meal you prepared. Log the ingredients separately (or use the recipe builder), and weigh your solids. You're eating more than you think.

I weigh absolutely everything. Even the spices. I log everything I eat and drink. So no that isn't the issue. Believe me with the pain I have after eating even a small amount, eating too much is not an issue.

85kurtz

Aemely wrote: »

85kurtz wrote: »

Diary open,sorry. I am 175 cm tall and started off at 124kg I am now 112.3 kg and have been for a few weeks. I do circuit training for 6 days a week and walk for 15,000 steps/day 6 days a week. I have persistent pain when I eat, so have had trouble with caloric intake for years. Prior to the past few months one meal a day was as much as I could tolerate. I was however completely sedentary. I have also had a thyroidectomy and a total hysterectomy (both because of cancer).

I am so sorry to hear about your health, but happy you are beating the big C! I hope it stays far, far away. :flowerforyou:

Protein and healthy fats are critical for weight loss due partially to the fact that they can keep you satiated (feeling full) longer than carbohydrates (in my experience). Perhaps that's what your doctor was trying to say, but I'm not sure. It does not make sense that you were eating much too little and did not lose weight. Did the doctor have an explanation for that???

If you are accurately weighing/measuring/logging food & drinks consumed, I'm guessing you might be earning/logging too many exercise calories from "steps" (pedometer?). Those things are notorious for over-estimating calories burned. You might want to adjust that linkage and ensure your profile is set to Sedentary so that you aren't double-counting exercise level.

Best wishes on staying healthy and happy!

Thank you for that. I did lose weight initially, but now I'm not losing any. I don't eat my exercise allowance. If you look at my diary you will see that I have not even eaten my normal allowance. I did not speak to my Dr. but a dietitian (that I paid $100 for). It was he that said I was lacking protein and that he sees this often with people who have had lap band surgery. He said my body was "in starvation mode". He told me to drink protein shakes with milk. I am doing that. But I thought that " starvation mode" was a myth. Just wondered about other people's experience.

lemonsnowdrop

85kurtz wrote: »

Aemely wrote: »

85kurtz wrote: »

Diary open,sorry. I am 175 cm tall and started off at 124kg I am now 112.3 kg and have been for a few weeks. I do circuit training for 6 days a week and walk for 15,000 steps/day 6 days a week. I have persistent pain when I eat, so have had trouble with caloric intake for years. Prior to the past few months one meal a day was as much as I could tolerate. I was however completely sedentary. I have also had a thyroidectomy and a total hysterectomy (both because of cancer).

I am so sorry to hear about your health, but happy you are beating the big C! I hope it stays far, far away. :flowerforyou:

Protein and healthy fats are critical for weight loss due partially to the fact that they can keep you satiated (feeling full) longer than carbohydrates (in my experience). Perhaps that's what your doctor was trying to say, but I'm not sure. It does not make sense that you were eating much too little and did not lose weight. Did the doctor have an explanation for that???

If you are accurately weighing/measuring/logging food & drinks consumed, I'm guessing you might be earning/logging too many exercise calories from "steps" (pedometer?). Those things are notorious for over-estimating calories burned. You might want to adjust that linkage and ensure your profile is set to Sedentary so that you aren't double-counting exercise level.

Best wishes on staying healthy and happy!

Thank you for that. I did lose weight initially, but now I'm not losing any. I don't eat my exercise allowance. If you look at my diary you will see that I have not even eaten my normal allowance. I did not speak to my Dr. but a dietitian (that I paid $100 for). It was he that said I was lacking protein and that he sees this often with people who have had lap band surgery. He said my body was "in starvation mode". He told me to drink protein shakes with milk. I am doing that. But I thought that " starvation mode" was a myth. Just wondered about other people's experience.

Starvation mode in this sense is a myth. You would have to eat barely anything for months to actually starve. Think people in impoverished countries. If your dietician suggested that, I would see someone else for sure.

85kurtz

Yes thank you, I thought it was a little odd. I will try this hideous shake thing for a while and see how it goes. You never know it just may work for me. I guess we are all different.

elizzabethmarie

If you want to get protein easily, Muscle Milk came out with a 100 calorie shake that has 20g of protein in it. I like them when I'm hungry for a little extra, hungry but don't have time, or when my protein has been pretty low for the day.