PROTEIN: Is there such a thing as too much?

Rachelesa94

I've always been taught to eat a high protein diet.
Today my protein consisted of:

Egg whites
Chicken
Protein Shake (with fat burner)

MFP has given me a goal of 45grams of protein a day.
But today i managed to eat 106grams...

I know it's good to eat protein,
But my questions to you are..
Did i eat too much protein for one day?
How much protein do you eat a day?

Keeping in mind i'm 19 female trying to loose 8 kgs/tone currently weighing around 62kgs
I eat 1200 cals a day and burn 200-300 a day.

Thanks for the help

GurleyGirl524

I think MFP protein goals are low. I try to get between 80 and 100 per day. There probably is such a thing as too much but I don't know what that number is. I like more protein than MFP recommends because it helps me to stay full longer.

BarackMeLikeAHurricane

MFP sets protein too low. To set your macros, check out this link: 

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/911011-calculating-calorie-macronutrient-needs?page=1#posts-13821336

Also, it's hard to have too much protein. 

"It has been observed that the human liver cannot safely metabolise much more than 285-365 g of protein per day (for an 80 kg person), and human kidneys are similarly limited in their capability to remove urea (a byproduct of protein catabolism) from the bloodstream. Exceeding that amount results in excess levels of amino acids, ammonia (hyperammonemia), and/or urea in the bloodstream, with potentially fatal consequences,[1] especially if the person switches to a high-protein diet without giving time for the levels of his or her hepatic enzymes to upregulate. Since protein only contains 4 kcal/gram, and a typical adult human requires in excess of 1900 kcal to maintain the energy balance, it is possible to exceed the safe intake of protein if one is subjected to a high-protein diet with little or no fat or carbohydrates. However, given the lack of scientific data on the effects of high-protein diets, and the observed ability of the liver to compensate over a few days for a shift in protein intake, the US Food and Nutrition Board does not set a Tolerable Upper Limit nor upper Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range for protein.[2] Furthermore, medical sources such as UpToDate[3] do not include listings on this topic." 

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit_starvation

aanderson317

You can adjust your macros so that you have a low carb high protein goal. That's what I did. For my 1200 calories I aim for 40g fat, 60g carbs, 150g protein. I rarely hit the protein number, but mostly I want to control my carbs. Just my two cents.

mynameiscarrie

There is such a thing as too much protein--but you're not eating too much. Too much protein can cause kidney stones in some people (I'm one of them...not fun), but you have to be eating a lot of protein and not drinking enough water for that to happen (lesson learned). 100g of protein may be too much for someone who weighs 40 pounds, but there are plenty of people (mainly body builders as far as I know) that eat twice their body weight in protein without problems. I think you're fine

SamanthaMariex

I also was curious about this and so I did some searching on this site and found quiet a few pages about it. From what I gathered MFP sets protein too low and unless you have an underlying kidney condition you shouldnt worry about your protein, I dont think you ate too much in one day, most of the post ive read people shoot for between 70-110g a day. It got so frusterating for me, I have taken 'protein' off of my diary so I dont have to see it in the red all the time lol!

I also found a nice little page outside of MFP and wanted to share it with you:

http://www.fitsugar.com/How-Much-Protein-Should-I-Eat-165578 (So as you can see, it varies from person to person depending on weight and activity level.) It may not be very accurate but atleast it helps (:

JessHealthKick

I am 63-64kg and 21, I eat up to 180g of protein a day. You should be really aiming for at minimum 100g a day to help retain muscle and so on. Use the calculator mentioned above

silverinc13

You should generally eat a gram of protein per your lb of lean body mass. You can manually change your macros percentages to change your goals.

acogg

I read that a person should consume at least 1 gram of protein per pound of lean mass, for most women that is 100 grams. 150 grams will help build muscle. I aim for somewhere in between and it has helped me immensely. I think your protein number is great!

Salt_Sand_Sun

MFP is way too low for protein intake. One should aim to get 1g of protein per lean muscle mass. 106g of protein in a day is a very good day!

CarlKRobbo

nothing wrong with 1g per lb, the set levels are bare minimum, you seem to be under that so nothing to worry about.

SOME people can have issue with it, but most don't, there is newer research that shows high levels are safe enough (OBVIOUSLY when eaten with carbs\fat as well).

I eat under 1.5g per Lb, so mine's set at 300ish for today (That's also down to planning 3 hours of training), about 280g

lizzzylou

bump

robinschwalb

there are drawbacks, I have found, having troubles going to the bathroom with high protein diet, but it does help me feel full and eat a lot less.

0OneTwo3

actually since you exercise daily you could aim for 80-90g a day or even more if you want to help you with recovery and muscle retention while dieting.

Keeping in mind i'm 19 female trying to loose 8 kgs/tone currently weighing around 62kgs
I eat 1200 cals a day and burn 200-300 a day.

if i'm getting this right your net. kcal are below 1000. they should stay above 1200 at all times. but there have been thousands of treads about this already. look it up.

edit: this is assuming you have no illnesses of the digestive system or kidneys.

LeanButNotMean44

I am female and usually eat 200+ grams of protein per day. No health issues with it at all.

nleighp

There is such thing as too much protein.

According to Understanding Nutrition, 13th ed. :

"Health Effects of Protein

It should come as no surprise that protein deficiency can have devastating effects on people's health. But like the other nutrients, protein in excess can be harmful. High-protein diets have bee implicated in several chronic diseases, including heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, obesity, kidney stones, but evidence is insufficient to establish an Upper Level (UL)."

Reference material --Committee on Dietary Reference Intakes, Dietary Reference Intakes: Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids (Washington, D.C.: National Academics Press, 2005), p. 694.

That said, most everyone here is correct in saying that MFP does not recommend a healthy amount of protein (quite a lot under what should be consumed). Keeping in mind your protein intake should range between 10-35% of your calories consumed there is a fairly large range of recommended grams. According to the text the proper way to calculate recommended protein intakes is as follows:

1. Look up the healthy weight for person of your heigh
2. Convert pounds to kg (pounds divided by 2.2)
3. Multiply kg by 0.8 to get the Recommended Daily Allowance in grams per day

*note: Teens 14-18 multiply by 0.85

Hope this helps!

badmoose

A couple of years ago I was in the hospital with an infection, and there was a kid in the other bed who was in with kidney damage from excess exercise and protein drinks. You're not likely to overdo the protein from just eating, normal foods. Watch out for the protein drinks, though. You're body is already in a breakdown state as you lose weight/exercise and the kidneys need to work extra to get rid of the waste. If you saturate them with protein, they can start to fail, but you have to really overdo it.

badmoose

(duplicate)

Acg67

There is such thing as too much protein.

According to Understanding Nutrition, 13th ed. :

"Health Effects of Protein

It should come as no surprise that protein deficiency can have devastating effects on people's health. But like the other nutrients, protein in excess can be harmful. High-protein diets have bee implicated in several chronic diseases, including heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, obesity, kidney stones, but evidence is insufficient to establish an Upper Level (UL)."

Reference material --Committee on Dietary Reference Intakes, Dietary Reference Intakes: Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids (Washington, D.C.: National Academics Press, 2005), p. 694.

That said, most everyone here is correct in saying that MFP does not recommend a healthy amount of protein (quite a lot under what should be consumed). Keeping in mind your protein intake should range between 10-35% of your calories consumed there is a fairly large range of recommended grams. According to the text the proper way to calculate recommended protein intakes is as follows:

1. Look up the healthy weight for person of your heigh
2. Convert pounds to kg (pounds divided by 2.2)
3. Multiply kg by 0.8 to get the Recommended Daily Allowance in grams per day

*note: Teens 14-18 multiply by 0.85

Hope this helps!

Protein and amino acids for athletes. J Sports Sci. 2004 Jan;22(1):65-79.
www.uni.edu/dolgener/Advanced_Sport.../protein_intake.pdf

Since there is evidence that protein intakes above the RDA may be beneficial to athletes, a risk–benefit analysis may be useful. An important consideration is the potential harm that may arise from elevated protein intakes. There is little research into the maximum tolerable protein intake in healthy individuals. It has been suggested that excessive protein intakes may increase calcium loss, thus affecting bone health. However, since a major portion of bone is protein, excessive protein does not appear to influence bone health. High protein intakes have been suggested to pose a risk for the kidneys but, in healthy individuals with no underlying kidney disease (presumably most elite athletes), there is no evidence for harm to kidneys with higher intakes. Certainly, it would be detrimental for an athlete to consume excess protein at the expense of other nutrients required to support the necessary level of training and competition. There is a suggestion that intakes greater than 40% of total energy intake might be the upper limit. Protein intakes greater than 40% may limit intake of fat and/or carbohydrates, thus compromising the benefits of these nutrients. However, given the high energy intakes of most elite athletes, protein intakes higher than 40% are unlikely in most. Even a small female restricting energy intake and consuming only 1500 kcal would need to consume 150 g of protein to reach 40%.

High-Protein Weight Loss Diets and Purported Adverse Effects: Where is the Evidence? Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2004, 1:45-51 doi:10.1186/1550-2783-1-1-45
http://www.jissn.com/content/1/1/45#B4

Indeed, the recent study Dawson-Hughes et al. did not confirm the perception that increased dietary protein results in urinary calcium loss.[36] According to Dawson-Hughes et al., "Theconstellation of findings that meat supplements containing 55 g/d protein, when exchanged for carbohydrate did not significantlyincrease urinary calcium excretion and were associated withhigher levels of serum IGF-I and lower levels of the bone resorption marker, N-telopeptide, together with a lack of significant correlationof urinary N-telopeptide with urinary calcium excretion in thehigh protein group (in contrast to the low protein) point tothe possibility that higher meat intake may potentially improvebone mass in many older men and women."

Finally, the cross-cultural and population studies that showed a positive association between animal-protein intake and hip fracture risk did not consider other lifestyle or dietary factors that may protect or increase the risk of fracture.[35] It is of some interest that the author of the most cited paper favoring the earlier hypothesis that high-protein intake promotes osteoporosis no longer believes that protein is harmful to bone.[34] In fact, he concluded that the balance of the evidence seems to indicate the opposite.

Despite its role in nitrogen excretion, there are presently no data in the scientific literature demonstrating the healthy kidney will be damaged by the increased demands of protein consumed in quantities above the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA). Furthermore, real world examples support this contention since kidney problems are nonexistent in the bodybuilding community in which high-protein intake has been the norm for over half a century.[3] Recently, Walser published comprehensive review on protein intake and renal function, which states: "it is clear that protein restriction does not prevent decline in renal function with age, and, in fact, is the major cause of that decline. A better way to prevent the decline would be to increase protein intake. there is no reason to restrict protein intake in healthy individuals in order to protect the kidney."[4]

Dietary protein intake and renal function. Nutrition & Metabolism 2005, 2:25 doi:10.1186/1743-7075-2-25
http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/2/1/25

Conclusion

Although excessive protein intake remains a health concern in individuals with pre-existing renal disease, the literature lacks significant research demonstrating a link between protein intake and the initiation or progression of renal disease in healthy individuals. More importantly, evidence suggests that protein-induced changes in renal function are likely a normal adaptative mechanism well within the functional limits of a healthy kidney. Without question, long-term studies are needed to clarify the scant evidence currently available regarding this relationship. At present, there is not sufficient proof to warrant public health directives aimed at restricting dietary protein intake in healthy adults for the purpose of preserving renal function.[

Rachelesa94

Thanks everyone for you help! Think i will change my macros manually so i don't freak out about seeing so much red! :P
Good to know i'm not doing anything wrong by protein!

Rachelesa94

actually since you exercise daily you could aim for 80-90g a day or even more if you want to help you with recovery and muscle retention while dieting.

Keeping in mind i'm 19 female trying to loose 8 kgs/tone currently weighing around 62kgs
I eat 1200 cals a day and burn 200-300 a day.

if i'm getting this right your net. kcal are below 1000. they should stay above 1200 at all times. but there have been thousands of treads about this already. look it up.

edit: this is assuming you have no illnesses of the digestive system or kidneys.

I eat back my exercise calories

Rachelesa94

You should generally eat a gram of protein per your lb of lean body mass. You can manually change your macros percentages to change your goals.

Thanks! I had never heard of 1 gram per 1 lb before. Will change my macros to suit this. Thanks heaps!!

ndj1979

this thread again?????? ...ughhhh can you say dead horse...

nleighp

Acg67 all of your research applies to true athletes. OP says she works off 200-300 calories a day-- that's like walking around as normal for the day. I agree, athlete's bodies can tolerate more. The average, day-to-day person should not.

Overloading the body with amino acids and not maintaining a proper carb to fat to protein ratio is not healthful and can be extremely detrimental. That's all I'm saying.

Rachelesa94

I also was curious about this and so I did some searching on this site and found quiet a few pages about it. From what I gathered MFP sets protein too low and unless you have an underlying kidney condition you shouldnt worry about your protein, I dont think you ate too much in one day, most of the post ive read people shoot for between 70-110g a day. It got so frusterating for me, I have taken 'protein' off of my diary so I dont have to see it in the red all the time lol!

I also found a nice little page outside of MFP and wanted to share it with you:

http://www.fitsugar.com/How-Much-Protein-Should-I-Eat-165578 (So as you can see, it varies from person to person depending on weight and activity level.) It may not be very accurate but atleast it helps (:

Thanks for the link!The graph was really helpful! I think mfp made my protein goal so low because i put that i am not very active but that doesn't take into account my exercise..

Rachelesa94

this thread again?????? ...ughhhh can you say dead horse...

Sorry I don't mean to be annoying..
I'm kind of new at the forum thing and not sure how to search up old posts yet..
Was just looking for some help.. which is what i thought the forums were for..

melindasuefritz

She says that's because a diet in which protein makes up more than 30% of your caloric intake causes a buildup of toxic ketones. So-called ketogenic diets can thrust your kidneys into overdrive in order to flush these ketones from your body. As your kidneys rid your body of these toxic ketones, you can lose a significant amount of water, which puts you at risk of dehydration, particularly if you exercise heavily.

That water loss often shows up on the scale as weight loss. But along with losing water, you lose muscle mass and bone calcium. The dehydration also strains your kidneys and puts stress on your heart.

And dehydration from a ketogenic diet can make you feel weak and dizzy, give you bad breath, or lead to other problems.

CoderGal

I've always been taught to eat a high protein diet.
Today my protein consisted of:

Egg whites
Chicken
Protein Shake (with fat burner)

MFP has given me a goal of 45grams of protein a day.
But today i managed to eat 106grams...

I know it's good to eat protein,
But my questions to you are..
Did i eat too much protein for one day?
How much protein do you eat a day?

Keeping in mind i'm 19 female trying to loose 8 kgs/tone currently weighing around 62kgs
I eat 1200 cals a day and burn 200-300 a day.

Thanks for the help

MFP macros for protein is set as a minimum for a healthy weighted female to avoid deficiency problems. You should ALWAYS try to make that number turn red. If you exercise regularly, I'd stick to about 1.8g/kg of body weight (or .8g/lb of body weight)

Then again I wouldn't stick to the minimum 1200 calorie number either. I know 4'9 women who are eating far above that. I'm almost underweight and eat about 2100. To get an idea of what is healthy the average female needs about 2000 cals a day to get most of their nutrition. If you're eating that little, your nutrition is going to suffer for a while so it really depends how long you stick to it. A lot of people will argue they take vitamins but you need so much fat to absorb most of them since they're fat soluble, you need so much protein to retain LBM as you lose weight, and carbs are great for muscle repair. If you take the minimum food route, be careful. My feet were constantly cold and I lost hair that way before I read into things and it finally hit me why.

Rachelesa94

I think MFP protein goals are low. I try to get between 80 and 100 per day. There probably is such a thing as too much but I don't know what that number is. I like more protein than MFP recommends because it helps me to stay full longer.

Protein definitely keeps me full for longer too! Plus i love chicken so it's great haha

Rachelesa94

MFP sets protein too low. To set your macros, check out this link: 

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/911011-calculating-calorie-macronutrient-needs?page=1#posts-13821336

Also, it's hard to have too much protein. 

"It has been observed that the human liver cannot safely metabolise much more than 285-365 g of protein per day (for an 80 kg person), and human kidneys are similarly limited in their capability to remove urea (a byproduct of protein catabolism) from the bloodstream. Exceeding that amount results in excess levels of amino acids, ammonia (hyperammonemia), and/or urea in the bloodstream, with potentially fatal consequences,[1] especially if the person switches to a high-protein diet without giving time for the levels of his or her hepatic enzymes to upregulate. Since protein only contains 4 kcal/gram, and a typical adult human requires in excess of 1900 kcal to maintain the energy balance, it is possible to exceed the safe intake of protein if one is subjected to a high-protein diet with little or no fat or carbohydrates. However, given the lack of scientific data on the effects of high-protein diets, and the observed ability of the liver to compensate over a few days for a shift in protein intake, the US Food and Nutrition Board does not set a Tolerable Upper Limit nor upper Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range for protein.[2] Furthermore, medical sources such as UpToDate[3] do not include listings on this topic." 

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit_starvation

Thanks so much for the link! Very helpful

Rachelesa94

Acg67 all of your research applies to true athletes. OP says she works off 200-300 calories a day-- that's like walking around as normal for the day. I agree, athlete's bodies can tolerate more. The average, day-to-day person should not.

Overloading the body with amino acids and not maintaining a proper carb to fat to protein ratio is not healthful and can be extremely detrimental. That's all I'm saying.

That's something i was worried about, because of my low calorie burn can the protein have negative effects.
But seems as though what i thought was a high protein intake isn't actually that high.