Too Much Protein?

Question for you guys... Is there a problem with too much protein? I have like almost 100 grams a day, weigh about 100 pounds but haven't seen much progress and been feeling kind of crappy and digestive wise not good. Any advice? Thanks everyone :)

Replies

  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
    Too much protein can cause problems for some people.

    The US recommended protein intake for women is at least 46 grams.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    laurenwcw wrote: »
    Question for you guys... Is there a problem with too much protein? I have like almost 100 grams a day, weigh about 100 pounds but haven't seen much progress and been feeling kind of crappy and digestive wise not good. Any advice? Thanks everyone :)

    You weigh 100 lbs? What type of progress are you looking for? What calorie goals do you have? In the end it's about balancing your diet with your goals.
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
    laurenwcw wrote: »
    Question for you guys... Is there a problem with too much protein? I have like almost 100 grams a day, weigh about 100 pounds but haven't seen much progress and been feeling kind of crappy and digestive wise not good. Any advice? Thanks everyone :)

    What height are you OP? 100lbs seem pretty low. Also are you hitting your fat and fibre for the day?
  • Yi5hedr3
    Yi5hedr3 Posts: 2,696 Member
    Yes - you should be at about 64 grams/day. Assuming you have 20% bodyfat, your LEAN
    mass is 80 lbs. .8 * 80 = 64.
  • PippaStants
    PippaStants Posts: 15 Member
    I'm on 160g protein a day but on a weight loss mission. I spoke with a nutritionist and he has put me at 75g fat, 100g carbs and 160g protein. As long as it's combined with loads of veg for fibre there shouldn't be any problems digestive wise.
    It's working for me as I have lost 27lbs in just over 3 months! But I did start at double your weight (204lbs!) I'd say it's trial and error - some people tolerate it better! Are you eating lots of veg?
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  • Noreenmarie1234
    Noreenmarie1234 Posts: 7,492 Member
    You have an eating disorder, please seek help. You should not be trying to lose at 100lbs...
  • laurenwcw
    laurenwcw Posts: 8 Member
    Okay no negative stuff here. I am trying to make progress in building lean muscle and nothing happens. I work out with strength training. I am 5ft 1 so please that's not necessary to say harsh things without knowing me. I eat 1200 calories a day which is normal thank you. I wanted to know if too much protein is the reason for not feeling so well and having digestive issues. Any positive insight would be helpful. thank you.
  • laurenwcw
    laurenwcw Posts: 8 Member
    Yes I hit about 30-35 grams of fiber daily too.
  • CountessKitteh
    CountessKitteh Posts: 1,505 Member
    edited November 2015
    laurenwcw wrote: »
    Okay no negative stuff here. I am trying to make progress in building lean muscle and nothing happens. I work out with strength training. I am 5ft 1 so please that's not necessary to say harsh things without knowing me. I eat 1200 calories a day which is normal thank you. I wanted to know if too much protein is the reason for not feeling so well and having digestive issues. Any positive insight would be helpful. thank you.

    If you're trying to build muscle, you should be eating MORE protein. You really should be eating more in general and not be trying to lose any weight, since you can't add muscle unless you're eating at maintenance or above. Can't make something out of nothing. :)

    At 100 pounds, you're already barely within a healthy BMI. 98lbs would put you underweight. I'm also 5'1" and I really feel like weighing less than that isn't going to be good for your health, more than anything.

    You might do well to try eating at mainteance and doing a recomp which will help you add on that muscle that you're looking for. There are some very helpful threads on that.
  • DaddieCat
    DaddieCat Posts: 3,643 Member
    laurenwcw wrote: »
    Okay no negative stuff here. I am trying to make progress in building lean muscle and nothing happens. I work out with strength training. I am 5ft 1 so please that's not necessary to say harsh things without knowing me. I eat 1200 calories a day which is normal thank you. I wanted to know if too much protein is the reason for not feeling so well and having digestive issues. Any positive insight would be helpful. thank you.

    If you're trying to build muscle, you should be eating MORE protein. You really should be eating more in general and not be trying to lose any weight, since you can't add muscle unless you're eating at maintenance or above. Can't make something out of nothing. :)

    At 100 pounds, you're already barely within a healthy BMI. 98lbs would put you underweight. I'm also 5'1" and I really feel like weighing less than that isn't going to be good for your health, more than anything.

    You might do well to try eating at mainteance and doing a recomp which will help you add on that muscle that you're looking for. There are some very helpful threads on that.

    In order to build muscle one needs to eat above maintenance. You can't build a house without lumbar... you can't build muscle without the materials to do so either. Working out in deficit will build strength, but not muscle.
  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
    laurenwcw wrote: »
    Okay no negative stuff here. I am trying to make progress in building lean muscle and nothing happens. I work out with strength training. I am 5ft 1 so please that's not necessary to say harsh things without knowing me. I eat 1200 calories a day which is normal thank you. I wanted to know if too much protein is the reason for not feeling so well and having digestive issues. Any positive insight would be helpful. thank you.

    Wanting to build muscle but eating so little you're more likely to lose weight on is not normal.
  • laurenwcw
    laurenwcw Posts: 8 Member
    gotcha thank you guys. I see that might be my problem.I think I might need to up it more to see some results. Maybe TMI any advice with constipation?I noticed since my increase in protein I have been dealing with this and its soooo aggravating! I have plenty of fiber and prunes but nothing really works well. thanks!
  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
    laurenwcw wrote: »
    gotcha thank you guys. I see that might be my problem.I think I might need to up it more to see some results. Maybe TMI any advice with constipation?I noticed since my increase in protein I have been dealing with this and its soooo aggravating! I have plenty of fiber and prunes but nothing really works well. thanks!

    Drink more water and move around during the day.
  • DaddieCat
    DaddieCat Posts: 3,643 Member
    laurenwcw wrote: »
    gotcha thank you guys. I see that might be my problem.I think I might need to up it more to see some results. Maybe TMI any advice with constipation?I noticed since my increase in protein I have been dealing with this and its soooo aggravating! I have plenty of fiber and prunes but nothing really works well. thanks!

    Drink more water and move around during the day.

    ^This
  • VisofSer
    VisofSer Posts: 130 Member
    Unless you have a pre-existing kidney or other disorder, too much protein is only a problem if it stops you from getting sufficient fat or carbs for energy.

    If you are looking to build lean muscle, and are doing strength/power exercise, I would call your current intake of 1g/lb more than fine. Even going up to 1.4g/lb, which would be 140g a day for 560 calories, should not cause you issues.

    As for the constipation, it has already been said more water and movement, but I personally found that improving my omega-3 intake and source made my bowel movements easier and softer. I went from pills to pure fish oil, and from 1g/day to 3.2g/day.
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  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    laurenwcw wrote: »
    Okay no negative stuff here. I am trying to make progress in building lean muscle and nothing happens. I work out with strength training. I am 5ft 1 so please that's not necessary to say harsh things without knowing me. I eat 1200 calories a day which is normal thank you. I wanted to know if too much protein is the reason for not feeling so well and having digestive issues. Any positive insight would be helpful. thank you.

    Thank you for clarifying your goals. That helps in giving appropriate advice. As has already been said, you can't build muscle while eating so low. I am 5"2' and losing on 1600, so you should be able to eat a lot more (although I am much heavier and that is my plan). Increasing your fat intake along with water should help with constipation. As well as moving more, which has been mentioned.

    What type of workouts are you doing? If you have access, a good progressive strength training program such as new rules of lifting for women or strong lifts 5x5 is a great place to start. You need to eat more for this to happen.

    As for the protein causing your digestive issues, if you are ignoring other needed macros to hit that protein goal, it could be a problem. As I said, make sure you are getting enough dietary fats, and it sounds like you are getting enough fiber. Sounds like you need to find a better balance, increasing your intake will help you do that because you will have more calories to play with.
  • Michael190lbs
    Michael190lbs Posts: 1,510 Member
    edited November 2015
    You have an eating disorder, please seek help. You should not be trying to lose at 100lbs...

    That is a horrible response to this thread.. Get a medical degree before diagnosing people please.. she is a tiny 5"1 person doesn't mean she is unhealthy what so ever and she eats 1200 calories a day..

    I agree more water and real fiber if your not already the suppliment fiber just isn't the same as real food.

    As long as you are eating 40 grams of Fat, 80 grams of protein which is 800 calories you have 400 calories minimum left to eat what makes you happy you can adjust everything to fit what works for your body

  • laurenwcw wrote: »
    gotcha thank you guys. I see that might be my problem.I think I might need to up it more to see some results. Maybe TMI any advice with constipation?I noticed since my increase in protein I have been dealing with this and its soooo aggravating! I have plenty of fiber and prunes but nothing really works well. thanks!
    Eat pineapple x

  • kends79
    kends79 Posts: 2 Member
    You have an eating disorder, please seek help. You should not be trying to lose at 100lbs...

    That is a horrible response to this thread.. Get a medical degree before diagnosing people please.. she is a tiny 5"1 person doesn't mean she is unhealthy what so ever and she eats 1200 calories a day..

    I agree more water and real fiber if your not already the suppliment fiber just isn't the same as real food.

    As long as you are eating 40 grams of Fat, 80 grams of protein which is 800 calories you have 400 calories minimum left to eat what makes you happy you can adjust everything to fit what works for your body
    1g of fat is 9 calorie, protein and carbs have 4 calories per gram,you should be aiming for a 40/30/30 split ,carbs /protein/ fat and a multi vit also some omega 3?
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    It's better to measure protein and fat in grams, not percentages.
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 6,000 Member
    kends79 wrote: »
    You have an eating disorder, please seek help. You should not be trying to lose at 100lbs...

    That is a horrible response to this thread.. Get a medical degree before diagnosing people please.. she is a tiny 5"1 person doesn't mean she is unhealthy what so ever and she eats 1200 calories a day..

    I agree more water and real fiber if your not already the suppliment fiber just isn't the same as real food.

    As long as you are eating 40 grams of Fat, 80 grams of protein which is 800 calories you have 400 calories minimum left to eat what makes you happy you can adjust everything to fit what works for your body
    1g of fat is 9 calorie, protein and carbs have 4 calories per gram,you should be aiming for a 40/30/30 split ,carbs /protein/ fat and a multi vit also some omega 3?
    Why?
  • laurenwcw
    laurenwcw Posts: 8 Member
    Thank you so much everyone for the advice and support and just trying to help instead of diagnosing me. LOL yes I think omega I can add and I am going to make sure I hit my split as close as I can. I think some more fat to move things along since I do sometimes come lower on that but higher on the protein daily. Water I am going to drink a lot more, which should help. I have lots of coffee which I know dehydrates so maybe that could be conflicting with my water intake. You guys are awesome and so helpful. really thank you all :)
  • yusaku02
    yusaku02 Posts: 3,472 Member
    You have an eating disorder, please seek help. You should not be trying to lose at 100lbs...
    You do realize some people on this site are trying to gain/maintain weight, right? OP never said anything about trying to lose weight
  • queenofpuppies
    queenofpuppies Posts: 189 Member
    edited November 2015
    eating too much protein can cause calcium depletion in women. Over short term periods it shouldn't hurt much but in the long run you could be creating habits that set you up for osteoporosis as your body pulls calcium from your bones to digest all that protein. Just make sure you are getting calcium every day. 1200 calories is probably not too low for an itty bitty women but focus on being healthy and having a balanced diet, whatever calorie level that puts you at should be your goal, since you don't have excess fat to lose.
  • DaddieCat
    DaddieCat Posts: 3,643 Member
    eating too much protein can cause calcium depletion in women. Over short term periods it shouldn't hurt much but in the long run you could be creating habits that set you up for osteoporosis as your body pulls calcium from your bones to digest all that protein. Just make sure you are getting calcium every day. 1200 calories is probably not too low for an itty bitty women but focus on being healthy and having a balanced diet, whatever calorie level that puts you at should be your goal, since you don't have excess fat to lose.

    Do you have sources for that?

    This study from 2008 seems to indicate exactly the opposite of what you are saying here.

    http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/87/5/1567S.full
  • VisofSer
    VisofSer Posts: 130 Member
    Hornsby wrote: »
    It's better to measure protein and fat in grams, not percentages.

    I understand why protein is best measured in grams per kilo/pound, but why fat? Overall calorie intake is most precisely measured by weighing the macronutrients and multiplying them by the appropriate number, but are you referring to a specific fat minimum or other reason for measuring fat per gram?