Trying to Calculate Needed Protein from Grams to Ounces

Serendipity1517

Hello - I have recently reset my Macros to 40% protein, 30% carbs and 30% fats to help stimulate weight loss after a long plateau. However, when I am trying to determine how many ounces of protein I need per day, the conversion says 28 grams is equivalent to 1 oz of protein. If MFP is telling me I need 146 grams of protein per day, that's only 5.2 ounces of protein? This seems VERY low...

Can anyone here help explain this?

stevencloser

146 grams is indeed 5 ounces of protein.
Keep in mind that 4 ounces of lean meat only has about 1 ounce of protein in it.

Serendipity1517

I am looking back at how they are calculating the protein from what I've been eating, and I am finding an 8-1 ratio (8 grams for each ounce of protein). For example, my 5 oz of venison today was 42 grams of protein... This seems much more accurate... it would put me at around 18 ounces of protein per day, or roughly 6 ounces with each meal...

stevencloser

No, definitely not. Or do you eat 15 oz of venison every meal?

stevencloser

And 42 grams of protein in ~140 grams of meat seems way too high. 20-25% of the weight is protein in most meats.

jemhh

Are you trying to equate grams of protein with ounces of meat?

Keep in mind that meat is not pure protein (this is what @stevencloser was getting at, I believe.) I'm looking at "deer, ground, pan-broiled" in the USDA database, for example, and it says that each 3 oz serving contains 7 grams of fat in addition to 22 grams of protein (plus small amounts of sodium and potassium.)

Serendipity1517

Is something off with their calculating system? That was the conversion for the venison...

jemhh

Serendipity1517 wrote: »

Is something off with their calculating system? That was the conversion for the venison...

Whose calculating system?

Serendipity1517

Yes, I need to know (roughly) how many ounces of protein to eat at each meal to hit my grams needed per day. I've found a few resources that give different measurements for cheese, nuts, beans, meat, and milk to equate to 1 oz of protein...

I summary, I need a cheat sheet so I don't have to drag a food scale around with me.

auddii

Serendipity1517 wrote: »

Yes, I need to know (roughly) how many ounces of protein to eat at each meal to hit my grams needed per day. I've found a few resources that give different measurements for cheese, nuts, beans, meat, and milk to equate to 1 oz of protein...

I summary, I need a cheat sheet so I don't have to drag a food scale around with me.

I'd just try pre logging a typical day and come up with some "go to" meals. There's lots of things I use for protein, but I try to have at least 3 oz of meat with each meal (I eat a lot of chicken).

Serendipity1517

Thank you! That's very helpful. I came up with this little guy during my Google research - I am hoping it helps...

mbeers22

Serendipity....
There are 7 grams of protein in 1 ounce. So, a 3 ounce portion of meat would equal 21g protein. Divide your estimated needs 146g/7g equals about 21 ounces protein for the day. Divide that up how you like for meals, 6 oz for meals plus more for snacks etc.
Hope that helps.

stevencloser

I'm confused now. Google tells me 1 ounce is 28 grams.

juggernaut1974

mbeers22 wrote: »

Serendipity....
There are 7 grams of protein in 1 ounce. So, a 3 ounce portion of meat would equal 21g protein.

No...meat is not 100% protein.

Serendipity1517

By strict weight, 1 oz = 28.3 grams
so, 5 oz venison = 141.5 grams
25% of 141.5 = 35.37

Apparently, venison has a protein content, so 5 oz venison = 42 oz protein...

I am going to use the estimate that 1 oz. protein = 8 grams protein per food item... This seems to be what most websites are calculating...

stevencloser

I understand less and less with every post.

Abby2205

This thread is confusing. One ounce of protein is not 8 grams or 7 grams of protein, it is 28 grams of protein. It sound like what you really want is how many ounces of *protein-containing food* you must eat to achieve your protein goal. This varies depending on the food. For most meats, one ounce (28 g) of meat contains roughly 7 g of protein.

jemhh

Serendipity1517 wrote: »

By strict weight, 1 oz = 28.3 grams
so, 5 oz venison = 141.5 grams
25% of 141.5 = 35.37

Apparently, venison has a protein content, so 5 oz venison = 42 oz protein...

I am going to use the estimate that 1 oz. protein = 8 grams protein per food item... This seems to be what most websites are calculating...

I followed you through the first two steps but am confused by the third. What is the 25% figure?

DaddieCat

I thought I knew math before this thread... now I'm not so sure anymore.

Serendipity1517

Lol, stevencloser had said that most meat by weight is 20-25% protein. So I used that math to get the 35.37 amount.

OK, so if I use the 7 grams of protein per ounce rule, then I have to eat even more... Ugh. How do you do this and not go over calories???

lemurcat12

Why are you trying to measure your protein in oz? Food labels measure it in grams. You are over-complicating.

Knowing the protein goal in oz will NOT tell you how many oz of protein-containing foods you should eat, because how much protein is in those foods will vary (and as others have said, will be FAR less than the weight of the protein-containing food). Edit: also you are going to get protein from foods not normally considered "proteins" like vegetables and grains and of course beans.

That chart you found makes no sense. For example, it claims 1 egg=1 oz protein. That is not true. 1 oz=28 grams, and an average egg contains only about 6 grams of protein. Similarly, 1 oz of skinless, boneless chicken breast (pre cooking) has only 6 grams of protein. If you use 95% lean beef, it also will have about 6 g of protein per oz, but if you use 80% lean it's only 5 grams.

jemhh

Count grams of protein. Don't try to convert them to ounces. That really makes it more confusing than necessary. Do you have the MFP app on your phone or do you just use the online diary? If you have your phone (or another mobile device) it is pretty easy to keep the log going all day.

lemurcat12

Couple other thoughts: just log, see where you are, and if you are low, think about what to add to bump it up.

Is your protein goal reasonable? I peeked at one day in your diary and the amount you got (90) seemed likely fine, and your goal for that day (196) seemed way too high and unnecessary. Even 146 is likely much higher than necessary -- but if you come in at or under your carb and fat goals of course you will be at (or under) calories with that much protein.

mbeers22

Yes, what Abby said is spot on. 1 oz is synonymous with 28g in terms of a unit of measurement. And with respect to meat, 1 oz (or 28g) = about 7 grams of protein. Meat is not composed of 100% protein, there is likely fat involved also, but that does not add or take away from the protein content (it would be relevant in terms of calories).

kimny72

OP, you are making this way too complicated by trying to make it too simple .
Every "meat" has a different # of grams of protein per ounce. Just log in MFP how many ounces of which meat you are eating and it will tell you how many grams of protein are in it.

As far as having to eat too many calories, how many grams of protein are you aiming for?

Serendipity1517

The goal was to be able to get an estimate BEFORE consumption. Without a scale. And all the little "tricks" that we have been taught measure in oz (piece of meat the size of the palm of your hand = 4 oz, a fat the size of your thumb = 1 oz, etc.). Also, if I go out to eat, I can't order a 78 gram steak...

Serendipity1517

I have set the tracker to a goal of 40% protein, 30% carbs and 30% fats at a 1 lb per week weight loss. This put me at 146 grams of protein per day....

auddii

Serendipity1517 wrote: »

The goal was to be able to get an estimate BEFORE consumption. Without a scale. And all the little "tricks" that we have been taught measure in oz (piece of meat the size of the palm of your hand = 4 oz, a fat the size of your thumb = 1 oz, etc.). Also, if I go out to eat, I can't order a 78 gram steak...

Prelog. Pick tomorrow or three days from now. Log your typical breakfast, lunch, whatever. Some meats are leaner than others. Chicken is going to have a different protein content than 80/20 ground chuck in the same portion size. Give it a try. If you're using a food scale (I highly recommend this) at home, weigh in grams as it is more accurate. If you're worried about eating a steak out and getting enough protein, you're doing steak wrong...

Serendipity1517

Haha![quote= If you're worried about eating a steak out and getting enough protein, you're doing steak wrong... [/quote]

Serendipity1517

Also, if I track a workout it bumps up my calories, thus increasing my protein intake. I don't necessarily want that but haven't been able to find a way to turn it off... I'd prefer to not eat my workout calories!

auddii

Serendipity1517 wrote: »

Also, if I track a workout it bumps up my calories, thus increasing my protein intake. I don't necessarily want that but haven't been able to find a way to turn it off... I'd prefer to not eat my workout calories!

You can get around this by manually changing the calories burned to 1 (for some reason you can't put 0). I do that because I try to eat relatively consistently each day of the work week regardless of if I workout or not. So, I manually changed my goal to my average daily goal.

I also didn't go by their protein goal for me. I based it off of my weight, and then use that as a minimum. If I get more than that, great, if not, it's not the end of the world, but I should focus on hitting it in the future.

In addition to meat with most of my meals, I usually have peanut butter as a snack (not tons of protein, but some) and greek yogurt. Beef jerky is also a good go to that you can have out and about.