Protein allowance controlling everything.

lou_8986

Hi, I'm new to this. I'm on 1200 calories per day. I'm struggling with my protein - I'm always going over. My calories are the opposite, usually sitting around 950/1000. When I try to eat more the protein goes up. Help please

Treece68

Just focus on meeting your calorie goals and macros later. What is extra protein gonna do ... nothing

Cbestinme

Do you have a medical reason to restrict your protein. In another thread I got a really good recommendation to eat about 0.6grams of protein for each pound of goal weight. Are you near 0.6grams of protein per pound of your goal weight? Are you going over on a percentage or on grams. I'm not at all familiar with percentages. Whichever case take anything I share with a grain of salt, it may not apply to your case. Welcome and good luck on your journey!

SLLRunner

Hi Lou,

Welcome. First off, why are you eating only 950-1000 calories per day? That's not healthy and will cause you to lose muscle mass.

Going over any one macros will not affect weight loss, it's all about eating less calories than you burn. Macro splits are for nutritional balance and satiety.

That said, what are your stats?

How much do you have to lose?

Since you seem concerned about a macro in particular, what are your macro splits?

PaulaWallaDingDong

Chances are slim to none that you're eating an unhealthily high amount of protein, especially at 1200 calories. Don't worry about it. You could fill in your remaining calories with whatever you're lacking more, fats or carbs, but don't stress about too much protein unless you have a medical condition where you need to keep protein low.

Muscleflex79

From what I've seen, MFP gives EXTREMELY low protein goals...so going over the MFP protein goal likely means nothing and could mean you are still rather low in protein compared to others...what are the actual numbers you are aiming for?

Lizarking

TBH, you should get as much protein as you can without going over on TOTAL calories. This gets even more important when you are eating with such a dramatic deficit.

Try setting your goals as:

35% protein
25% fat
40% carbohydrate

If you prefer low carb:

35% protein
45% fat
20% carb

^ Above are super generic guidelines.

SLLRunner

And, in addition to what Paula and Muscelflex said, protein helps maintain muscle mass while eating at a deficit. Up those calories, though.

Lounmoun

lou_8986 wrote: »

Hi, I'm new to this. I'm on 1200 calories per day. I'm struggling with my protein - I'm always going over. My calories are the opposite, usually sitting around 950/1000. When I try to eat more the protein goes up. Help please

Meet your calorie goal and don't worry about going over protein.
What are your protein sources and general diet like though?
To increase your calories you can make small changes. Eat full fat dairy products. Eat less lean proteins. Eat nuts or nut butters. Eat some things like bread, rice, potatoes, bananas, dried fruit.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10142490/a-list-of-calorie-dense-foods/p1
My goal is also 1200. It isn't difficult to eat 1200 calories.

nosebag1212

The protein settings are minimums, not maximums, it doesn't matter if you go over as long as you're in a caloric deficit.

RoxieDawn

You actually need more protein while in a calorie deficit, the MFP goal in a min, and if you exercise, getting more protein while a calorie deficit is a must. Protein helps you min the effects of muscle loss while in a calorie deficit..

So yes to more protein unless you have a medical reason to limit protein..

eta: it should be a good practice to ALWAYS meet your calorie goals, never go below them..

Aaron_K123

There is no such thing as a protein maximum so I'm not sure what you mean. There is a protein minimum, the least that you should eat...are you mistaking the minimum for the maximum?

cbkeel

PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »

Chances are slim to none that you're eating an unhealthily high amount of protein, especially at 1200 calories. Don't worry about it. You could fill in your remaining calories with whatever you're lacking more, fats or carbs, but don't stress about too much protein unless you have a medical condition where you need to keep protein low.

Yes, for example if you have chronic kidney problems and your doc puts you on a renal diet, then you'd need low protein.

Chadxx

I will second what everyone else has already said and add that if excess protein was a problem, I would have been done for years ago. For years, my idea of a vegetable was chicken.

Alatariel75

The protein is a minimum, not a maximum. Frankly, what counts if the calories. If you're restricting calories to meet macro numbers, you're shorting yourself.

it doesn't sound from your post like you have been told to eat a low protein diet, just that you're struggling with MFPs pre-set macro goals. They're just an automatic calculation. Feel free to ignore them or change them.

RodaRose

It is ok to go over on Fat and Protein.
Carbs can go over or under-- they are less critical unless you have highly specific goals.

H_Ock12

Personally, I would rather be over on protein than under. You can adjust your macros to reflect higher protein and fat goals and lower carb intake goals, if you prefer to eat a lower carb diet. I eat about 1000 calories a day and keep a steady watch on my protein, lest I not meet my goal. Sounds to me like you don't have that problem

PaulaWallaDingDong

cbkeel wrote: »

PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »

Chances are slim to none that you're eating an unhealthily high amount of protein, especially at 1200 calories. Don't worry about it. You could fill in your remaining calories with whatever you're lacking more, fats or carbs, but don't stress about too much protein unless you have a medical condition where you need to keep protein low.

Yes, for example if you have chronic kidney problems and your doc puts you on a renal diet, then you'd need low protein.

Yes....