Hitting Over My Protein

CookNLift

I keep going over my protein amount.....can this be detrimental to my weight loss/meal plan or no?

For instance - I had 2 scrambled eggs and lean ground beef for breakfast; grilled chicken thigh (skinless) with spinach and ratatouille for lunch, and I am already over my protein amount for the day, without having even thought about dinner yet (which I was going to do grilled chicken (5 ounces) and some asparagus and spinach with a fig sauce. but that will but me into -32+ for my protein.

please help

ladynocturne

The macros for protein, fat, carbs, sugar ect are Suggestions, not limits. You can even edit them if you so desire.

There is nothing wrong with exceeding Protein, it helps a lot of people stay fuller and repair muscles while working out and losing weight.

ken_hogan

The macros for protein, fat, carbs, sugar ect are Suggestions, not limits. You can even edit them if you so desire.

There is nothing wrong with exceeding Protein, it helps a lot of people stay fuller and repair muscles while working out and losing weight.

This...

jwdieter

Gratz on beating the protein line. You win for the day!

CookNLift

Thanks everyone. lol I was just making sure. I don't like to fill myself up with carbs bc fiber/protein makes me feel much better / fuller. But I wanted to make sure it didn't inhibit my weight loss. Is there a formula to figure out how much protein is burned during certain workouts, or is that simply based upon total caloric intake?

nxd10

I don't think so, and if you lower your carbs (which can be helpful if you tend towards insulin resistance), it's better to up your protein than fats.

That said, if you have kidney problems or they run in your family, very high levels of proteins can be problematic and be associated with gout attacks.

You have to eat SOMETHING.

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

lisajsund

MFP gets its 15% from recommendations from the USDA. I try to eat my macros according to "The Zone," which ups the protein to 30%. It does actually help weight loss as fat loss rather than muscle loss.

ForumLurker

I see hitting my protein and fat as minimum requirement for the day, anything over is fine as long as I'm within my calories.

Carbs aren't really as important to hit, in fact, the lower your carbs, the better, unless they come from fruit, veg and diary products.

clgaches

You're unlikely to have a problem eating too much protein, particularly if you're still drinking plenty of water. As others have mentioned, too much protein CAN be hard on the kidneys. Usually that's only if there's some OTHER problem, but it's important to remember that dehydration IS an "other problem" for the kidneys if you add more stress on top of it!

CookNLift

With fats being a subject I just thought about, I tend to eat healthy fats: avocados, nuts, extra virgin olive oil (lightly), coconut butter, grassfed butter, etc.

Is there a limit on healthy fats that i should try and avoid?

AJ_G

With fats being a subject I just thought about, I tend to eat healthy fats: avocados, nuts, extra virgin olive oil (lightly), coconut butter, grassfed butter, etc.

Is there a limit on healthy fats that i should try and avoid?

Protein and fat macros are minimums, not limits, you should never eat below the protein and fat macros, and you can go as high above them as you want, as long as you don't exceed your daily calorie limit.

AJ_G

You're unlikely to have a problem eating too much protein, particularly if you're still drinking plenty of water. As others have mentioned, too much protein CAN be hard on the kidneys. Usually that's only if there's some OTHER problem, but it's important to remember that dehydration IS an "other problem" for the kidneys if you add more stress on top of it!

It's important to mention that "too much protein" is a vague term. In order to eat enough protein to be concerned about eating too much, you'd have to be eating in excess of 300g of protein a day, which not many people do. Also, high protein intake will not cause damage to a healthy kidney. If you already have Renal disease, then you may want to watch protein intake, but if your kidneys are healthy, high protein intake will do zero damage.

jenns1964

I happen to be over my protein macro by 61 today. Don't sweat it!

MzManiak

You should definitely edit your macros. 50g of protein is nothing for you! Even I aim for 88g. Check your percentages and see how much you would get if you changed it to 30%. It should be close to how much lean body mass you have. (Example: I weigh 107lbs, have a body fat % of 18.1... 107 x 18.1 = 19.37lbs of fat, which means 87.63lbs of lean body mass. That's how many grams of protein I should aim for).

jonnythan

Double your protein goal and treat it as a minimum.

Some_Watery_Tart

I'm steadily losing and seeing great results at 135g of protein/day. You can eat WAAAAAY more protein that you're getting. It's not going to hurt you.

aakaakaak

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. 

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

This is the thread winner. She wins all day long. Twice on Sundays.

RobP1192

I go over my protein almost every day. Can't help it, i like foods with protein. And my macros are set kind of high for my weight. I haven't suffered any ill-effects from it, yet.