How often should I incorporate protein in my daily diet?

MrsCampbell_21

Hi guys I get protein with what I eat on a daily basis. ie. egg whites, fish, chicken, turkey etc. But I wonder if I should be drinking protein shakes as well. How much protein is too much protein? I've been reading that protein helps to maintain your muscle mass, but is eating protein enriched food enough or do I need to invest in some protein shakes? I exercise 5 days a week, and I eat 5 times a day. Please help. Thanks in advance

christianteach

I'm trying to eat 140 g of protein a day but it's hard to do, especially if I don't supplement with protein bars or shakes. That is a lot of meat!!! I am lactose intolerant and I even find myself eating more cheese trying to get more in. My protein powder had 30 grams of protein, then I add soy milk and peanut butter for a total of 41 if I use 2T of PB, although I usually only put in 1. The days I do that it makes it easier.

MrsCampbell_21

wow! So your protein powder has only 30 grams of protein?? How in the heck do you get to 140 each day??!! That's crazy! lol. Do you ever substitute a meal for a protein shake? And if so, does that hurt your calorie intake?

1BigMidge

1g per 1lb of bodyweight apparently ... Although only if your weight training?

Had 250+g's of protein today without any supplements (just from my diet) add me and have a look at my food diary ... It's definitely made a big bg improvement for me


STEVEN

MrsCampbell_21

steve ok I will! Thanks

elvensnow

I think it really depends on your goals, and there are a ton of recommendations out there that run the gamut on how to calculate how much protein you need.

I think an easy rule of thumb is about 100g a day (more never hurts, I don't think there is such thing as "too much" unless it's 100% of your calories then maybe :laugh: ). You should be able to hit that eating healthy with protein, but shakes never hurt either if you can afford them and palate them.

Then there's things like IIFYM.com, where they recommend 1g of protein per lb of body weight. I think that's a little too high for anyone with significant amount to lose (I'd have to eat like 185g a day and that just ain't happening...)

Another guideline is 1g per lb of lean body mass, which you can calculate if you know your body fat %. (That would be current weight * % body fat). That would give me around 120g of protein which is much more reasonable. You can also estimate this (if you don't know your BF%) by doing weight * 0.6-7.

I use protein shakes nowadays because sometimes I have a hard time getting in more protein. Plus they are a really easy breakfast. I use Trutein, the Cinnabun flavor, and it's actually really good. It gives me 24g for 120 calories. But I am working on trying to focus on more protein through meats and beans as well. Not very successful so far.

Hope that helps.

Showcase_Brodown

I think it would be hard to have "too much" protein unless you have kidney problems of some sort. if you are getting 1 gram per pound of body weight (or lean body mass, as some prefer), that's a good amount. You can go higher, but there might not be a big benefit.

You don't need shakes, although they could be useful. I would try to get as much protein from your food as you can. Think lean meats and dairy. If you have a hard time hitting your protein goals with regular food, you could add a shake or something.

deksgrl

I believe the recommendation for 1 g per pound of body weight is for those who are already lean. For those who still have a significant body fat % then the recommendation is for 1 g per pound of lean body mass.

cwolfman13

It really depends on your goals...but if you're lifting you should shoot for 1 gram per Lb of LBM (not total body weight). It's really hard to have too much. Personally, I'd shoot for 20% to 30% of my total calories...MFP's protein goal is pretty low at 15%...I don't really think that's enough to help you retain much LBM while in a deficit. The more the better while in a deficit (unless you have kidney issues or something).

Ainar

Well you need minimum 1g per pound of lean body mass if you want to maintain/build muscle mass. Less protein you will ate, less muscle your body will be able to maintain/build. So if you wanna build some muscle and tone up. or maintain as much muscle as possible when dieting, then 1g per pound of lean body mass is most optimal.

Personally I don't use any powders or shakes. I ate around 200g of protein a day and get it all from foods. Protein in foods is same like protein in powders. You don't need supplements. Supplements is just to help you out if you can't get it by normal foods, maybe you don't like to ate a lot, or want to make things easier cos you don't wanna cook foods or something. But since I like to ate, for me they are just a waste f money...

christianteach

wow! So your protein powder has only 30 grams of protein?? How in the heck do you get to 140 each day??!! That's crazy! lol. Do you ever substitute a meal for a protein shake? And if so, does that hurt your calorie intake?

Sometimes for breakfast, but usually I drink them after a workout. I try to eat protein at every meal, which is about every 3 hours...so basically I'm getting 30 grams of protein from my powder, plus the protein from the peanut butter and soy milk. Today's been a bad day, totally loaded up on carbs. :grumble: I will try to turn that around for dinner with ham and egg beaters.

MrsCampbell_21

thanks everyone!! I really needed the feedback. I wasn't certain I was getting enough protein in my diet. I think I will probably go ahead and invest in a protein powder to have when I'm finished working out. I certainly don't want to lose muscle mass. I'm trying to lose fat, not muscle. I just didn't want to overdo the protein, but with all the responses, i'm not afraid now. Thanks alot everyone

Greenrun99

Every meal you have should have protein in it or be the main focus of it.

VorJoshigan

You should eat 10 grams every 42 minutes.

crista_b

I took a quick look at the last week or so of your diary, and you're definitely not getting enough protein. Actually I'm not sure how you manage to keep your protein intake so low, honestly. I'm a vegetarian, and mine doesn't get that low even when I don't think about it. Try to add in more higher protein foods like beans, lentils, chicken (if you're not veggie or anything), etc.

At a bare minimum, you want it to be 60g/day (but definitely try to go over). While there technically is such a thing as too much protein, I can guarantee you won't hit it so don't even worry about it.