How much protein should I consume?????

Richellebeatle

MFP has it set up for a daily intake of 74g of protein however bodybuilding.com has a protein calculator and their site states 186g. This is leaving me confused. I want to loose fat but not muscle. Why is MFP so much lower? Any help is appreciated.

bbell1985

.8g-1g per pound of body weight. Or lean mass. I like to error on the higher side personally.

jennjune2014

I like this calculator. Give it a try.
https://tdeecalculator.net/

DancingMoosie

Mfp setting for protein is a minimum, so going over is fine, 186 sounds high. Try another calculator. You'll probably find a range between the two...

malibu927

MFP's default setting for protein is 20% of your daily calories. You can go into diary settings on the website and play with the macro percentages to see what works best from you. I usually recommend similar to what @bbell1985 says, .8 grams per pound of lean mass up to 1 gram per pound of weight.

Christine_72

As the others mentioned, mfps protein goal is on the low side. I changed my macros to 40/30/30 c/p/f I aim for a minimum of 120g of protein.

mjffey

I think it depends on the exercise you're doing. I'm from the Netherlands, and here we calculate 1 to 1.5 gram per KILO bodyweight. Not 1 gram per pound. I'm 68kg and eat around that amount of proteïne.

cwolfman13

Richellebeatle wrote: »

MFP has it set up for a daily intake of 74g of protein however bodybuilding.com has a protein calculator and their site states 186g. This is leaving me confused. I want to loose fat but not muscle. Why is MFP so much lower? Any help is appreciated.

My thoughts on the subject are well summarized here...

I try to get 0.6 - 0.8 grams per Lb of body weight...on the higher end when I'm losing weight and lower end in maintenance. I'm primarily a cyclist, not a strength athlete. My guess is that BB.com is giving you 1 gram per Lb of body weight which is overkill.

http://bayesianbodybuilding.com/the-myth-of-1glb-optimal-protein-intake-for-bodybuilders/

sgt1372

The standard recommendations mentioned above for protein are simply WAY too low for anyone interested in: 1) losing weight and maintaining muscle OR 2) building muscle and gaining strength.

For #1, the common recommendation is for at least 1g protein per pound of body weight. For #2, the recommendation can be as high (or higher than) 1.2-1.5g per pound of body weight.

Bodybuilder.com caters to the latter which would account for its higher recommendation. It should also be noted that the recommendation for seniors, who want to build strength, is in the range of #2.

I am a senior (66) and my average daily protein intake over the past 7 months has been 180g/day (1.125g/#) based on a net ave 1850 cal/day based on ave macros of 35% protein, 39% carbs and 26% fat per day, during which time, I lost 36# from 196 to160, decreased my BF% from over 35% down to 12% and increased my strength by over 20%.

So, don't listen to rhose who tell you that 8/10th to 1g protein per pound of lean body mass (which is body weight minus fat weight) is all you need. It's NOT! It may be the minimum you need to remain "healthy" but it's NOT what your body needs to build or maintain muscle while attempting to lose weight..

So, if your objective is to lose weight and maintain muscle, I recommend that you eat as much protein as you can.