My cheap, easy, filling 1200 cal/day vegetarian diet!

AnnPT77

rainbowbow wrote: »

(ruthless snipping of good stuff for length, by reply-er)

Unfortunately, as we exercise, are active, AND as we're in a calorie deficit we require more protein to discouraged muscle catabolization. In addition, this is a poor indicator of total protein needs as it accounts for total body weight (i.e. obese individuals will be eating significantly above their needs while underweight individuals may not be getting enough).

This is why it's recommended according to certain studies to consume .8-1.2 grams of protein per pound of LEAN BODY MASS (around 1.7-2.2 grams per kilogram). See below for more information.

(further snip of excellent set of reference links)

For further minor amplification, not aimed at @rainbowbow, with whom I think I'm agreeing , but possibly for others reading:

0.6-0.8g/pound of healthy goal weight, and 0.8-1.2g/pound of lean body mass, are (intentionally) going to be overlapping ranges for a decent-sized subset of people.

For me, with a 120 goal weight and a probable LBM a bit under 100 pounds (let's say 92 pounds LBM at about 23% BF, on a guess), the former is 72-96g, and the latter is 74-111g.

I'd use LBM, but I have to guess at it; when I use the 0.6-0.8g factors, I'm just implicitly estimating LBM by another method.

allisonl6

This turned in to an incredibly helpful thread. Thank you for all the protein clarification

Christine_72

fitmom4lifemfp wrote: »

I just couldn't manage on that level of protein. ( Besides I could never be a vegetarian.) But glad it works for you.

Me neither! Plus, odds are that it would come back to bite me in the butt in the future, not just health wise either...