Protein Macros
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xosummerrainxo
Posts: 112 Member
Well I’ve been in a stall lately, and started to look more closely at my macros. I was mainly focused on the carb daily amount , 20-30g) and then mostly protein, eating normal meals but watching veggies when I had them. Turns out I’m apparently eating too much protein. Anyone else have issues with dealing with this? I’ve checked many macro sites, and the Protein seems to vary. Any ideas on how to stay in your macros and or what site is best for macros? Thank you.
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Protein is kind of a hot topic at the moment. I referenced a discussion from earlier in the week below as it covered the topic pretty extensively.
Personally I don't think you can eat too much protein if you are watching your calories. If you are eating too many of those from any source you might not lose weight. However I think so long as your kidneys are ok and your calories are in check you are ok.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634551/ugh-i-am-eating-too-much-protien#latest1 -
What is "too much protein?"
If you're eating anything in excess of your maintenance calories, you will be in a stall/gain.
In grams, not percentages, what is your current carb, protein, fat intake? There are ~4kcal per gram of carbs and protein. There are ~9kcal per gram of fat.
If your fat intake is more than your protein, I can almost guarantee that's the problem.2 -
Protein is kind of a hot topic at the moment. I referenced a discussion from earlier in the week below as it covered the topic pretty extensively.
Personally I don't think you can eat too much protein if you are watching your calories. If you are eating too many of those from any source you might not lose weight. However I think so long as your kidneys are ok and your calories are in check you are ok.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634551/ugh-i-am-eating-too-much-protien#latest
I agree with this. I think one can only eat too much protein when low carb if you are not eating enough fat for your energy needs - mainly a problem once you hit maintenance. While losing, more protein seems to help most people lose better and help them retain more lean tissue (exercise is needed too.)
Some keto'ers seem to worry about protein affecting ketosis, and high protein levels (200+g) can lower ketones, but ketones aren't needed for weight loss. Some keto'ers seem to forget that part of it. I think it is best for most to only chase ketones when it is for a medical reason, either prescribed by a doctor or it just makes you feel healthier overall.
I do not think raising ketones should be a priority over exceeding protein needs. Even more so when losing. If one needs higher ketones I think including MCT oil, coconut oil, or exogenous ketones would be a better choice. Use those fats that raise ketones rather than cutting protein to replace it with fat.
I believe the daily minimum intake for protein is around 0.36 x your weight in pounds, but that's the bare minimum and not ideal for weight loss. Ideally (I think - and I am far from an expert) you should double that or more, so 0.75 to 0.85 x your weight in pounds.
TBH, I have a hard time hitting my protein goals. I would LOVE to get to 140g of protein but I rarely exceed 100g. I just do not like many lean proteins. Even eggs are about 50/50 fat and protein. We tend to eat a fair bit of pork, beef and some cold water fish like salmon. so fat tends to be higher than protein. If I throw in some cheese, I am definitely higher in fat.
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Yeah good points. I probably am not eating the right amount of fat either. My fat grams are never anywhere near my macros, Probably nowhere near half to be honest but that’s because I read I don’t have to add that if I’m trying to lose body fat. But my carbs stay between 20 and 30. Otherwise I pretty much stick to straight protein and few vegetables. Maybe a little bit of fat will take me back into moving the weight regularly again0
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I really like this image when talking about how body fat makes up some of the calories a body uses.
You can see how the amount of protein eaten is set to be 20% of maintenance in the image. If you only eat 3/4 or 1/2 of your maintenance calories, then protein will take up a larger proportion of the macros you eat, but not really of your total calories used which include body fat.
If you do want more fat, it is probably best to pick fattier cuts of protein/meat.
What is your protein in grams right now? Approximately? Just ignore me if you don't want to share that.
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bump0
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Anybody want a free set of protein nesting dolls? I know, you are thinking, "What the 'kitten!'" As did I. Here's the site from the side of my MFP newsfeed. I get the weirdest ads, probably because I've typed words like neurobiology, etc. more times than I've cared to count. But obviously the targeted-ads-bots are watching. thermofisher.com/us/en/home/products-and-services/promotions/life-science/protein-biology-nesting-dolls-promotion.html?cid=display_RTB-VT_BID_Protein%20Analysis_PG1703_COL111351
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I heard a story the other day that someone talked with her son (grown) on how he used to live on Lunchables as a kid with her phone on the table at a meal in a restaurant. After, she started getting Lunchable ads all over the apps that weren't ad-free and websites.
Creep-y!!!
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“Alexa, stop listening”. “Xbox, stop listening”.2
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baconslave wrote: »
I heard a story the other day that someone talked with her son (grown) on how he used to live on Lunchables as a kid with her phone on the table at a meal in a restaurant. After, she started getting Lunchable ads all over the apps that weren't ad-free and websites.
Creep-y!!!
Yep, I've tested this theory and it's true... happens to me all the time! What's scarier is when you just THINK about something and then the ads start showing up...
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Yes, in theory, eating too much protein can cause weight gain...in reality, try eating 200+grams of protein/day as a priority macro. See how difficult this is and why this is an approach used for rapid weight loss. Chances are, fat intake needs to be regulated more stringently (because Keto is not magic & kcals do matter regardless of what some people believe).0
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I was having too much protein and I not only stalled but started putting on inches again. For me, I have to stick with moderate protein. It's probably one of those things that changes for different individuals.1
