Protein Intake

Suly09

I feel like my protein is too low and I am always going over it. Is there anyway anyone can tell me if my protein amount is right? I am 5'0 and weight 151. MFP says my protein should be 60 grams on a 1200 calorie. Is it bad to always be going over it?

livingleanlivingclean

Nope, over is fine - the protein and fat recommendations should be seen as minimums.

malibu927

livingleanlivingclean wrote: »

Nope, over is fine - the protein and fat recommendations should be seen as minimums.

This. Plus you can change your macro percentages to give you a higher protein goal.

toxikon

I believe the minimum protein goal is around 0.8g of protein per 1kg of body weight. This is mainly for Sedentary people, so more active people will have higher requirements.

https://examine.com/nutrition/how-much-protein-do-i-need-every-day/

lemurcat12

MFP's default goal is 20% of calories (which is 60 g at 1200). I think it's usually too low for someone at 1200 (not for health, but for preserving muscle as you lose weight, and possibly for satiety). A good goal to preserve muscle as you lose is .7-.8 g per goal weight -- I don't know your goal, but 110-115 is the middle of the healthy BMI range, so I might aim for at least 80 g of protein or so. But mostly don't worry about going over your protein goal, it's more like a minimum if calories are in check.

AnnPT77

toxikon wrote: »

I believe the minimum protein goal is around 0.8g of protein per 1kg of body weight. This is mainly for Sedentary people, so more active people will have higher requirements.

https://examine.com/nutrition/how-much-protein-do-i-need-every-day/

That would be per kg of healthy body weight.

Obese/overweight people don't need extra protein to maintain their fat mass.

(I do agree that active people and some other subgroups - aging, in a calorie deficit - ought to get more per kg, but the basis is still healthy weight, not current weight if current is excessive.)

toxikon

AnnPT77 wrote: »

toxikon wrote: »

I believe the minimum protein goal is around 0.8g of protein per 1kg of body weight. This is mainly for Sedentary people, so more active people will have higher requirements.

https://examine.com/nutrition/how-much-protein-do-i-need-every-day/

That would be per kg of healthy body weight.

Obese/overweight people don't need extra protein to maintain their fat mass.

(I do agree that active people and some other subgroups - aging, in a calorie deficit - ought to get more per kg, but the basis is still healthy weight, not current weight if current is excessive.)

The link I posted suggests 0.8kg per kg of body weight, but that's not to say it's the only source out there. I don't think there's a definitive answer, and using a range is definitely the way to go!

YogiJear

Yeah MFP's default protein goal seems pretty low. One of the first things I did was manually tweak the protein % up to about 1g/lb.

AnnPT77

toxikon wrote: »

AnnPT77 wrote: »

toxikon wrote: »

I believe the minimum protein goal is around 0.8g of protein per 1kg of body weight. This is mainly for Sedentary people, so more active people will have higher requirements.

https://examine.com/nutrition/how-much-protein-do-i-need-every-day/

That would be per kg of healthy body weight.

Obese/overweight people don't need extra protein to maintain their fat mass.

(I do agree that active people and some other subgroups - aging, in a calorie deficit - ought to get more per kg, but the basis is still healthy weight, not current weight if current is excessive.)

The link I posted suggests 0.8kg per kg of body weight, but that's not to say it's the only source out there. I don't think there's a definitive answer, and using a range is definitely the way to go!

I always mention this because I've seen relatively short but obese people here read "1g per pound bodyweight" on some bodybuilding site, and rally jack their overall nutrition around to crazyville trying to get in 250-300g protein or something on reduced calories.

With the 0.8g per kilogram minimum as a target, that's less likely to be as severe a problem, but it can still be unnecessarily nutritionally constraining.

The examine.com article discusses intakes of up to 2g/kg, perhaps more, being fine in athletic folks, which can be enough to get someone nutritionally unbalanced if still obese, and looking only at body weight, especially while in a deficit. (There are obese athletes. I was one.)