Protein amounts
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KateCassie
Posts: 6 Member
I feeling very confused! How on earth do people eat a balanced diet without exceeding their protein daily amounts? Everything now-a-days seems to be protein enriched, but I eat quite low calories and only have eggs/chicken as protein sources and my protein count is way higher than what is recommended (.8/kg).... But people still drink protein shakes etc? Does protein increase with activity level, because everything I’m reading suggests that the average adult should only be consuming around 50-70g of protein daily.
Do you include protein from everything you consume? Or just from meat etc?
Do you include protein from everything you consume? Or just from meat etc?
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Replies
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Why would you limit your protein to 50-70g? I think that's the absolute bare minimum. I would have double that.12
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.8 g/kg is a minimum, and there are many circumstances (including being in a calorie deficit) that can make it desirable to go higher. There's certainly no harm, barring some specific medical condition such as existing kidney problems, in going higher.4
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I personally worry about meeting my caloric goals and achieving my protein and fiber minimums. The rest can fall where it may assuming I don't fall too low or too high when it comes to fats.8
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I've also been looking at the subject of protein and macros. Yesterday, I found a useful MedicalNewsToday report, which I read a bit more of today. Further down the article it says that eating more than 2g per kg, for a long time, can cause health problems (and lists a set of potential issues), but it does say that up to 2g doesn't cause any side effects.
1g-2g, per kg of body weight seems sensible.0 -
Yes protein needs increase with activity, exercise and when losing weight. Even aging can be a valid factor to require more.
You seem to be aiming for the bare minimum to avoid nutritional deficiency for a sedentary person not exercising or trying to lose weight.
IMHO not a good plan. Most people would regard that as an absolute minimum and certainly not as an upper limit to avoid exceeding.
Examine.com has a good write up on protein needs and recommendations.
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Don't panic about protein. There is a lot of nonsense out there about how much we should consume etc.
If you exercise then it's a good idea to eat around 0.5-1 gram of protein per lbs of body weight a day.
For example i currently weigh around 149 lbs, my daily protein goal is set to 150 grams but i normally go over by about 20 grams.
If you don't exercise then 70g daily is enough, but try to stay above this as protein is important.
If you go over it's totally fine, will do you no harm.KateCassie wrote: »I feeling very confused! How on earth do people eat a balanced diet without exceeding their protein daily amounts? Everything now-a-days seems to be protein enriched, but I eat quite low calories and only have eggs/chicken as protein sources and my protein count is way higher than what is recommended (.8/kg).... But people still drink protein shakes etc? Does protein increase with activity level, because everything I’m reading suggests that the average adult should only be consuming around 50-70g of protein daily.
Do you include protein from everything you consume? Or just from meat etc?
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KateCassie wrote: »I feeling very confused! How on earth do people eat a balanced diet without exceeding their protein daily amounts? Everything now-a-days seems to be protein enriched, but I eat quite low calories and only have eggs/chicken as protein sources and my protein count is way higher than what is recommended (.8/kg).... But people still drink protein shakes etc? Does protein increase with activity level, because everything I’m reading suggests that the average adult should only be consuming around 50-70g of protein daily.
Do you include protein from everything you consume? Or just from meat etc?
That 50-70g is the minimum to avoid deficiency. There's no harm in going over that, assuming you don't have pre-existing kidney problems. I believe there is an upper limit where you would start to put strain on healthy kidneys if you ate at that level consistently, but it's really high and most people would struggle to eat that much, so it's not something the average person needs to worry about. I typically aim for 100g and usually end up in the 80-95g level.10 -
I eat real foods so don't worry about my protein intake.
What kind of foods are protein enriched?7 -
As others mentioned it sounds like the recommended minimum for someone who isn't very active. Unless you have a medical condition and it is not causing you to neglect other areas of nutrition, going higher in protein is typically fine. I haven't read any concrete studies that would deter me from eating high protein. I usually aim for 135-160g a day.4
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Eating "excess" protein is not "harmful" unless you are eating extreme amounts and have a potential kidney sensitity.
A ,high protein diet at 0.8-1.2g/# BW will provide the nutients/ amino acids necessary to promote mUscular development, especially if consumed while engaged in heavy lifting activity .
Otherwise, it's nothing to really worry about provided you are eating an orherwise "balanced" diet.1 -
My issue is the contrary! I cannot get enough protein in my diet! far from the goal.
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Real foods as in foods in their natural form.
If you can't see how real foods contain protein, I'm afraid I can't help you. 😉18 -
Real foods as in foods in their natural form.
If you can't see how real foods contain protein, I'm afraid I can't help you. 😉
Real foods could be lettuce. peaches, wheat kernels, whole cows and chickens, coconuts, coffee beans... all in their natural form. Some of them are not edible in their natural form and some don't contain any protein. Pretty vague answer really.
I could eat "natural" foods all day long and still not get adequate protein. And some sources of protein, like whey powder, are from a "natural" source but highly processed but still contain lots of protein. Some "real" foods contain protein and some don't. How do you decide which ones to eat to get adequate protein. Getting at least a minimum is so important that almost every health organization has published their minimums including the USDA and the W.H.O. Proteins are the building blocks of tissue. Muscle, skin, nails, hair, internal organs etc.
So how do you distinguish which foods in their "natural" state will give you enough protein? If you have a helpful method, possibly others could benefit from knowing this.14 -
Real foods as in foods in their natural form.
If you can't see how real foods contain protein, I'm afraid I can't help you. 😉
The last four ingredients in my smoothie came straight from my garden this morning - doesn't get more "real and natural" than that. But they only had 2 g of protein, so I add an egg and protein powder.
If I had added tofu instead of protein powder, would that have been real enough? Or is tofu also overly processed, and thus not real or natural? Would soy beans have been ok?
I'm not being snarky - I truly don't understand your argument. I do get "real" and "natural", but this has no relationship to protein content. I could eat from my mother's extensive vegetable garden all day long and not get nearly enough protein.
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I don't want to argue. I never said that consuming only plants would meet your protein goals. I don't eat tofu and hate soy.
I eat a plant based diet with seafood, eggs and cheese. I asked what foods were protein enriched because I'm interested in learning.4 -
My doctor put me on a special diet. I am to eat 80 grams or more of protein and 80 grams or less of carbs. Plus drink 12-14 cups of water a day1
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I don't want to argue. I never said that consuming only plants would meet your protein goals. I don't eat tofu and hate soy.
I eat a plant based diet with seafood, eggs and cheese. I asked what foods were protein fortified because I'm interested in learning.
I think the confusion is with your statement of eating only "real foods" and getting adequate protein. There is no commonly accepted definition of "real foods". So, I am trying to understand what you mean. Your response was about foods in their natural forms.
I don't think these kinds of distinctions are particularly helpful, for the OP or anyone else, without knowing how you are defining it. As an example in what you list above, cheese is not a food in its "natural" state. It is a processed food. In its natural state it would just be raw milk.
Really, many foods are processed in some way to make them edible. So, they are no longer in their natural state by the time we eat them. Fish are gutted and cleaned. Cows are butchered to make beef, even cooking is a form of processing.
I'm not aware of foods that are fortified with protein. So, I can't really answer that.12 -
I don't want to argue. I never said that consuming only plants would meet your protein goals. I don't eat tofu and hate soy.
I eat a plant based diet with seafood, eggs and cheese. I asked what foods were protein enriched because I'm interested in learning.
I don't think there are protein enriched foods that aren't some form of processed - powders, bars, baking mixes, chips. I don't think those items are at all problematic, but if you'd like to avoid them, your best bets would be more varieties of seafood (shrimp gives a good amount of protein while low in calories), lentils, edamame (this is soybeans but personally I don't think it tastes like most soy products, more like lima beans maybe?), quinoa. If you are willing to incorporate some dairy, cottage cheese and Greek yogurt are fairly protein rich, and are available unflavored.7 -
I have difficulty getting all my protein in and I drink a protein shake after I weight lift. I also eat a decent amount of eggs and chicken breast. My macros for 1240 calories a day are set at around 100 grams. It increases with exercise, but I can’t ever meet it.5
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Theoldguy1 wrote: »The USDA guidelines say 10-35% of daily cañories from protein.
I've never found percentage-based macro allocations to be rational. If I reduce my calories so that I'm in an energy deficit because I need to lose weight, my body's need for protein intake (actual intake, in grams) does not decrease. If anything, I should increase my protein if I want to have the best shot at preserving muscle. But using a percentage-based approach for my protein goal would automatically cut my protein intake (x% of y - z, where y is original calories and z is amount I'm reducing my calorie intake, is always less than x% of y).9 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »The USDA guidelines say 10-35% of daily cañories from protein.
I've never found percentage-based macro allocations to be rational. If I reduce my calories so that I'm in an energy deficit because I need to lose weight, my body's need for protein intake (actual intake, in grams) does not decrease. If anything, I should increase my protein if I want to have the best shot at preserving muscle. But using a percentage-based approach for my protein goal would automatically cut my protein intake (x% of y - z, where y is original calories and z is amount I'm reducing my calorie intake, is always less than x% of y).
Exactly this.0 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »The USDA guidelines say 10-35% of daily cañories from protein.
I've never found percentage-based macro allocations to be rational. If I reduce my calories so that I'm in an energy deficit because I need to lose weight, my body's need for protein intake (actual intake, in grams) does not decrease. If anything, I should increase my protein if I want to have the best shot at preserving muscle. But using a percentage-based approach for my protein goal would automatically cut my protein intake (x% of y - z, where y is original calories and z is amount I'm reducing my calorie intake, is always less than x% of y).
You just adjust your percentage when you adjust your calorie goal. 10-35% is a big range.
Depending on my calorie range, protein has always been between 20 and 30% of my calories, both fully within that range. Almost always 25%, which is ~1g per lb of body weight.2 -
If you adjust the percentages to achieve certain raw numbers of grams, what's the point in relying on the percentages? Just get straight to the point and look at the grams.7
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lynn_glenmont wrote: »If you adjust the percentages to achieve certain raw numbers of grams, what's the point in relying on the percentages? Just get straight to the point and look at the grams.
In the context of MFP, because I don't pay for premium?
Percentages help me keep everything in the context of the other macros and my calories as a whole. Yes, I have a straight protein goal based on my body weight, but I also look at it in a percentage so I can make sure it is both reasonable for my calorie goals and reasonably proportional to my other macros. If I was trying to eat 1200 calories, and I had a protein goal what I do now around 115g, it would be around 38%, which is both outside the range set by the USDA (barely, though) and outside of what I'd consider "normal" as it skews the overall macros.0 -
Examine.com has a very detailed article about protein here: How much protein do you need per day?
They also have a calculator which is helpful!1 -
KateCassie wrote: »I feeling very confused! How on earth do people eat a balanced diet without exceeding their protein daily amounts? Everything now-a-days seems to be protein enriched, but I eat quite low calories and only have eggs/chicken as protein sources and my protein count is way higher than what is recommended (.8/kg).... But people still drink protein shakes etc? Does protein increase with activity level, because everything I’m reading suggests that the average adult should only be consuming around 50-70g of protein daily.
Do you include protein from everything you consume? Or just from meat etc?
That protein amount is the bare minimum, not a maximum limit.
The best idea is to shoot for more than this.2 -
Theoldguy1 wrote: »lynn_glenmont wrote: »If you adjust the percentages to achieve certain raw numbers of grams, what's the point in relying on the percentages? Just get straight to the point and look at the grams.
The OP was questioning the appropriate amount of protein to consume for health reasons. The percent range provides that amount for the vast majority of individuals.
And a range based on grams would provide that for pretty much everyone. I see no reason to prefer percentages when you can look at grams.2 -
ExistingFish wrote: »lynn_glenmont wrote: »If you adjust the percentages to achieve certain raw numbers of grams, what's the point in relying on the percentages? Just get straight to the point and look at the grams.
In the context of MFP, because I don't pay for premium?
Percentages help me keep everything in the context of the other macros and my calories as a whole. Yes, I have a straight protein goal based on my body weight, but I also look at it in a percentage so I can make sure it is both reasonable for my calorie goals and reasonably proportional to my other macros. If I was trying to eat 1200 calories, and I had a protein goal what I do now around 115g, it would be around 38%, which is both outside the range set by the USDA (barely, though) and outside of what I'd consider "normal" as it skews the overall macros.
If it works for you, no reason not to do it, but I always looked at just grams in the context of regular MFP. My preferred protein goal was 90+ (it's a bit lower now since I'm not at a deficit). I knew there was no harm to my health if I went over, but using grams also meant that if I had a big exercise day and added it in (when I was eating back cals), I did not have to hit 120 or whatever.
10-35% is so broad it does fit basically everyone, but you have to know more to know what works for you. Kenyan marathoners who eat lots and lots of cals because of their training typically eat around 10% protein. Someone on 1200 cals of course should not (and personally I'd consider 20% of that too low given the person is at a deficit and depending on their size), so the percentage range just seems pretty useless to me.3 -
ExistingFish wrote: »lynn_glenmont wrote: »If you adjust the percentages to achieve certain raw numbers of grams, what's the point in relying on the percentages? Just get straight to the point and look at the grams.
In the context of MFP, because I don't pay for premium?
Percentages help me keep everything in the context of the other macros and my calories as a whole. Yes, I have a straight protein goal based on my body weight, but I also look at it in a percentage so I can make sure it is both reasonable for my calorie goals and reasonably proportional to my other macros. If I was trying to eat 1200 calories, and I had a protein goal what I do now around 115g, it would be around 38%, which is both outside the range set by the USDA (barely, though) and outside of what I'd consider "normal" as it skews the overall macros.
If it works for you, no reason not to do it, but I always looked at just grams in the context of regular MFP. My preferred protein goal was 90+ (it's a bit lower now since I'm not at a deficit). I knew there was no harm to my health if I went over, but using grams also meant that if I had a big exercise day and added it in (when I was eating back cals), I did not have to hit 120 or whatever.
10-35% is so broad it does fit basically everyone, but you have to know more to know what works for you. Kenyan marathoners who eat lots and lots of cals because of their training typically eat around 10% protein. Someone on 1200 cals of course should not (and personally I'd consider 20% of that too low given the person is at a deficit and depending on their size), so the percentage range just seems pretty useless to me.
Well if percentages don't work for you, then don't use them. Use grams. I think percentages are more applicable to the population at large, but that is just my opinion.2
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