Protein

tammycolbert

Is it possible to eat too much protein? I have cut my carbs way down, no pasta, no rice, no potatoes and very little bread if any. I am a type 2 diabetic taking Trulicity. My A1C went from 7.1 to 6.1 in 1 month with meds and my 33lbs weight loss. I am very happy but I am wondering if eating all this protein is hurting me? My cholesterol did go up, but not terrible. Any suggestions?

NovusDies

tammyturcotte wrote: »

Is it possible to eat too much protein? I have cut my carbs way down, no pasta, no rice, no potatoes and very little bread if any. I am a type 2 diabetic taking Trulicity. My A1C went from 7.1 to 6.1 in 1 month with meds and my 33lbs weight loss. I am very happy but I am wondering if eating all this protein is hurting me? My cholesterol did go up, but not terrible. Any suggestions?

Have you been referred to a registered dietitian? That is usually a good place to start for meal planning for a diabetic.

Protein should not be a problem if your kidneys are fine and your doctor hasn't given you another reason to limit it. I was told by an RD that if I eat as much as I do to make sure I drink plenty of fluids to help my kidneys process it but that was it.

I am not sure of the research but rapid fat loss seems to cause cholesterol spikes in some people. I am experiencing it myself.

lemurcat2

tammyturcotte wrote: »

Is it possible to eat too much protein? I have cut my carbs way down, no pasta, no rice, no potatoes and very little bread if any. I am a type 2 diabetic taking Trulicity. My A1C went from 7.1 to 6.1 in 1 month with meds and my 33lbs weight loss. I am very happy but I am wondering if eating all this protein is hurting me? My cholesterol did go up, but not terrible. Any suggestions?

So you don't say what you consider "all this protein," but when I quickly checked your diary it looks like you are ranging from about 68-80 g, which is not actually high protein at all. The RDA is 0.8 g/kg for someone at a healthy body weight (so for a 130 lb woman, 50 g) -- that's a minimum for health. Many will recommend at least 1 g per kg even for basic health, so that's 60 g for the 130 lb woman.

However, when one is active or losing weight or both, more is recommended for muscle maintenance. A good rule of thumb is at least 0.6-0.8 g/lb of a healthy goal weight (so for an overweight woman losing to a healthy BMI goal of 130, the amount is now 78 g to 104 g, and you would want to err toward the higher side if the deficit was higher or you were active).

And that brings me to the other issue -- deficit/calories. I did not look at your food entries, but based on the 33 lb loss in a month I will assume you cal count is reasonably accurate. Your cals are SUPER low, like around 800 on average for the days I saw. Are you on a medically-supervised diet where the cals are supposed to be that low? Because if not, I think that's a much bigger issue than the protein (which again is not actually high, it probably just seems high because of the low cals).

tammycolbert

I am seeing a dietitian on 09/24/2019 after waiting 2 months for the appointment. I hope she can shed some light on the subject. Thank you for the response.

tammycolbert

"And that brings me to the other issue -- deficit/calories. I did not look at your food entries, but based on the 33 lb loss in a month I will assume you cal count is reasonably accurate. Your cals are SUPER low, like around 800 on average for the days I saw."

Oh no the weight loss took me almost 11 months, started in October 2018. MFP had me at 1750 and dropped me down to 1600 I think. I try to eat all those calories, but with my diabetic medication, it cuts my appetite, I can't eat like I used too. I used to be a HUGE carb eater, and HUGE portions, but I have cut the carbs and my stomach can't handle the portions anymore, which again could be due to my medication.

I just want to make sure I am not doing more damage to my body, while trying to get healthy. I know I will never be skinny and that is ok with me, however, I need to be healthy and it has taken me a long time to finally admit to this.

NovusDies

tammyturcotte wrote: »

"And that brings me to the other issue -- deficit/calories. I did not look at your food entries, but based on the 33 lb loss in a month I will assume you cal count is reasonably accurate. Your cals are SUPER low, like around 800 on average for the days I saw."

Oh no the weight loss took me almost 11 months, started in October 2018. MFP had me at 1750 and dropped me down to 1600 I think. I try to eat all those calories, but with my diabetic medication, it cuts my appetite, I can't eat like I used too. I used to be a HUGE carb eater, and HUGE portions, but I have cut the carbs and my stomach can't handle the portions anymore, which again could be due to my medication.

I just want to make sure I am not doing more damage to my body, while trying to get healthy. I know I will never be skinny and that is ok with me, however, I need to be healthy and it has taken me a long time to finally admit to this.

You will need to adjust to your new situation with adding in more calorie dense food but I trust you will figure it out. Your RD appointment is right around the corner. Make sure you take in your phone or tablet with the MFP app so they can review what you have been eating.

I would not count out anything as a possible outcome. "Skinny" may be possible. I don't worry about such things right now myself. My goal is to be healthier which I actually accomplish each day I am in a calorie deficit. When I get close then I will start to think about what my weight goal will even be. I have no idea right now.