My protein intake is low. Does it matter?

Sophi_allheart

So I just restarted my fitness pal this week. I haven't been trying too hard to change my diet... Yet. I wanted to get a feel for what I was doing first.

I've noticed I am consistently high fat/carb and low protein (usually 14-16% instead of 20). Is it a big deal or should I try to get my macro percentages to match the ones suggested?

And any recommendations on how to up my protein is also appreciated.

sarabushby

Rather than look at the % value consider the grams of protein that you’re getting each day - does it meet the RDA? If so, you should be fine.
A lot of people choose to eat higher protein as we find it more satiating but that’s a completely personal thing - you may not.
Protein IS important for muscle repair for people doing intense exercise/weights but even then, many consume far more than they strictly need to and the excess is essentially wasted.

lemurcat2

Yes, as the poster above me said, it's more about total grams than percentage.

That said, those percentages are low and if at much of a deficit (or overall low cals, such as 1200), I'd worry they are too low.

If you eat meat, 0.8 g/kg (or about 0.36 g/lb) is the minimum for good health (with the lb amount being a healthy goal weight if you are substantially overweight). If you are a vegan, it's generally recommended to aim a bit higher (1 g/kg or 0.45 g/lb) as you are more likely to be lower on certain amino acids.

It's often recommended to get a bit more if active and/or trying to lose -- at least 0.6 g/lb of a healthy goal weight -- because those actives can be hard on muscle and it helps make sure you have enough to rebuild and maintain muscle.

Some find protein in amounts higher than this worthwhile because they are older and thus more likely to lose muscle (I felt this way as a woman in my 40s) or because they find it sating -- but if you are easily hitting your calorie goal, no issues there.

cwolfman13

Sophi_allheart wrote: »

So I just restarted my fitness pal this week. I haven't been trying too hard to change my diet... Yet. I wanted to get a feel for what I was doing first.

I've noticed I am consistently high fat/carb and low protein (usually 14-16% instead of 20). Is it a big deal or should I try to get my macro percentages to match the ones suggested?

And any recommendations on how to up my protein is also appreciated.

You should be comparing your grams of protein to the RDA for protein. The RDA for protein is a minimum for health for a more or less sedentary individual. It is recommended that people losing weight should actually eat more than the RDA to help preserve muscle mass in a catabolic state. It is also recommended that active people consume more, particularly if they're engaging in more strenuous exercise, as this breaks down muscle and protein help repair and build it back up.

Katmary71

I was the same way when I started with fats and protein. I added in some but not a lot. I upped it recently as an experiment and have made a lot of gains in my workouts, I've been increasing weights, resistance, and levels a lot faster than before.

kshama2001

Sophi_allheart wrote: »

So I just restarted my fitness pal this week. I haven't been trying too hard to change my diet... Yet. I wanted to get a feel for what I was doing first.

I've noticed I am consistently high fat/carb and low protein (usually 14-16% instead of 20). Is it a big deal or should I try to get my macro percentages to match the ones suggested?

And any recommendations on how to up my protein is also appreciated.

I find upping my protein slightly and lowering carbs slightly to be a more filling way of eating, which makes it easier for me to create a calorie deficit, so if that is true for you as well, win win.

If you're a meat eater, try upping your portions. I've seen a lot of women struggle to hit their protein target, and they are only eating 2 oz of chicken at a meal, which could easily be doubled.

For answers targeted to what you are currently eating, change your Diary Sharing settings to Public: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

AnnPT77

I agree with others that getting the necessary minimum of protein grams is important.

Two things I want to add to what's been said:

1. It's not an urgent crisis to hit your protein goal Right Now, especially if you're close. You can take a little time to review your food diary; find foods that "cost" too many calories for the nutrition, satiation or pleasure they give you; reduce or eliminate those to free up calories; and add some other food your enjoy that makes a better contribution to your overall nutrition. Gradually and manageably tweaking your nutrition in a positive direction will be fine, as long as you're starting from a generally healthy state (not a medically diagnosed nutritional deficiency). Just keep working on it until you get where you want to be. If it takes a small number of weeks, that's not a huge big deal.

2. You don't have to hit your default macros exactly, ever. Generally, get enough protein, get enough fats - you can treat those as minimums. If you're a little under on fat one day, but over on protein, then the next day it's the opposite, you're fine. You just want to be in the ballpark, on average, over time. That'll be fine.

Humans are highly adaptive omnivores. We're lucky - unlike the majority of our ancestors - to live in a time/place of mostly food abundance, with lots of choices, and bunches of nutrition science information to help us fine tune our eating. But that human history behind us suggests that aiming for pretty good nutrition, most of the time, sometimes a little over, sometimes a little under, is going to be fine. It doesn't have to be absolutely, exactly perfectly spot-on every single day.

Sophi_allheart

Thank you everyone! I didn't realize how important it was to hit those nutritional numbers. I will look at the RDA. I do eat meat, so I've never worried about if I was getting enough protein. Thanks for the insight in how it all works!