What happens if you don't get 100g of protein a day?

aleena2975

Seems today was a bit more carb heavy, and adding a protein shake would put me over my calories by 100! I am going to be doing heavy exercise later so maybe it'll be okay. My question is this: What happens if you get like 60-80g of protein a day? Do your muscles atrophy?

AnnPT77

If it's one unusual day here or there, probably no big deal. If it's a common thing, probably worth working on improving.

It's kind of hard to know how to answer when we don't know at least your height and weight, and possibly your age.

If you're losing weight, and losing around a pound a week, eating 100 calories above goal every single day (to get adequate protein) would only slow down your loss to 0.8 pounds a week. To me, that'd be worth the tradeoff, but YMMV.

If you're an average-sized woman, I think your muscles are unlikely to atrophy at a meaningful speed from eating only 60-80g of protein every single day. If you're losing weight very fast, you might lose more than the minimal amount of muscle alongside fat, still losing that muscle fairly slowly, which would be sub-optimal but not IMO life threatening.

Also, 80g is pretty different from 60g, y'know?

If this is a persistent problem for you, review your diary and see if you can find some habitually-eaten foods that contribute quite a few calories, but no protein, and that are less vital to you for satiation, nutrition, or happiness. Reduce those (frequency or portion size) to free up calories, add foods you like to your routine eating habits that have somewhat more protein for those calories. You've probably already seen it, but in case not, this thread might be a help with that:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10247171/carbs-and-fats-are-cheap-heres-a-guide-to-getting-your-proteins-worth-fiber-also

aleena2975

AnnPT77 wrote: »

If it's one unusual day here or there, probably no big deal. If it's a common thing, probably worth working on improving.

It's kind of hard to know how to answer when we don't know at least your height and weight, and possibly your age.

If you're losing weight, and losing around a pound a week, eating 100 calories above goal every single day (to get adequate protein) would only slow down your loss to 0.8 pounds a week. To me, that'd be worth the tradeoff, but YMMV.

If you're an average-sized woman, I think your muscles are unlikely to atrophy at a meaningful speed from eating only 60-80g of protein every single day. If you're losing weight very fast, you might lose more than the minimal amount of muscle alongside fat, still losing that muscle fairly slowly, which would be sub-optimal but not IMO life threatening.

Also, 80g is pretty different from 60g, y'know?

If this is a persistent problem for you, review your diary and see if you can find some habitually-eaten foods that contribute quite a few calories, but no protein, and that are less vital to you for satiation, nutrition, or happiness. Reduce those (frequency or portion size) to free up calories, add foods you like to your routine eating habits that have somewhat more protein for those calories. You've probably already seen it, but in case not, this thread might be a help with that:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10247171/carbs-and-fats-are-cheap-heres-a-guide-to-getting-your-proteins-worth-fiber-also

Hi Ann, I have about same stats as you 5'5 175 trying to go to 135.

nossmf

Think about the last time you were sick and did not eat for a full day. Did your muscles suddenly atrophy? You may have FELT like they did, but in truth they did not from one day of missed calories and protein.

Repeat this exercise for a week straight, you will get a vastly different answer.

As Ann said above, blips happen, just move on. A single day of low protein (hotdogs, anyone?) has the same effect to muscles as a single day of super-high protein (hello, T-bone steak!), which is to say not much (if any). Just make sure it's not a pattern, and all's good.

springlering62

Instead of stressing over your macros on a daily basis, look at the 7-day view. I find them to be pretty good, and I can live with that.

AnnPT77

aleena2975 wrote: »

AnnPT77 wrote: »

If it's one unusual day here or there, probably no big deal. If it's a common thing, probably worth working on improving.

It's kind of hard to know how to answer when we don't know at least your height and weight, and possibly your age.

If you're losing weight, and losing around a pound a week, eating 100 calories above goal every single day (to get adequate protein) would only slow down your loss to 0.8 pounds a week. To me, that'd be worth the tradeoff, but YMMV.

If you're an average-sized woman, I think your muscles are unlikely to atrophy at a meaningful speed from eating only 60-80g of protein every single day. If you're losing weight very fast, you might lose more than the minimal amount of muscle alongside fat, still losing that muscle fairly slowly, which would be sub-optimal but not IMO life threatening.

Also, 80g is pretty different from 60g, y'know?

If this is a persistent problem for you, review your diary and see if you can find some habitually-eaten foods that contribute quite a few calories, but no protein, and that are less vital to you for satiation, nutrition, or happiness. Reduce those (frequency or portion size) to free up calories, add foods you like to your routine eating habits that have somewhat more protein for those calories. You've probably already seen it, but in case not, this thread might be a help with that:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10247171/carbs-and-fats-are-cheap-heres-a-guide-to-getting-your-proteins-worth-fiber-also

Hi Ann, I have about same stats as you 5'5 175 trying to go to 135.

Yeah, I'm 5'5", 132.2 this morning, not trying very hard but would be marginally better off around 125.

I also shoot for 100g protein minimum, but I'm in maintenance (more or less) at 1850 calories plus all exercise calories. When I was losing (starting from 183), so at lower calories, I was usually in the 90s grams, occasionally dipping down into the 80s, and I have no sign that my muscles atrophied. Other than a brief period when I ate too little by accident (so felt weak), my strength stayed good and exercise performance consistent.

At the start of loss, I worked pretty diligently at what I suggested to you above: Reviewing my diary often, tweaking my eating routine eating habits to get more protein without having to micromanage it every day. At this point, I often exceed my 100g minimum, by up to 20g fairly often. That's as a vegetarian, so if you eat meat/fish, seems like it should be even more achievable: Animal foods offer some very calorie-efficient protein sources, high quality ones; vegetarian protein sources usually come with some carbs, and quality can require attention.

This "review and adjust" approach doesn't need to reach perfection instantly. It can be a thing you chip away at gradually, if that's more practical.

Repeating from above: A truly occasional day substantially below goal (like 60g) really isn't a big worry. OTOH, neither is an occasional day that's 100 calories over goal in order to hit that protein goal.

Best wishes!

aleena2975

AnnPT77 wrote: »

aleena2975 wrote: »

AnnPT77 wrote: »

If it's one unusual day here or there, probably no big deal. If it's a common thing, probably worth working on improving.

It's kind of hard to know how to answer when we don't know at least your height and weight, and possibly your age.

If you're losing weight, and losing around a pound a week, eating 100 calories above goal every single day (to get adequate protein) would only slow down your loss to 0.8 pounds a week. To me, that'd be worth the tradeoff, but YMMV.

If you're an average-sized woman, I think your muscles are unlikely to atrophy at a meaningful speed from eating only 60-80g of protein every single day. If you're losing weight very fast, you might lose more than the minimal amount of muscle alongside fat, still losing that muscle fairly slowly, which would be sub-optimal but not IMO life threatening.

Also, 80g is pretty different from 60g, y'know?

If this is a persistent problem for you, review your diary and see if you can find some habitually-eaten foods that contribute quite a few calories, but no protein, and that are less vital to you for satiation, nutrition, or happiness. Reduce those (frequency or portion size) to free up calories, add foods you like to your routine eating habits that have somewhat more protein for those calories. You've probably already seen it, but in case not, this thread might be a help with that:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10247171/carbs-and-fats-are-cheap-heres-a-guide-to-getting-your-proteins-worth-fiber-also

Hi Ann, I have about same stats as you 5'5 175 trying to go to 135.

Yeah, I'm 5'5", 132.2 this morning, not trying very hard but would be marginally better off around 125.

I also shoot for 100g protein minimum, but I'm in maintenance (more or less) at 1850 calories plus all exercise calories. When I was losing (starting from 183), so at lower calories, I was usually in the 90s grams, occasionally dipping down into the 80s, and I have no sign that my muscles atrophied. Other than a brief period when I ate too little by accident (so felt weak), my strength stayed good and exercise performance consistent.

At the start of loss, I worked pretty diligently at what I suggested to you above: Reviewing my diary often, tweaking my eating routine eating habits to get more protein without having to micromanage it every day. At this point, I often exceed my 100g minimum, by up to 20g fairly often. That's as a vegetarian, so if you eat meat/fish, seems like it should be even more achievable: Animal foods offer some very calorie-efficient protein sources, high quality ones; vegetarian protein sources usually come with some carbs, and quality can require attention.

This "review and adjust" approach doesn't need to reach perfection instantly. It can be a thing you chip away at gradually, if that's more practical.

Repeating from above: A truly occasional day substantially below goal (like 60g) really isn't a big worry. OTOH, neither is an occasional day that's 100 calories over goal in order to hit that protein goal.

Best wishes!

Is there a way to see your food diary? Is this what you're suggesting?

Lietchi

aleena2975 wrote: »

AnnPT77 wrote: »

aleena2975 wrote: »

AnnPT77 wrote: »

If it's one unusual day here or there, probably no big deal. If it's a common thing, probably worth working on improving.

It's kind of hard to know how to answer when we don't know at least your height and weight, and possibly your age.

If you're losing weight, and losing around a pound a week, eating 100 calories above goal every single day (to get adequate protein) would only slow down your loss to 0.8 pounds a week. To me, that'd be worth the tradeoff, but YMMV.

If you're an average-sized woman, I think your muscles are unlikely to atrophy at a meaningful speed from eating only 60-80g of protein every single day. If you're losing weight very fast, you might lose more than the minimal amount of muscle alongside fat, still losing that muscle fairly slowly, which would be sub-optimal but not IMO life threatening.

Also, 80g is pretty different from 60g, y'know?

If this is a persistent problem for you, review your diary and see if you can find some habitually-eaten foods that contribute quite a few calories, but no protein, and that are less vital to you for satiation, nutrition, or happiness. Reduce those (frequency or portion size) to free up calories, add foods you like to your routine eating habits that have somewhat more protein for those calories. You've probably already seen it, but in case not, this thread might be a help with that:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10247171/carbs-and-fats-are-cheap-heres-a-guide-to-getting-your-proteins-worth-fiber-also

Hi Ann, I have about same stats as you 5'5 175 trying to go to 135.

Yeah, I'm 5'5", 132.2 this morning, not trying very hard but would be marginally better off around 125.

I also shoot for 100g protein minimum, but I'm in maintenance (more or less) at 1850 calories plus all exercise calories. When I was losing (starting from 183), so at lower calories, I was usually in the 90s grams, occasionally dipping down into the 80s, and I have no sign that my muscles atrophied. Other than a brief period when I ate too little by accident (so felt weak), my strength stayed good and exercise performance consistent.

At the start of loss, I worked pretty diligently at what I suggested to you above: Reviewing my diary often, tweaking my eating routine eating habits to get more protein without having to micromanage it every day. At this point, I often exceed my 100g minimum, by up to 20g fairly often. That's as a vegetarian, so if you eat meat/fish, seems like it should be even more achievable: Animal foods offer some very calorie-efficient protein sources, high quality ones; vegetarian protein sources usually come with some carbs, and quality can require attention.

This "review and adjust" approach doesn't need to reach perfection instantly. It can be a thing you chip away at gradually, if that's more practical.

Repeating from above: A truly occasional day substantially below goal (like 60g) really isn't a big worry. OTOH, neither is an occasional day that's 100 calories over goal in order to hit that protein goal.

Best wishes!

Is there a way to see your food diary? Is this what you're suggesting?

Do you mean Ann's diary? I think the idea is that you look at your own diary and see where you can make improvements.
For example, in my case: I was low in protein intake and noticed my breakfast was particularly low protein (not to mention that I often skipped breakfast) compared to other meals. So I replaced my breakfast cereal (and breakfast skipping) with skyr yoghurt. Depending on portion size, that alone boosted my intake by 15-30gr of protein per day!

AnnPT77

aleena2975 wrote: »

AnnPT77 wrote: »

aleena2975 wrote: »

AnnPT77 wrote: »

If it's one unusual day here or there, probably no big deal. If it's a common thing, probably worth working on improving.

It's kind of hard to know how to answer when we don't know at least your height and weight, and possibly your age.

If you're losing weight, and losing around a pound a week, eating 100 calories above goal every single day (to get adequate protein) would only slow down your loss to 0.8 pounds a week. To me, that'd be worth the tradeoff, but YMMV.

If you're an average-sized woman, I think your muscles are unlikely to atrophy at a meaningful speed from eating only 60-80g of protein every single day. If you're losing weight very fast, you might lose more than the minimal amount of muscle alongside fat, still losing that muscle fairly slowly, which would be sub-optimal but not IMO life threatening.

Also, 80g is pretty different from 60g, y'know?

If this is a persistent problem for you, review your diary and see if you can find some habitually-eaten foods that contribute quite a few calories, but no protein, and that are less vital to you for satiation, nutrition, or happiness. Reduce those (frequency or portion size) to free up calories, add foods you like to your routine eating habits that have somewhat more protein for those calories. You've probably already seen it, but in case not, this thread might be a help with that:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10247171/carbs-and-fats-are-cheap-heres-a-guide-to-getting-your-proteins-worth-fiber-also

Hi Ann, I have about same stats as you 5'5 175 trying to go to 135.

Yeah, I'm 5'5", 132.2 this morning, not trying very hard but would be marginally better off around 125.

I also shoot for 100g protein minimum, but I'm in maintenance (more or less) at 1850 calories plus all exercise calories. When I was losing (starting from 183), so at lower calories, I was usually in the 90s grams, occasionally dipping down into the 80s, and I have no sign that my muscles atrophied. Other than a brief period when I ate too little by accident (so felt weak), my strength stayed good and exercise performance consistent.

At the start of loss, I worked pretty diligently at what I suggested to you above: Reviewing my diary often, tweaking my eating routine eating habits to get more protein without having to micromanage it every day. At this point, I often exceed my 100g minimum, by up to 20g fairly often. That's as a vegetarian, so if you eat meat/fish, seems like it should be even more achievable: Animal foods offer some very calorie-efficient protein sources, high quality ones; vegetarian protein sources usually come with some carbs, and quality can require attention.

This "review and adjust" approach doesn't need to reach perfection instantly. It can be a thing you chip away at gradually, if that's more practical.

Repeating from above: A truly occasional day substantially below goal (like 60g) really isn't a big worry. OTOH, neither is an occasional day that's 100 calories over goal in order to hit that protein goal.

Best wishes!

Is there a way to see your food diary? Is this what you're suggesting?

If you send me a friend request, I'll accept, then you can see my diary - it's open to MFP friends. I don't log online every day anymore (in year 8 of maintenance), but still log a good share of the time.

However, I'm not *suggesting* you should want to see my diary. If you do want to see it, that's fine with me, and I'll cheerfully answer any questions you may have about it, but I don't consider myself a paragon of perfect eating by any means.

If you do choose to send a FR and look at it, remember that I'm in maintenance (so more calories), vegetarian. My personal goals are 100g protein minimum, 50g fats minimum, and really lots of veggies/fruits, usually a minimum of 400g, but on good days 800g+. If I hit those veggie/fruit numbers, my micronutrients and fiber tend to fall into place pretty well without detailed attention, as a weekly average. I do eat treats regularly, and sometimes drink alcohol.

Mainly, what I DO suggest is that you think about your own eating *habits* - what you do on repeat, on average days - and work on getting those habits/patterns to a point where you're mostly hitting your goals eating foods you personally enjoy. You probably enjoy different foods than I do, and that's fine.

There's a bit more detailed discussion of that "remodel your eating" approach in this thread, if that interests you:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10636388/free-customized-personal-weight-loss-eating-plan-not-spam-or-mlm/p1

I hope that makes sense!