Is there anything wrong with going over on protein?

tessjordan88

I've noticed a few days this week, I have gone over a little on my protein. Then I went into settings and "hid it" so I won't think about it so much. I have stayed under on my calories, sodium, and everything else. Can this be a bad thing? Can you get too much protein?

tross0924

Most people on the site generally agree that the protein levels are set a little low on this site.

Personally I changed mine to 40% of my daily calories. 40 Protein, 40 carbs, and 20 fat. Works for me anyway.

If you have kidney problems a large protein intake might be bad for you, but beyond that I'm not aware of any other problems with increased protein intake.

tessjordan88

Thanks! I adjusted it a little.

I don't have any kidney trouble, so unless it goes WAY over, I'm not going to worry about it much.

Puppette

As said before, a lot think the protein is too low on here, and even lower if you are getting in any substantial exercise

Vipecap

Protein is set at 15% when you first join and is low for most people. Protein is the safest of the macronutrients to go over in, just make sure you drink plenty of water and you shouldn't have any issues.

XFitMojoMom

NO!!! I was stunned when my GP was against protein loading - affecting kidneys, gout yadda yadda. But I've lost a ton of weight following high protein, high fat low carb diet (not atkins). I'm happy and fully motivated. do what is right for you,

spitfire1962

I've read that protein is a natural fat burner. That's why the Atkins Diet is so popular. I agree with everyone else that more protein won't hurt you. I don't follow the Atkins diet, but have increased my protein intake which helps me stay full longer and gives me more energy.

lilmissy2

I don't think going a little over is a problem. I do think that eating too much protein is harmful. Even if you don't have kidney problems it puts excess stress on the kidneys and can damage them. I wouldn't really recommend any more than 30% of energy come from protein.

ivyjbres

A little over, even a good deal over, won't really hurt you. Now if you lived off of nothing but meat your entire life (or the majority of it, like Dr. Atkins), then you'd see resulting health problems. But a little over, not really a problem. I'm a proponent of balance, too much of anything is bad (to much fat and its heart disease and clogged arteries, too many carbs and its diabetes). Like mojogirl mentioned earlier, extremely high protein can put a strain on your kidneys and contribute to gout (but since gout in incredibly rare in women, that's not a really convincing argument). Especially for women, high fat or high carb is more dangerous in the long run.

TrainingWithTonya

Excess protein can cause dehydration & increased urinary calcium excretion (IE: Calcium leached from the bones), as well as excessive strain on the kidneys. If you already have lowered kidney function, it can cause damage to the kidneys. That is why the recommendation is between 10% and 35%.

benthinb4

Let me add my little 2 cents to this protein debate. There is so much confussion about why the protein is recomended low. It's not simply a matter of kidney function or amount of exercise, it's how the body uses protein. No it's not a natural fat burner (only exercise is). The body uses carbs as its primary energy source and fat only when it runs out of carbs (only when it is absolutely pushed to it over time). We only get a small amount of energy from protein, perhaps 10%, because it is used primaraly for muscle building and tissue repair. So unless you are a bodubuilder, bicycle racer, distance runner or any other endurance type anthlete you probably don't need to build and repair that often. Because once the body uses the protein it needs for repairs it cannot use it for anything else in it's protein form, it (cannot) store protein. The body can only store Carbs in Glycogen form and Fat. What ever excess protein you eat gets turned into fat because that is the only way it can be stored. The body is a very efficient machine and the liver ensures that any protein that is not needed for muscle building and repair gets sent to storage. So when you wonder where the extra fat is coming from it might just be that extra protein on your hips disguised as fat. Now every thing I've just said can turn out to be just a bunch of bah blah blah, because I'm no expert, just a former bodybuilder.

patriot201

Be careful with overloading on protein. Having too much per day (I am talking about WAY over what MFP recommends...) can cause MAJOR problems in some people, myself included.

I have never been considered overweight in my life (my highest weight ever was 149.5 at 5'9"), have neither a personal nor family history of kidney issues, and have no underlying health issues. However, I wound up with severe kidney issues (thankfully temporary ones!) due to eating too much protein. At the time, I was eating approximately 20 grams of fat, 40 grams of carbs, and 100 grams of protein (and WAY too few calories). My GFR, albumin, and BUN levels were all out of whack. It was determined that it was due to my high protein intake. Thankfully, after changing my diet to reduce protein intake, my kidneys slowly recovered.

Be REALLY careful with eating either too high or too low protein and fat. BALANCE is the key.

unocentavo

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/unocentavo/view/the-protein-question-more-or-less-is-best-36218