Protein Question

tempest501

Hi,

I am trying to cut down and lose about 14 pounds and I weight train 3 times a week (going pretty well =D). I was just wondering if I can dial back protein a bit and not lose muscle since I am eating about 160-170g a day.

Just recently tried to bulk and now want to cut it down slowly before summer. I was trying to eat about 1g per pound of bodyweight which was working out around 165g a day but not sure if i really need to do this and would like to dial back calories more evenly. Was think of going about 120g a day (my weight is roughly 165 pounds at the moment).

Thoughts or advice?

SideSteel

Hi,

I am trying to cut down and lose about 14 pounds and I weight train 3 times a week (going pretty well =D). I was just wondering if I can dial back protein a bit and not lose muscle since I am eating about 160-170g a day.

Just recently tried to bulk and now want to cut it down slowly before summer. I was trying to eat about 1g per pound of bodyweight which was working out around 165g a day but not sure if i really need to do this and would like to dial back calories more evenly. Was think of going about 120g a day (my weight is roughly 165 pounds at the moment).

Thoughts or advice?

This is somewhat of a grey-area issue as it depends on leanness, magnitude of caloric deficit, and a bunch of other factors. 120g puts you at 1.6g/kg which if I had to hazard a guess, I'd say it's "probably sufficient" provided you aren't going to lose weight at a fast pace and you're not planning on getting shredded.

I would look at training performance and dietary adherence as additional considerations. So for example if reducing your protein down to 120g makes you feel better and/or makes you perform better (for example by reducing protein slightly you are keeping carbs a bit higher) then there's probably some merit in considering it.

What is your reasoning for reducing it?

tempest501

The reason why is because i and deciding to lose weight with a slight deficit (might add more later) and increase cardio etc. Just generally bring cals down over everything and to help with the fact burning through tubs of whey lol.

I am just aiming to lose about 14 pounds gradually by jun/july time. Also I was getting a bit fed up with whey shakes with more than 2 scoops in. To make my goals sometimes would have 4 scoops in one sitting to make up 90g of protein and then rest from chicken in my main meal etc.

Once I start to add weight again I will put it back up to 160 mark again or at least that is what i was thinking.

P.S I was quite happy with how the bulk was going but then with the arrival of my baby son diet and routine went out of the window and put an extra 4-6 pound on and probably not the good stuff lol. So now getting back on track and trying to find ways to cut down cals where ever I can so if i can reduce shake to 2 scoops that 200 cals in the bank but did not want to do it if it would mean I would lose my hard earned gains .

SideSteel

Once I start to add weight again I will put it back up to 160 mark again or at least that is what i was thinking.

You can do this, but consider that the lower calories go, the more important protein intake becomes. In a caloric surplus, 120g is very likely to be sufficient.

tempest501

my main is around 2100 i think gonna drop down to 1800 i think so do you think i should get more protein in than 120?

SideSteel

my main is around 2100 i think gonna drop down to 1800 i think so do you think i should get more protein in than 120?

Are you certain you need to cut calories that low in order to lose fat?

At any rate, I don't think I'd go lower than 120. Higher might be a good idea but you need to consider satiety and gym performance.

tempest501

Well reason I thought that low is nothing seemed to be happening at 2000 scales wise should i go in the middle at 1900 you think?

Sarauk2sf

Tagging