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How Much Protein???

jeniwilmot
jeniwilmot Posts: 25 Member
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How do I determine the minimum amount of protein I should consume before muscle wasting sets in??

I'm 5'11, female and weigh 206 lbs. I don't exercise strenuously, no weight lifting etc.

I thought it was around 75-80g but I'm not sure where I got those numbers.

thanks!!!

<3 jeni

Replies

  • Skoster1
    Skoster1 Posts: 134 Member
    http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/

    That will help you calculate your minimum.

    From Protein Intake While Dieting – Q&A (by Lyle McDonald):
    After much toing and froing and research had been done it was eventually found that a protein intake of about 1.5 g/kg of lean body mass (LBM; note that researchers actually used Ideal Body Weight but this is a rough proxy for LBM) was necessary to spare LBM losses in a non-training obese individual consuming low calories.

    I'd read his whole website, it's full of good info even if you don't buy his books.

    EDIT: That's bare minimum, you'll probably want to go higher.
  • albertabeefy
    albertabeefy Posts: 1,169 Member
    How do I determine the minimum amount of protein I should consume before muscle wasting sets in??

    I'm 5'11, female and weigh 206 lbs. I don't exercise strenuously, no weight lifting etc.

    I thought it was around 75-80g but I'm not sure where I got those numbers.

    thanks!!!

    <3 jeni
    Hi jeni,

    Protein requirements are different for everyone. Men need more than women (as a percentage, not just grams), and exercise ensures you require more...

    Most women find the ketogenic diet protein-sparing if they get at-least 15% of their intake from protein while on a moderate deficit. If your deficit is > 500kcal per day you may want to increase that percentage.

    For absolute minimums it depends on your lean mass. For women, here's what I'd personally recommend:

    Sedentary: lean mass x 0.5
    Light Activity: lean mass x 0.6 (some walking)
    Moderate: lean mass x 0.7 (30 minutes of exercise 3x a week)
    Active : lean mass x 0.8 (60 minutes of exercise 5x a week)
    Very-Active/Athletic: lean mass x 0.9 - 1.0

    If you don't know your lean mass, it's basically: Current Weight - (CurrentWeight x %Bodyfat). For me, It's 211 - (211 x 11%) = 188lbs.

    If you don't know your %bodyfat, you can use a basic calculator to roughly estimate it: http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/library/blbodyfatcalculator.htm

    FYI - while you want to get the minimum, you also don't want to go OVER on protein either - especially while ketogenic, as excess protein can be converted to glucose.

    Good luck!
  • jeniwilmot
    jeniwilmot Posts: 25 Member
    thanks!!
  • Leonidas_meets_Spartacus
    Leonidas_meets_Spartacus Posts: 6,198 Member
    You need to experiment and figure out what works for you. I usually keep protein to around 15% of my cals in a day, even on the days I do resistance training. The protein consumption these days is mostly way overboard to sell you those shakes and bars. Remember, you get toned by stressing the muscles not just by eating lot of protein. Try with various levels and see how it feels, the excess protein in your body is converted to glycogen/carbs. I keep it to around 0.5-0.6g of my body mass.

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