How Much Protein Should I be Consuming?

beckwiz_
beckwiz_ Posts: 3 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am 5'4" and 115 pounds. I work out about 4x per week, cardio & lifting. (Only about 20 mins or so of cardio though. I mainly strength train).

How much protein should I be consuming? Someone told me to consume 1g protein per lb of body weight. So, should I be consuming 115g of protein, or is that too much?

What happens if I consume too much protein? Does my body store it as fat?

My goals are to become more lean and defined because I'm at 19% body fat and want to get around 15-16%.

Replies

  • uconnwinsnc
    uconnwinsnc Posts: 1,054 Member
    It is hard to consume too much, but 1 gram per pound of lean body mass is definitely sufficient. So 115g is probably more than you need, but if you are comfortable with that much, there won't be any problems. As long as you aren't eating too many calories, protein isn't going to store as fat.
  • arl1286
    arl1286 Posts: 276 Member
    It depends what your goal is. If your goal is not to bulk, honestly you'll be more than fine with 50g of protein. I'm 5'10, 145 pounds, work out 4-5 days a week, and average about 60g.
  • terbusha
    terbusha Posts: 1,483 Member
    As long as you do not have kidney problems, there is no worries about having a high protein diet. If you are trying to get lean, the 50/30/20 macro ratio is a good way to go (protein/carb/fat). You'll also need to combine that with the appropriate calorie level and train with intensity. It is tough to get that lean. I'm working my way down to 6% myself.

    Allan
  • beckwiz_
    beckwiz_ Posts: 3 Member
    As long as you do not have kidney problems, there is no worries about having a high protein diet. If you are trying to get lean, the 50/30/20 macro ratio is a good way to go (protein/carb/fat). You'll also need to combine that with the appropriate calorie level and train with intensity. It is tough to get that lean. I'm working my way down to 6% myself.

    Allan

    What is the appropriate calorie level? Should I be eating at a deficit to lose body fat?
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member

    What is the appropriate calorie level? Should I be eating at a deficit to lose body fat?

    A deficit is the only way to lose body fat...

    Your calorie level will be determined by how much more you need to lose. If you need quite a bit generally 500 deficit is adequate. If you only need to lose 10% of your weight, somewhere in the 200-350 will be good. If you are an athlete, you can get away with losing more.

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