Can too much protein slow weight loss?

nsala86

So I am just starting out with MFP. I've actually already lost 30 pounds over the last few months using WW but have decided to give this a go before signing up for WW again. While inputting my food over the last couple of days, I've noticed that I usually stay under my calorie goal but go above my protein goal. Can this potentially slow weight loss? How important is it to hit the mark in all nutritional categories? I never really had to think about all of this stuff using weight watchers...I just calculated points and that was it. But this is much more comprehensive and probably a lot more accurate. Any feedback (especially from former weight watchers members) is appreciated!

SherryTeach

No. Stay at your calorie goal and try to hit your macros, though they will never be exact. Where is all that protein coming from by the way? Hope it's real food and not supplements.

serindipte

If by "too much protein" you are going over your calorie goal, yes. Otherwise, view protein as a minimum.. it's set ridiculously low by MFP default.

130annie

Hi As far as I can remember, it was about 2 ounces lunch time and about five at teatime....I just shows how long it's been for me, I'm still thinking in ounces....

norcal_yogi

too much food/calories can slow weight loss...

diannethegeek

Calories are what matter for weight loss. Your macro nutrients (fat/protein/carbs) can affect health and body composition, but going over or under on any of them shouldn't affect your weight. Protein is great because it helps keep you full and helps repair and retain your lean muscle mass. If you're using MFP's default numbers, they set protein fairly low anyway. I always consider my protein number as a minimum to hit every day rather than a maximum to stay under.

dawnmcneil10

I was a WW member years ago and while I had success on WW I found I didn't really learn food value for myself until I joined MFP. I never had issues with points but I look at the quality of the foods much more closely now and my success has doubled.

What I would suggest is to go into your settings and adjust your diary to be made up of 40% carbs 30% fat and 30% protein. I bet the numbers will look a little better to you then.

Feel free to friend me if you'd like sometimes having someone else with a similar experience can really help.

ken_m

A good rule of thumb is to shoot for your target body weight in grams of protein.

I don't know why they call it a rule of thumb because thumbs have no rules except don't talk about thumb club

Ashes_To_Beast

If your trying to lose weight protein should be your go to macro, aim over as much as you can. Even if you don't exercise.

pyrowill

I can't remember where I heard this or how accurate it is. But I recall someone saying it's fine to go over on any of the macro's, except Carbs.

pyrowill

If your trying to lose weight protein should be your go to macro, aim over as much as you can. Even if you don't exercise.

I must admit I'd like to know more about this, I often don't try as hard to eat extra protein on days when I'm relatively inactive. I understand it's probably not a good idea but I'd be interested to know more about why its good even on non active days.

ken_m

If your trying to lose weight protein should be your go to macro, aim over as much as you can. Even if you don't exercise.

that's a sweeping generalization and super potato comment in general lmao

Ashes_To_Beast

If your trying to lose weight protein should be your go to macro, aim over as much as you can. Even if you don't exercise.

I must admit I'd like to know more about this, I often don't try as hard to eat extra protein on days when I'm relatively inactive. I understand it's probably not a good idea but I'd be interested to know more about why its good even on non active days.

This is one article on the subject that covers some explanations, you can google it for more details
http://www.wellnessresources.com/tips/articles/how_protein_helps_weight_loss/

1Cor1510

http://www.mckinley.illinois.edu/handouts/macronutrients.htm

If you're trying to lose weight, you are typically in a caloric deficit. In order for your body to retain as much muscle and lean mass as possible, you need protein. I shoot for 100 grams of protein per day, and I have not had a particularly quick rate of loss 2-3 lbs per month, 16 lbs overall since the beginning of the year. I am down 2 sizes and look much thinner than I did due to fat loss. In that 16lb loss, I have taken my BF% down 9% and gained some lean mass. Muscle is difficult to put on while in a deficit, but has been known to happen in obese beginners to exercise (which I was.)

It really depends on how you want to "lose weight". If you're concerned about the number on the scale, you can lose weight without exercising and ensuring a deficit without paying particular attention to macros. If you're wanting to become stronger, healthier looking and in better shape overall, macros definately make a difference in body composition and enabling your body to do the exercise and strength training you are trying to acheive.

Check out IIFYM.com, and there's a facebook page IIFYM Women that is particularly helpful. I've done WW in the past, I've done MFP without counting macros in the past, and this time MFP counting macros. This time I was concerned about my slow rate of loss and asked my husband if I should just be continue counting macros or go back to just staying in a deficit and not worrying about it, he immediately said to keep doing what I'm doing, because I LOOK much smaller than I did doing it the other way.

I also do the 40/30/30 method. It's easier for me to stick to than the calculator on IIFYM, but that site gives you some good info about the premise of macro tracking. And of course, feel free to friend me if you like. While I'm not perfect at it, I do try

nsala86

No it's all coming from food! I stay under my calorie goal and under all other macros but I'm always over protein. Just didn't know if that would negatively effect anything

maizerage66

If your trying to lose weight protein should be your go to macro, aim over as much as you can. Even if you don't exercise.

I must admit I'd like to know more about this, I often don't try as hard to eat extra protein on days when I'm relatively inactive. I understand it's probably not a good idea but I'd be interested to know more about why its good even on non active days.

Protein has been proven to be more satiating just like fiber. The more you have, the less hungry you feel. So basically on non active days you'd be less likely to overeat if consuming enough protein. Everyone is different though...

nsala86

If your trying to lose weight protein should be your go to macro, aim over as much as you can. Even if you don't exercise.

Thank you! That's helpful. Now I'm not quite so concerned about it. I am exercising daily now so, I find if I try to lower my protein intake I'm hungry all the time

ken_m

If your trying to lose weight protein should be your go to macro, aim over as much as you can. Even if you don't exercise.

I must admit I'd like to know more about this, I often don't try as hard to eat extra protein on days when I'm relatively inactive. I understand it's probably not a good idea but I'd be interested to know more about why its good even on non active days.

This is one article on the subject that covers some explanations, you can google it for more details
http://www.wellnessresources.com/tips/articles/how_protein_helps_weight_loss/

i once had a vacuum salesman tell me about the many benefits of vacuums and he provided some great literature

say_pocket

Oh man. What are you eating? I can never seem to hit my protein macro without a supplement.

No_Finish_Line

If your trying to lose weight protein should be your go to macro, aim over as much as you can. Even if you don't exercise.

Thank you! That's helpful. Now I'm not quite so concerned about it. I am exercising daily now so, I find if I try to lower my protein intake I'm hungry all the time

well if you have bad kidneys i wouldn't recommend just overloading on protien. and if you don't have bad kidneys, and you overload on protien for years, and you don't exercise, it could give you bad kidneys.

not that i'm anti-protein, just figured that was worth mentioning.

it would not slow your weight loss so long as you are at or under your calorie goal

if anything it should speed it up, as protein is the least efficiently absorbed macro and it takes the more energy to change excess energy consumed in the form of protein into stored fat then it does carbs

zuko71

I would like to change to 40/30/30 How do you do this?i seem to be going in circles

diannethegeek

I would like to change to 40/30/30 How do you do this?i seem to be going in circles

Go here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/my_goals

and select "Change Goals"

then choose "Custom"

and you should be able to set your macro percentages from there.

nsala86

Oh man. What are you eating? I can never seem to hit my protein macro without a supplement.

MFP seems to say that I need about 85 g of protein on average on days that I'm exercising (which is usually every day). I usually end up getting about 100. I eat egg whites/turkey bacon in the morning (sometimes I'll have a fruit smoothie with a scoop of protein powder which I guess is a supplement but thats only about 15 g). Lunch usually fish or chicken with veggies and dinner usually some kind of grilled protein source (steak, chicken, fish) with veggies. Snacks are usually veggies with hummus, cheese sticks, fruit.

nsala86

If your trying to lose weight protein should be your go to macro, aim over as much as you can. Even if you don't exercise.

Thank you! That's helpful. Now I'm not quite so concerned about it. I am exercising daily now so, I find if I try to lower my protein intake I'm hungry all the time

well if you have bad kidneys i wouldn't recommend just overloading on protien. and if you don't have bad kidneys, and you overload on protien for years, and you don't exercise, it could give you bad kidneys.

not that i'm anti-protein, just figured that was worth mentioning.

it would not slow your weight loss so long as you are at or under your calorie goal

if anything it should speed it up, as protein is the least efficiently absorbed macro and it takes the more energy to change excess energy consumed in the form of protein into stored fat then it does carbs

I dont know if 100 grams a day is overloading...I'm pretty new to this. I do sometimes have kidney stones but no major problems other than that. I am always under calorie goal, just didn't want to go overboard with the protein if there could be negative consequences. Thanks for mentioning this!

zuko71

I would like to change to 40/30/30 How do you do this?i seem to be going in circles

Go here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/my_goals

and select "Change Goals"

then choose "Custom"

and you should be able to set your macro percentages from there.

Thankyou just did it, i can throw the calculator away now

snowbunnyA

Hi As far as I can remember, it was about 2 ounces lunch time and about five at teatime....I just shows how long it's been for me, I'm still thinking in ounces....

Just to clarify, are you sure you're not talking about the weight of the meat (or whatever protein source)? 5oz (about 140g) of chicken breast contains 29.4g (1oz) of protein. To get 140g of protein, you'd have to eat 667g of chicken (23.5oz)!!!!!

ken_m

mfp, the greatest source of misinformation on the internet

*fireworks explode in the distance*

No_Finish_Line

If your trying to lose weight protein should be your go to macro, aim over as much as you can. Even if you don't exercise.

Thank you! That's helpful. Now I'm not quite so concerned about it. I am exercising daily now so, I find if I try to lower my protein intake I'm hungry all the time

well if you have bad kidneys i wouldn't recommend just overloading on protien. and if you don't have bad kidneys, and you overload on protien for years, and you don't exercise, it could give you bad kidneys.

not that i'm anti-protein, just figured that was worth mentioning.

it would not slow your weight loss so long as you are at or under your calorie goal

if anything it should speed it up, as protein is the least efficiently absorbed macro and it takes the more energy to change excess energy consumed in the form of protein into stored fat then it does carbs

I dont know if 100 grams a day is overloading...I'm pretty new to this. I do sometimes have kidney stones but no major problems other than that. I am always under calorie goal, just didn't want to go overboard with the protein if there could be negative consequences. Thanks for mentioning this!

i've had kidney stones in the past too. haven't had any issues in years and i eat a lot of protien.


how much is too much probably depends in large part on how much you weight and how bad your body needs it based on your activties. 100 g does not sound excessive.

Koldnomore

I have eaten a minimum of 100g of protein almost every day for the past 2 years. It's a minimum for me and keeps me full. It hasn't affected my losses at all. If anything, it's one of the reasons why I have remained very muscular even though I didn't lift weights at all in my first year.

MBrothers22

At/below your calorie goal and above your protein goal is awesome and not always easy to do. Keep doing that.

Only too many calories will stop weight loss.