Too much protein

nzingher

Hi All,

Any of you experiencing the same issue as me, where I seem to be eating too much protein in my diet? Does it affect the weight loss in any way?

lindainak

Might try eating some vegetarian meals. I went to a dietician and she said, you must eat three whole eggs a week and start eating fish also. And she is down on soy products.

ProTFitness

NO NO NO. Do not worry about going over Protein. The site sets it too low. aim for 100g a day. This will help with weight loss

ProTFitness

Might try eating some vegetarian meals. I went to a dietician and she said, you must eat three whole eggs a week and start eating fish also. And she is down on soy products.

I eat 2 whole eggs and 2 egg white a DAY :-) I love them.

rachel303

Was just going to post a question about this. I seem to almost always go over my daily protein allowance.

lisa_lotte

I have had the same problem too, but my gym trainer is always telling me that i am not eating enough protein and that I should be having more. I work out a lot so I dont know if that means I should be having more... He tells me to snack on things like turkey slices to get more protein, but this site is telling me I have had too much even without that. Confused.com!!!

Lisa

jimmydeanbakker

Hi All,

Any of you experiencing the same issue as me, where I seem to be eating too much protein in my diet? Does it affect the weight loss in any way?

How are you doing? Since your weight is in kilograms, you can eat your weight in protein.

elainegsd

I was losing my hair, and my doc had me increase my protein to a minimum of 80 grams per day. No more hair loss. MFP protein levels should be considered a minimum for most people.

TrainingWithTonya

Eat at least 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight and up to 2 grams per kilogram of body weight if you are wanting to build muscle. 2 grams per kilo is the max recommended even for the hard core body builders, so I wouldn't recommend going over that. If you are somewhere between 0.8 and 2 grams per kilo, don't worry about your protein unless you start having signs or symptoms of too much protein. Kidney stones, yellow sweat, & ammonia smelling sweat or breath are the basic signs of too much protein. It takes a lot of extra protein to get those symptoms for most people though (unless there is some kind of underlying disease or intolerance), so don't be surprised if you are over on protein and don't have symptoms.

scottiechick77

HI,

This is a question i was asking my fitness instructor at the gym and she says im not eating enough protein in my diet (according to this site im mostly over)... Protein is needed for muscle build up. I love having some sushi after the gym (its straight across the road) and its my "healthy treat"....

Go protein!! :-)

Lyadeia

I have always believed that MFP sets the guideline for protein too low. I manually changed mine, because allowing so little protein wasn't even allowing me to have my entire piece of meat with dinner...it's perfectly fine and healthy to go over the measly amount that MFP allots you.

TrainingWithTonya

Oh, and FYI: FITNESS TRAINERS AREN'T NUTRITIONISTS!!!!! Most of them only have a very basic nutrition overview in their fitness instructor or personal trainer certification. They are taught that protein is the building block for muscle and then recommend eating high protein diets. While, yes, protein is the building block for muscle, there is a genetic limit to how much muscle you can build naturally and excess protein will be stored as fat just like excess carbs or excess fat. Trainers aren't suppose to be giving nutrition advice unless they have a second certification in nutrition or are a registered dietitian and the regulations differ based on where you live. Before you listen to a "trainer" or "fitness instructor" or anyone else in the gym, ask them about their nutrition education.

nzingher

Thanks everyone ) I thought it was too low...and considering that I am also starting a training regime I thought I'd double check.

TrainingWithTony - I'd love some tips on nutrition to have with training for a half marathon )

Thanks again!

ProTFitness

I have had the same problem too, but my gym trainer is always telling me that i am not eating enough protein and that I should be having more. I work out a lot so I dont know if that means I should be having more... He tells me to snack on things like turkey slices to get more protein, but this site is telling me I have had too much even without that. Confused.com!!!

Lisa

IF your training hard and your trainer suggest that you need more protein listen to him. :-) Most of my clients eat alot of carbs and not enough protein. Protein helps repair and rebuild muscles and keeps you full and satisfied longer

ProTFitness

Oh, and FYI: FITNESS TRAINERS AREN'T NUTRITIONISTS!!!!! Most of them only have a very basic nutrition overview in their fitness instructor or personal trainer certification. They are taught that protein is the building block for muscle and then recommend eating high protein diets. While, yes, protein is the building block for muscle, there is a genetic limit to how much muscle you can build naturally and excess protein will be stored as fat just like excess carbs or excess fat. Trainers aren't suppose to be giving nutrition advice unless they have a second certification in nutrition or are a registered dietitian and the regulations differ based on where you live. Before you listen to a "trainer" or "fitness instructor" or anyone else in the gym, ask them about their nutrition education.

True True true.

TrainingWithTonya

Thanks everyone ) I thought it was too low...and considering that I am also starting a training regime I thought I'd double check.

TrainingWithTony - I'd love some tips on nutrition to have with training for a half marathon )

Thanks again!

Training for a half marathon requires more focus on carbs then anything. The two most often used quotes in my nutrition and exercise physiology programs are "Fat burns in a carbohydrate flame" and "Carbs spare protein". What that means is that you have to have the carbs to fuel the exercise. In order to get to the Krebs cycle for fat burning and long endurance training like marathons, you have to breakdown glucose to get the pyruvate to start the fat burning process. If there isn't adequate carbohydrate in the body (specifically glycogen stored in the muscles and liver) or in the diet, then the body can produce it from protein. First it will use the protein you are eating to make the necessary glucose, which means that protein is no longer available to repair and rebuild the muscles from the exercise. Then if there is still not enough glucose to fuel the brain (Glucose is the only fuel the brain uses) and the activity, then it will start breaking down protein based tissues in the body (ie: muscle) to fuel the activity. This is why people on low carb diets lose weight quickly at first, because they deplete their glycogen stores and lose the water that glycogen is stored with in the muscles and then they start breaking down the muscle itself after chronic lack of carbohydrates. By eating adequate carbohydrates to provide the fuel for glycolysis and the byproducts of glycolysis provide the necessary components for aerobic metabolism, the protein you eat can then all be used for repair and rebuilding of the body instead of having to be used as fuel for the exercise. So, for marathon training, I specifically recommend a moderate to high carb plan to provide all the energy you need. Protein should be no more then 1.5 grams per kilogram of body weight for endurance athletes. With the extra carbs in their plan, they won't need more then that because it is all able to be used to repair and rebuild the muscles used for the training. Even though fat is the primary fuel used, you don't have to supplement it as we tend to have an abundant supply in the body, so a low fat plan is fine.

There are also several different ways to carb load before an event. Some people do a one day carb load where they consume up to 8-10 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight the day before the event. Others do a 7 day plan where they go low carb at the beginning of the week and train heavy to deplete glycogen stores and then rest and do 8-10 grams of carbs per kilogram of body weight the last 2-3 days before the event to super saturate the muscles with glycogen for the event. This helps the body store more glycogen then normal so that it has all it can possibly hold to fuel the activity on event day so you can get a better performance. I recommend my athletes practice several carb load regimens during their training prior to the event to see which works best for them so they know which to do for the actual event. Also, be sure to realize that carb loading will cause a temporary weight gain. This is not a fat gain. It's because that muscle glycogen that you have to have for your event is stored with 3 times as much water. So one gram of glycogen is stored with 3 grams of water. While this sounds bad, it is actually good because that will keep you from being dehydrated as easily while sweating through those runs. Still make sure you are drinking plenty of water before, during, and after the event though, as dehydration is the number one risk of injury in marathons.