Is there such thing as 'too much' protein?

CatchMom11

So my breakfast was an egg white omlette with diced ham and fat free mozzarella and 2/3 cup of skim milk. While it was only 226 calories, it was 48g of protein! Should I cut back on the protein? I'm not meeting my calorie goals because I'm always full and I think it's due to the amount of protein I get in a day.

Yesterday for instance, I was 525 under my calorie goal but only 3g under my protein goal for the day. Most of the foods that I eat at low in carbs and fat and high in protein and fiber.

Should I be doing something different? If so, then what?

I've lost 3 lbs. in 2 days.

xraychick77

typically we should only be getting 0.5 to 0.7 times our body weight in protein a day. on average its about 40-50 grams a day. you can get too much. it can cause all sorts of issues..especially when your protein is mostly animal/meat based. there is high cholesterol, heart disease, and protein itself can cause neurological problems, has been linked to colon cancers, and is hard on the kidneys. plus, out bodies burn carbs first as energy, fat next then protein. so if you are intaking too much protein it just gets stored as fat. I body build, so I intake around 100 give or take grams a day. i dont intake anymore because its been proven that more protein doesnt mean bigger muscles. but i intake that much to help repair my muscles..and i am a vegetarian so i have to make sure i'm getting all my essential aminos.

ps you can google any of this information. i actually recently the things i posted on webmd

tlw4u2luv_unused

my NUT said that our bodies can only absorb so much protein at one time, she suggested keeping it around 25 grams per serving and having 6 meals. I am supposed to have 75 grams of protein in a day because of my height but average sized females should have 65 grams. Hope that helps!

FaithandFitness

There is, and I don't know the details. I also know I do best at my weight loss when my protein is high and my carbs are low. I am sure someone will have a "smarter" answer than this. My daily goals are about 40% calories from protein, 30 carbs, 30 fat.

erickirb

It is okay to be over on Protein as MFP sets protein low (15% of total calories) A balanced diet can consist of protein up to 30%. So you can eat double the protein MFP suggests and be fine.

FYI: You should not be that far under your daily caloric goal. If you eat 100% of the calories you will lose your goal amount of weight, coming in more than 100 or so below the goal may cause more harm than good.

bybybelly

Ask your trainer....she knows everything:laugh:

Vicky14174

there are lots of conflicting information about this subject but my rule of thumb is 1 gram of fiber to 1 lb of body weight is the limit. and so far i haven't come anywhere close to that amount. i also try and go over my limits on protein and fiber but i do this through fruits and veggies not so much meat. Greek yogurt is a great source of protein as is nuts.

4theking

There seems to be lots of misinformation on this topic. Protein and fiber provide greater satiey than any of the other macronutrients so I definitely see why you may be struggling to meet your calories suggested on mfp.

Protein will not hurt you, your body can use all th protein you eat, and it will help in weightloss.

CatchMom11

typically we should only be getting 0.5 to 0.7 times our body weight in protein a day. on average its about 40-50 grams a day. you can get too much. it can cause all sorts of issues..especially when your protein is mostly animal/meat based. there is high cholesterol, heart disease, and protein itself can cause neurological problems, has been linked to colon cancers, and is hard on the kidneys. plus, out bodies burn carbs first as energy, fat next then protein. so if you are intaking too much protein it just gets stored as fat. I body build, so I intake around 100 give or take grams a day. i dont intake anymore because its been proven that more protein doesnt mean bigger muscles. but i intake that much to help repair my muscles..and i am a vegetarian so i have to make sure i'm getting all my essential aminos.

ps you can google any of this information. i actually recently the things i posted on webmd

I don't body build per se, but I strength train and do cardio almost everyday with 1-2 days off a week from strength training where I just do some sort of cardio. Does that still mean I'm getting too much?

CatchMom11

Ask your trainer....she knows everything:laugh:

Bite me! lol.

You're such a brat!

4theking

typically we should only be getting 0.5 to 0.7 times our body weight in protein a day. on average its about 40-50 grams a day. you can get too much. it can cause all sorts of issues..especially when your protein is mostly animal/meat based. there is high cholesterol, heart disease, and protein itself can cause neurological problems, has been linked to colon cancers, and is hard on the kidneys. plus, out bodies burn carbs first as energy, fat next then protein. so if you are intaking too much protein it just gets stored as fat. I body build, so I intake around 100 give or take grams a day. i dont intake anymore because its been proven that more protein doesnt mean bigger muscles. but i intake that much to help repair my muscles..and i am a vegetarian so i have to make sure i'm getting all my essential aminos.

ps you can google any of this information. i actually recently the things i posted on webmd

I don't body build per se, but I strength train and do cardio almost everyday with 1-2 days off a week from strength training where I just do some sort of cardio. Does that still mean I'm getting too much?

You cannot get too much....just eat.

CatchMom11

There seems to be lots of misinformation on this topic. Protein and fiber provide greater satiey than any of the other macronutrients so I definitely see why you may be struggling to meet your calories suggested on mfp.

Protein will not hurt you, your body can use all th protein you eat, and it will help in weightloss.

Yeah, it's definitely not because I'm starving myself because I'm eating on average every 1.5-2 hours during the day. I'm just really selective with what I eat. I eat a lot of egg whites, lean meats (chicken mostly), tuna, skim milk.... I don't just look at the calories but everything as a whole. Then with my workouts.... but I also think that my protein level is why I'm not as sore as I used to be when working out.

CatchMom11

typically we should only be getting 0.5 to 0.7 times our body weight in protein a day. on average its about 40-50 grams a day. you can get too much. it can cause all sorts of issues..especially when your protein is mostly animal/meat based. there is high cholesterol, heart disease, and protein itself can cause neurological problems, has been linked to colon cancers, and is hard on the kidneys. plus, out bodies burn carbs first as energy, fat next then protein. so if you are intaking too much protein it just gets stored as fat. I body build, so I intake around 100 give or take grams a day. i dont intake anymore because its been proven that more protein doesnt mean bigger muscles. but i intake that much to help repair my muscles..and i am a vegetarian so i have to make sure i'm getting all my essential aminos.

ps you can google any of this information. i actually recently the things i posted on webmd

I don't body build per se, but I strength train and do cardio almost everyday with 1-2 days off a week from strength training where I just do some sort of cardio. Does that still mean I'm getting too much?

You cannot get too much....just eat.

lol. Thank you!

TrainingWithTonya

The general recommendation is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. If you are doing a lot of exercise and need the extra protein for repair and rebuilding muscle, you can go up to 2 grams per kilogram of body weight. (If you weigh yourself in pounds, divide that by 2.2 to get kilograms.) The studies I've read have only proven protein to be safe up to 2.7 grams per kilogram of body weight, so I wouldn't recommend going over that. For most people excess protein isn't risky, but if you are prone to kidney issues, excess protein can make them worse. It can also be rough on the liver and mess up the pH of the blood and other organs if you are eating too much protein and not enough carbs. But again, that is at levels of more then 2 grams per kilogram of body weight unless you already have medical issues.

As for how much the body can use at once, that is between 20 and 30 grams per meal. It varies from person to person and larger people tend to be able to handle more. That's part of why you are fuller on high protein diets. The enzymes and such that are required to break it down just can't be produced fast enough to handle more. For some people, the extra protein will cause gastrointestinal issues when they eat too much at once. You'll know if you have those issues, though.

freerange

The men of the Lewis and Clark expedition averaged about 9 POUNDS of meat per day (mostly elk). Now, that alone equals 4680 calories, 54 grams of fat, and get this, 900 grams of protein. If you listen to the vegetarians, and the high carb “experts” here you would think these men would have dropped stone cold dead after a couple days from an exploded liver and complete kidney failure. They would also eat fat off the beavers they caught, or bear fat, and when they got to the west coast whale blubber, to increase their fat intake. These men were healthy, except for some of the local diseases and from drinking unsanitary water. And from the “cures” Clark would put them thru when they did get sick.

CatchMom11

As for how much the body can use at once, that is between 20 and 30 grams per meal. It varies from person to person and larger people tend to be able to handle more. That's part of why you are fuller on high protein diets. The enzymes and such that are required to break it down just can't be produced fast enough to handle more. For some people, the extra protein will cause gastrointestinal issues when they eat too much at once. You'll know if you have those issues, though.

I think I've got the "large" part covered. ;-)

TrainingWithTonya

Oh, and the weight loss that people see so rapidly when they start a high protein diet is generally the water and glycogen stored in the muscles. In order to fuel exercise, your body starts with glycogen (carb) burning because it has to have a by product of glycogen burning to start fat burning. If you are eating mostly protein and not enough carbs (not just grains, but also fruits and veggies) then the glycogen from the muscles gets used up and not replaced so the water it is stored in is lost. Then the protein that is taken in has to be converted to glycogen for fuel and isn't all available for muscle repair and regrowth, so you have to consume a lot of protein to be able to meet energy needs and repair and regrowth needs. The breakdown of that protein includes the removal of nitrogen from the protein molecules, and the nitrogen is flushed out of the body with the water from the glycogen storage. At first this is fine and shows up as a big loss on the scale, but eventually, there won't be as much water loss and then the process of getting rid of the nitrogen becomes harder on the body. Its better for fueling the workouts to have enough carbs in your daily intake to replace that glycogen so you don't lose the water and just enough protein to do the repair and regrowth of muscle so you have the energy to do longer, harder workouts so you can burn more fat and lose it instead of water.

heathersmilez

typically we should only be getting 0.5 to 0.7 times our body weight in protein a day. on average its about 40-50 grams a day.

Correcting your math, a 100 lb person eating 0.5 their body weight = 50g, very low for a very small person.

2g per lb is in excess unless you are body building but not necessarily harmful. Aim for 30% protein in your diet as recommended previously which is approximately 100g.

4theking

As for how much the body can use at once, that is between 20 and 30 grams per meal. It varies from person to person and larger people tend to be able to handle more. That's part of why you are fuller on high protein diets. The enzymes and such that are required to break it down just can't be produced fast enough to handle more. For some people, the extra protein will cause gastrointestinal issues when they eat too much at once. You'll know if you have those issues, though.

This is a myth. Whole food protein sources digest at a rate of 3-6gms an hour. Also take into account other nutrients eaten and you are talking about several hours. How on earth could we have survived as a species only being able to digest 20gms at a meal?

heathersmilez

The general recommendation is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. If you are doing a lot of exercise and need the extra protein for repair and rebuilding muscle, you can go up to 2 grams per kilogram of body weight. (If you weigh yourself in pounds, divide that by 2.2 to get kilograms.) The studies I've read have only proven protein to be safe up to 2.7 grams per kilogram of body weight, so I wouldn't recommend going over that. For most people excess protein isn't risky, but if you are prone to kidney issues, excess protein can make them worse. It can also be rough on the liver and mess up the pH of the blood and other organs if you are eating too much protein and not enough carbs. But again, that is at levels of more then 2 grams per kilogram of body weight unless you already have medical issues.

Meh forget what I just said, Tonya's usually write about everything, lol

BUT, if you only eat 50ish g a day then you are back down to about 15-20% protein which would be 55% ish carbs which is at the highest end is it not? 45-50% carbs is ideal for regular calorie counting diets NOT low-carb plans.

TrainingWithTonya

The men of the Lewis and Clark expedition averaged about 9 POUNDS of meat per day (mostly elk). Now, that alone equals 4680 calories, 54 grams of fat, and get this, 900 grams of protein. If you listen to the vegetarians, and the high carb “experts” here you would think these men would have dropped stone cold dead after a couple days from an exploded liver and complete kidney failure. They would also eat fat off the beavers they caught, or bear fat, and when they got to the west coast whale blubber, to increase their fat intake. These men were healthy, except for some of the local diseases and from drinking unsanitary water. And from the “cures” Clark would put them thru when they did get sick.

It takes a lot longer then a couple of days to die from a high fat or high protein intake. Lewis died at 35 years old, much too soon to see the effects of his poor diet. Clark however, died at 69 from an unknown illness which could have easily been heart disease, liver disease, or some form of cancer. Medicine back then didn't really have the capability of looking at his cholesterol or other levels.