Looking for some advice.

rusto1984

Over the last year i've gone from 237 pounds, down to about 175. I'd still like to get down to about 155. I've become frustrated with weight lose because i've leveled off. So i've decided to go ahead and move onto lifting weights. So as of today, i'm about 5"7 175. How much protein should I be taking in? I've been using Creatine and Whey Protein. I've heard 1-1.5g for every pound of weight? So that's 175g all the way up to 262g of protein?? Is that right? If so, what does that do to my total calorie intake?

ambermichon

Congrats on lifting weights!!!! Its amazing and you will see results. I dont know about grams of protein but I have 2 shakes a day usually....morning and one after I workout. :-)

RosiePie25

To be honest, I don't know the answer to this lol but I just wanted to say good luck to you! You've come along way, which is awesome. Congrats!

melbaby925

I started reading Tom Venuto's blog recently and got some great information from it: http://www.burnthefatblog.com. There are a bunch of online resources to help you get the answers you want for this.

atomdraco

I think it's using kilogram, not lb to measure:

1 pound = 0.45359237 kilogram

0.5 to 1.0 gram per kilogram of body weight to maintain
1.5 to 2 gram per kilogram of body weight to help gain (if you are doing heavy weight lifting, and not on any deficit)

Readings:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/288904-daily-protein-intake-for-muscle-growth/
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/414351

ejmcam

The amount that MFP gives you seems to correspond with a pretty sedentary lifestyle. If you are weight training, I have actually heard that you should take in as much as twice the recommended daily allowance. I go over on my protein every day and think nothing of it because I lift weights 5 days a week.

Rompa_87

While you will find a lot of bodybuilding websites expressing how much protein you need to build and maintain muscle mass they usually are on the extremely high side. According to a recent scientific review of the evidence, you only need at most 15% of your daily calories from protein. So work out your BMR and activity level and then give around 15% of calories to protein, 55% for carbohydrates and 30% to healthy fats.

The reason for this is simply that the more weight training you do the more efficiently your body will utilise protein and hence you do not need super amounts, in fact some studies suggest you require less.

For a quick look of the study it is titled 'Protein Requirements and Supplementation in Strength Sports' in The Journal of Nutrition 2004.

JennLifts

Over the last year i've gone from 237 pounds, down to about 175. I'd still like to get down to about 155. I've become frustrated with weight lose because i've leveled off. So i've decided to go ahead and move onto lifting weights. So as of today, i'm about 5"7 175. How much protein should I be taking in? I've been using Creatine and Whey Protein. I've heard 1-1.5g for every pound of weight? So that's 175g all the way up to 262g of protein?? Is that right? If so, what does that do to my total calorie intake?

You add cals to bulk, and pick a percent in this case. So if your maintenance were 2000, and you added 300, and you wanted to do 30% protein, that's 690 cals of protein, or 173g/day. then fill in your other macros, maybe 50% carb, and 20% fat..? It's up to you. But you can add 200-400 to your total maintenance cals/day to bulk. Some people take it way over, and then you get to cut a lot more

JennLifts

While you will find a lot of bodybuilding websites expressing how much protein you need to build and maintain muscle mass they usually are on the extremely high side. According to a recent scientific review of the evidence, you only need at most 15% of your daily calories from protein. So work out your BMR and activity level and then give around 15% of calories to protein, 55% for carbohydrates and 30% to healthy fats.

The reason for this is simply that the more weight training you do the more efficiently your body will utilise protein and hence you do not need super amounts, in fact some studies suggest you require less.

For a quick look of the study it is titled 'Protein Requirements and Supplementation in Strength Sports' in The Journal of Nutrition 2004.

You can do this too, but in total honesty, i dont know a lifter out there that would do 15%

Rompa_87

Agreed. I'm the first I know of! But very few lifters would actually read and know how to interpret research articles that aren't just snippets in a fitness magazine.

So far the 15% protein thing has been hard to not go over but it definitely helps to cut back excess protein as that is calories you can use to meet healthy fats which are often feared and ignored.

While you will find a lot of bodybuilding websites expressing how much protein you need to build and maintain muscle mass they usually are on the extremely high side. According to a recent scientific review of the evidence, you only need at most 15% of your daily calories from protein. So work out your BMR and activity level and then give around 15% of calories to protein, 55% for carbohydrates and 30% to healthy fats.

The reason for this is simply that the more weight training you do the more efficiently your body will utilise protein and hence you do not need super amounts, in fact some studies suggest you require less.

For a quick look of the study it is titled 'Protein Requirements and Supplementation in Strength Sports' in The Journal of Nutrition 2004.

You can do this too, but in total honesty, i dont know a lifter out there that would do 15%

rusto1984

Thanks for all the feedback