Protein

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Pokermom10
Pokermom10 Posts: 78 Member
in Food and Nutrition
What are the drawbacks, side effects of eating too much protein?

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  • MotorCityFemmeFatale
    MotorCityFemmeFatale Posts: 222 Member
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    You start to look like some of my MFP friends, myself included..... with proper cals and weight lifting of course. :wink:

    MFP sets them too low IMO. What are your concerns?
  • treetop57
    treetop57 Posts: 1,578 Member
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    How much more are we talking about? A gram or so per pound of body weight is probably much higher than the 15% of calories that MFP sets as the default goal, but from everything I've read it's not going to hurt you.

    If you get nearly all your calories from protein, though, it could be very hard on your kidneys and other organs. I believe gout is another possible effect.

    Of course, as it says at the bottom of every screen on these forums: "Posts by members, moderators and admins should not be considered medical advice and no guarantee is made against accuracy."
  • smbkrn
    smbkrn Posts: 30 Member
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    When I first started MFP i was always planning my days around my protein so I didn't go over. I started doing some research and found that you should be eating 0.8-1.0 grams of protein for each lb of body weight. This amount increased to 1.0-1.25 grams if you are trying to build muscle and may even higher if you are really trying to build muscle.

    ie...a 180 lb person should be eating 144-180 grams of protein each day.

    MFP was very low for protein. I increased my protein from the default of 15% to 20% (still under the 0.8/lb) and have not had an issue since. I am also still losing approx. 2 lbs per week so I would say that it has not affected me negatively.
  • Pokermom10
    Pokermom10 Posts: 78 Member
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    Thanks everyone! I've been going over my protein almost every day. I feel good and I'm not as hungry, but I just wanted to be sure it was a good thing. Knowing that MFP sets protein a little low is good information.
  • ladyraven68
    ladyraven68 Posts: 2,003 Member
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    Thanks everyone! I've been going over my protein almost every day. I feel good and I'm not as hungry, but I just wanted to be sure it was a good thing. Knowing that MFP sets protein a little low is good information.

    I've changed my MFP settings from the low protein goal to 30%
    (40% carbs, 30% protein and fat)

    Now I'm struggling to get there!

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