High protein problems - anyone else?

Lolli1986

Hmm. Some of the symptoms you described could be related to gall-bladder- if your protein is accompanied by fat especially- but that doesn't explain the acidic urine.

The build up of uric acid mentioned above is also a possibility.

I'd switch GPs and force the issue of getting help. There are just too many possibilities... and a good GP should listen to your concerns and send you to a specialist if he/she can't help.

In the mean time... experiment as others have suggested. 30% protein is a good choice for preserving muscle mass as much as possible while dieting and strength training, but you'll still get good results with 25% protein... or 20%. Find where you can be without symptoms.

Good luck. Sorry to hear you're having problems.

agreed.

i'm trying to think... can painful, acidic pee be combated with increased water? it should be possible, and theoretically if you're metabolising protein for energy there should be lots more nitrogen byproduct that the body needs to flush out. if you keep your water up it should at least dilute the concentration a bit.

bloat from legumes is very common <--former vegetarian.

also, as an alternative, songbyrd said on my status today that she successfully put on muscle while on 50:20:30 (c:p:f). she said that because she was getting plenty of energy from carbs and fats, her body did not need to use as much proteins for energy, leaving it available for repair. this made a lot of sense to me.

Aineko

I too would wonder how many grams of protein you're actually getting. You log your food right, can't you see how many grams you are eating a day?

I strive for 35% a day from protein with no problems. It averages out to 225-240g a day depending on the day. Not that that helps you at all. I do average 12-14 cups of water a day typically, which I feel helps me out a bit.

I just pulled out my reports: I have problems when I eat 120g (or more) for a couple of days. My usual protein intake (since 5th of April, when I started monitoring of mfp) is 80g per day (or less; sometimes as low as 60g, but 80g most of the time) and I have no problems when I eat about that much (this is still much higher than what I used to eat before I changed my diet and started recording).

monty619

High protein & low-carb diets can cause your body to go into a dangerous metabolic state called ketosis since your body burns fat instead of glucose for energy. During ketosis, the body forms substances known as ketones, which can cause organs to fail and result in gout, kidney stones, or kidney failure. Ketosis may shed weight, but it's also associated with headaches, irritability, nausea, kidney trouble, and heart palpitations. Ketones can also dull a person's appetite, cause nausea and bad breath. Ketosis can be prevented by eating at least 100 grams of carbohydrates a day. (WebMd)

I was on a high protein diet and my doctor also warned me about the buildup of uric acid, which might be the cause of your symptoms. You need to drink a lot more than usual on this diet because the breakdown of protein creates waste products such as uric acid, which are a real no-no. Drink lots of water to help the kidneys eliminate this from the body.

After being on a high protein diet, I AM NOT A FAN. It's restrictive, doesn't really teach good eating habits, and doesn't allow us to eat from all food groups that our body needs. I would just eat enough protein to make sure you can achieve your desired results, and take it slow... eat right, count calories and exercise!

Here is a good protein calculator to figure out how much protein you should be eating daily to be in the healthy limits:
http://www.meals.com/Meals-Tools/Protein-Calculator.aspx

WRONG! ketosis is not dangerous, infact the brain prefers to run on mainly ketones rather than carbohydrates. ive done low carb diets for extended periods of time (+5months) how do you think people in arctic climates ate or africans in the plains it all was from animal protein and fats.. although i do not recomend doing a ketogenic diet it is 100% safe

Where you get this claim from, the brain "prefers" to run on ketones

more efficient* due to medical research... srry i dont have citings for you im sure you can google it.

Aineko

here's the report:


edit: or not...just to figure out how to post an image form photobucket
edit2: finally!