Is too much protein bad

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currie500
currie500 Posts: 5
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi,
I am new to the program and I am finding that sometimes I am over for protein. Is this a bad thing?
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Replies

  • Glucocorticoid
    Glucocorticoid Posts: 867 Member
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    Unless you have kidney issues, no. Aim for at least 1g/lb, particularly if you are in a deficit and/or lifting weights.
  • Emv79
    Emv79 Posts: 245 Member
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    You'd have to be eating quite a lot of protein for it to be bad (unless you have kidney issues to begin with).
    How much protein are you eating now? What is your goal set at?
    Do you weight train/lift?

    As a reference, I'm just shy of 5'10, 151lbs , I weight train 3 hours a week (spread on 4 days) and do cardio 6x week. I eat 1550cals (more when I workout) and I eat between 150g-170g in protein each day.
  • Glucocorticoid
    Glucocorticoid Posts: 867 Member
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    If you're implying that "quite a lot of protein" will cause kidney issues, that isn't true. A high protein intake is only a problem for folks with preexisting kidney issues.
  • JustPeachy044
    JustPeachy044 Posts: 770 Member
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    I am doing a "bodyshaping" program and they actually recommended a 40% protein, 40% carb, 20% fat composition. i am usually over in fat everyday and a bit under in protein with that equation, but it is a good goal to strive for. MFP does not set your diet like that, so if you are using their settings and are over in protein, especially if you are exercising, you can probably consider the overage a good thing!
  • Glucocorticoid
    Glucocorticoid Posts: 867 Member
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    I am doing a "bodyshaping" program and they actually recommended a 40% protein, 40% carb, 20% fat composition. i am usually over in fat everyday and a bit under in protein with that equation, but it is a good goal to strive for. MFP does not set your diet like that, so if you are using their settings and are over in protein, especially if you are exercising, you can probably consider the overage a good thing!
    Having your macronutrients set via percentages isn't the best way to go about things as it doesn't take into account an individual's need in all situations. To quote Lyle McDonald:
    So why is this a problem? When someone puts protein, carb, or fat requirements in terms of percentages only for a diet setup, it doesn’t necessarily have any relevance to what that person actually needs. For example, it’s not uncommon to see diets for bodybuilders set up with 25-30% protein. Others take a more conservative 15% and use that across the board for athletes or general intake. But what do those percentages actually mean? Obviously nothing unless you also know how many calories that person is eating.
    Let’s use our 200 lb example individual above and look at his protein intake. Let’s split the middle value for weight training and say he actually needs 150 g/day of protein and put him at two different caloric extremes: 1000 cal/day (a starvation diet) vs. 10,000 calories/day (Parillo style). Let’s set protein at 30% which most would say is sufficient (or excessive depending on who you’re talking to).
    1000 cal/day at 30% yields 300 calories from protein, or 75 grams of protein. He’d need 60% protein on 1000 cal/day to get 150 grams of protein per dya. 10,000 cal/day at 30% yields 3000 calories from protein, or 750 grams of protein. Although both diets are 30% protein, the first is half of what our guy actually needs (75 g/day vs. 150 g/day); the second diet has 5 times as much protein as he actually needs. Yes, these are extreme examples and deliberately chosen that way. But they point out that the percentage itself has no relevance whatsoever to what our guy’s actual requirements are.
    Now, the typical counter-response to what I wrote above is that the percentage values are assumed to be based on some fairly average caloric intake. That is, if we were to put our 200 lb guy (150 g/protein required per day) on a more ‘average’ 2400 cal/day (12 cal/lb) and 30% protein, he will come out with a protein intake of 2400 * 0.3 = 800 cal from protein yielding 200 grams/day or 1 gram per pound. Yes, a little higher than the 150 g/day but not excessively so. And that’s fine, percentage based diets are going to be roughly valid within a certain caloric range. The problem is that isn’t always how they are applied and that’s certainly not how the percentages are typically interpreted.
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/diet-percentages-part-2.html
  • Emv79
    Emv79 Posts: 245 Member
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    If you're implying that "quite a lot of protein" will cause kidney issues, that isn't true. A high protein intake is only a problem for folks with preexisting kidney issues.

    Nope, that's not what I meant. I actually agree with you.
    There are some studies showing that too much protein can cause stress on the heart and kidneys (which would not harm your kidneys, but have them go in overdrive which would cause them to flush out important nutrients which your body actually need), but you'd really have to be truly excessive about it.
    When I was referring to "unless you have kidney issues" I meant preexisting.
  • Rocbola
    Rocbola Posts: 1,998 Member
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    Yes, it is. Too much protein can lead to a change in the body's PH, which leads to calcium being removed from the bones, thereby weakening them. Also there are other issues associated with too much protein.
  • gypsybree
    gypsybree Posts: 218
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    There is a certain amount that you need for your body... i need over a hundred, MFP says I only need around 60.

    Sometimes you can get constipated if there's too much protein and not enough fiber
  • suziecue66
    suziecue66 Posts: 1,312 Member
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    Yes, it is. Too much protein can lead to a change in the body's PH, which leads to calcium being removed from the bones, thereby weakening them. Also there are other issues associated with too much protein.

    You make sure to eat lots of veggies etc so that you decrease acid load. Take multi vitamin and particularly minerals. Avoid other acidic forming foods to compensate.
  • NocturnalGirl
    NocturnalGirl Posts: 1,762
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    The MFP protein setting is too low anyways so going above it doesn't mean you are eating too much of it. It's actually preferable that you change that setting to a higher amount.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    Yes, it is. Too much protein can lead to a change in the body's PH, which leads to calcium being removed from the bones, thereby weakening them. Also there are other issues associated with too much protein.

    You have to eat a *kitten* load of protein before you have issues like this (pre-existing medical issues aside).
  • suziecue66
    suziecue66 Posts: 1,312 Member
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    Yes, it is. Too much protein can lead to a change in the body's PH, which leads to calcium being removed from the bones, thereby weakening them. Also there are other issues associated with too much protein.

    You have to eat a *kitten* load of protein before you have issues like this (pre-existing medical issues aside).

    Agree. Or some people can deal with more protein better, others cannot.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    Yes, it is. Too much protein can lead to a change in the body's PH, which leads to calcium being removed from the bones, thereby weakening them. Also there are other issues associated with too much protein.

    You have to eat a *kitten* load of protein before you have issues like this (pre-existing medical issues aside).

    Agree. Or some people can deal with more protein better, others cannot.

    I up your agree!! On that note: it can cause some discomfort GI wise for some folks - and people need to ensure they are appropriately hydrated.
  • suziecue66
    suziecue66 Posts: 1,312 Member
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    Yes, it is. Too much protein can lead to a change in the body's PH, which leads to calcium being removed from the bones, thereby weakening them. Also there are other issues associated with too much protein.

    You have to eat a *kitten* load of protein before you have issues like this (pre-existing medical issues aside).

    Agree. Or some people can deal with more protein better, others cannot.

    I up your agree!! On that note: it can cause some discomfort GI wise for some folks - and people need to ensure they are appropriately hydrated.
    hydration very important like you said.
  • currie500
    currie500 Posts: 5
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    Thank you so much for all the comments. It is so nice to know that everyone is out there to ask questions.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    If you're going with MFP's default settings I wouldn't worry about it at all. Their settings are ridiculously low.

    I aim for 1gram per pound of lean body weight, so at least 100grams a day.
  • Sublog
    Sublog Posts: 1,296 Member
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    Hi,
    I am new to the program and I am finding that sometimes I am over for protein. Is this a bad thing?
    On the contrary, going over your protein intake is a good thing. Science concludes that protein requirements go up when dieting, not down. And to top it off, protein is satiating as well.

    It's a win win.
  • Rocbola
    Rocbola Posts: 1,998 Member
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    Yes, it is. Too much protein can lead to a change in the body's PH, which leads to calcium being removed from the bones, thereby weakening them. Also there are other issues associated with too much protein.

    You have to eat a *kitten* load of protein before you have issues like this (pre-existing medical issues aside).
    Yes, but a "*kitten* load" of protein is what's eaten in the Standard American Diet. Sure, it may take awhile, but that's not the point. We shouldn't be eating in a way that is going to make us less sick than other ways of eating, we should be eating in a way that doesn't make us sick at all. Keep your protein at 10% of your calories, max.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    Yes, it is. Too much protein can lead to a change in the body's PH, which leads to calcium being removed from the bones, thereby weakening them. Also there are other issues associated with too much protein.

    You have to eat a *kitten* load of protein before you have issues like this (pre-existing medical issues aside).
    Yes, but a "*kitten* load" of protein is what's eaten in the Standard American Diet. Sure, it may take awhile, but that's not the point. We shouldn't be eating in a way that is going to make us less sick than other ways of eating, we should be eating in a way that doesn't make us sick at all. Keep your protein at 10% of your calories, max.

    I doubt very much a *kitten* load of protein is eaten in the standard American diet. 10% is a ridiculously low amount of protein. I would love to see a study showing that this is too much.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    Yes, it is. Too much protein can lead to a change in the body's PH, which leads to calcium being removed from the bones, thereby weakening them. Also there are other issues associated with too much protein.

    You have to eat a *kitten* load of protein before you have issues like this (pre-existing medical issues aside).
    Yes, but a "*kitten* load" of protein is what's eaten in the Standard American Diet. Sure, it may take awhile, but that's not the point. We shouldn't be eating in a way that is going to make us less sick than other ways of eating, we should be eating in a way that doesn't make us sick at all. Keep your protein at 10% of your calories, max.
    The standard diet is simple carbs. Not protein. 10% is not very much.
    Have a look:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_pattern_diet

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