MFP's protein requirements...is it possible to eat too much?

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anewmeforever
anewmeforever Posts: 36
in Food and Nutrition
I'm so confused why every single day I'm so far over my grams of protein as set by MFP. It's saying 45 grams. I had 42 for breakfast. I always stay at or close to my calorie goal (1,210 cal) but I'm always drastically over on protein. I was under the impression that protein is a good thing when working out as much as I do and to build lean muscle, am I wrong? Is it really possible that I'm consuming too much protein? My food journal is open to all MFP members, so please take a look and let me know what you think. I appreciate the input!!
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Replies

  • Anna800
    Anna800 Posts: 637 Member
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    I exercise everyday so for instance today my calorie goal is 2100 and my protein goal is 78. I don't always hit my calorie goal, but I do try to hit my protein goal since I lift weight and need the protein to maintain the muscle.

    If you're exercising, you need to input it into mfp so that mfp can readjust your numbers. 1200 calories is too little if you are exercising.
  • EvanKeel
    EvanKeel Posts: 1,904 Member
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    Protein is "bad" if:

    1) You eat enough to cause your total daily calories to exceed your goal.

    2) You have a medical condition, which makes it hard for your body to process protein.

    You can track the first, and if you're concerned about the second, speak with your physician. I'd be willing to guess the average person wouldn't have a problem exceeding MFP's default protein goal by a fair chunk. Your mileage ...is your mileage.

    I don't have a problem consuming well above what MFP would have me eat by default.
  • anewmeforever
    anewmeforever Posts: 36
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    If you're exercising, you need to input it into mfp so that mfp can readjust your numbers. 1200 calories is too little if you are exercising.

    I have input that I exercise into my settings, and I log it each day. 1,210 is my MFP goal.
  • anewmeforever
    anewmeforever Posts: 36
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    Protein is "bad" if:

    1) You eat enough to cause your total daily calories to exceed your goal.

    2) You have a medical condition, which makes it hard for your body to process protein.

    You can track the first, and if you're concerned about the second, speak with your physician. I'd be willing to guess the average person wouldn't have a problem exceeding MFP's default protein goal by a fair chunk. Your mileage ...is your mileage.

    I don't have a problem consuming well above what MFP would have me eat by default.

    Thank you! I didn't dont have either of those issues, and I'm ok with going over what MFP says for protein, but it was haunting me, if eating too much protein is wrong. Thank you so much! :happy:
  • EvanKeel
    EvanKeel Posts: 1,904 Member
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    If you're exercising, you need to input it into mfp so that mfp can readjust your numbers. 1200 calories is too little if you are exercising.

    I have input that I exercise into my settings, and I log it each day. 1,210 is my MFP goal.

    I think what she means is that you may not be eating to your net goal. Let's take yesterday 6-26 as an example. You netted well below your goal of 1210. You had 600+ calories leftover.
  • anewmeforever
    anewmeforever Posts: 36
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    If you're exercising, you need to input it into mfp so that mfp can readjust your numbers. 1200 calories is too little if you are exercising.

    I have input that I exercise into my settings, and I log it each day. 1,210 is my MFP goal.

    I think what she means is that you may not be eating to your net goal. Let's take yesterday 6-26 as an example. You netted well below your goal of 1210. You had 600+ calories leftover.

    Gotcha. Well, unfortunately the science of my body doesn't allow me to eat back my exercise calories and not gain weight. It's unfortunate but true! The only time I increase my calorie intake after a hard workout is if my trainer tells me to. He will tell me, 14-1500 tonight, Val. Which usually means a protein shake after our workout.
  • MelindaMcDish
    MelindaMcDish Posts: 2
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    From Val:
    Gotcha. Well, unfortunately the science of my body doesn't allow me to eat back my exercise calories and not gain weight. It's unfortunate but true! The only time I increase my calorie intake after a hard workout is if my trainer tells me to. He will tell me, 14-1500 tonight, Val. Which usually means a protein shake after our workout.
    end quote


    As a friend of Val's in the real world, she is right... she cannot eat back her exercise calories... but I still love her:) And I wouldn't worry about the protein, you know what is right for you:)
  • stestut
    stestut Posts: 42
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    I asked my trainer the same question. She said that yes, you can. Your protein should be 35% of your caloric intake. I've been working really hard concentrating on percentages of Carbs (45%), Protein (35%) and Fat (20%) and I'm dropping weight like crazy! Of course, I do exercise 5 days a week too.
  • ily_em
    ily_em Posts: 8
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    I use the protein amount as a target (and fibre) rather than a limit. I think they should be the other way round, red when under and green when over. Then it won't frighten people so much :P
  • violabeatle
    violabeatle Posts: 87 Member
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    I upped my protein recently because I thought MFP wasn't giving me enough (lowered carbs to compensate). It's definitely okay to go over.
  • WhoTheHellIsBen
    WhoTheHellIsBen Posts: 1,238 Member
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    The MFP protein goal seems to be a bare bones sort of requirement. There are about 834706789063789057987897 studies that show when building lean healthy muscle you should consume at least one gram per pound of body weight and for those who are looking to seriously build it's two grams, however that formula is different because you must also factor in carbs, and a few other pieces to that puzzle. For the most part the only time you should restrict a high protein intake is if you have a liver or Kidney condition which you would probably know by now.
    In more recent studies coming out of Austrailia (an entire country obsessed with health) in studies and test groups they found a persons body is more likley to release fat stores when you eat a higher level of protein. The cause of this is most likley because fat stores tnd to be part of your bodies survival instinct, so consistant, scheduled, healthy, high protein meals help your body to relax a bit and live on the "wild side"
  • sassybellex
    sassybellex Posts: 48
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    45g of protein sounds too little.. i adjusted mine and i try to eat atleast 100-150g protein everyday. but then i do quite alot of weightlifting and lots of cario.
  • ChaoticMiNd
    ChaoticMiNd Posts: 247 Member
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    Good to know cuz I'm over everyday lol.
  • dwilkerson89
    dwilkerson89 Posts: 38
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    I use the protein amount as a target (and fibre) rather than a limit. I think they should be the other way round, red when under and green when over. Then it won't frighten people so much :P

    ^This. Protein should definitely go green when over, not under :)
  • SPNLuver83
    SPNLuver83 Posts: 2,050 Member
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    If you workout a lot and are only eating 1200 calories you are not eating enough my dear. At 42 g of protein its apparent you are not eating back any of your workout cals. This is gonna bite you in the *kitten* in the end!!

    But to answer your ?, its hard to get too much protein. I usually eat between 80-100 grams a day.
  • kayleesays
    kayleesays Posts: 564 Member
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    I've definitely heard that MFP's protein limits are too low. I changed mine. I would say it's really, really hard to eat too much protein.

    My goal is 169g/day! Hard to reach, but definitely not too much!
  • FrugalMomsRock75
    FrugalMomsRock75 Posts: 698 Member
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    I consider mfp's protein suggestion my absolute minimum. I'm usually WELL above the amount. Yesterday, for instance, my goal was 76 g protein. I ate 138 g.

    I consider the carbs my absolute maximum. Yesterday, my max carb count was 279, and I ate 102.
  • L00py_T0ucan
    L00py_T0ucan Posts: 1,378 Member
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    I manually changed mine to 1g per 1# lean body mass after reading this:
    http://www.livestrong.com/article/553149-healthy-eating-101-improve-your-fat-loss-and-muscle-gain/

    I'm not interested in 'arguing' or promoting 'BroScience' so I am preemptively deferring to the health professionals and to the heavy lifters who obviously know more than I do, but the above link is an interesting way to figure out your macronutrient targets.

    Hope this helps!
  • km_jenn
    km_jenn Posts: 107
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    The MFP protein goal seems to be a bare bones sort of requirement. There are about 834706789063789057987897 studies that show when building lean healthy muscle you should consume at least one gram per pound of body weight and for those who are looking to seriously build it's two grams, however that formula is different because you must also factor in carbs, and a few other pieces to that puzzle. For the most part the only time you should restrict a high protein intake is if you have a liver or Kidney condition which you would probably know by now.
    In more recent studies coming out of Austrailia (an entire country obsessed with health) in studies and test groups they found a persons body is more likley to release fat stores when you eat a higher level of protein. The cause of this is most likley because fat stores tnd to be part of your bodies survival instinct, so consistant, scheduled, healthy, high protein meals help your body to relax a bit and live on the "wild side"

    ^^^ This! MFP's protein recommendation is very low. Obviously depending on your goals, you may not need a ton, but I would consider this a bare minimum for anyone active. I aim for 40% protein, 30% fat, 30% carbs.
  • amclaws25
    amclaws25 Posts: 128 Member
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    I eat 1700 calories now but am working up to 2000.... 35% carbs, 30% protein, 30% fats. I aim for 100-150 grams of protein, closer to the higher end. Your protein seems way to low. Then again, I do high intensity cardio and heavy weight lifting.

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