Does protein make you fat?

Christine1110

I try to keep my protein between 100-125g a day.

MonicaT1972

I noticed I gained when I was getting to over 130g a day and started having some back pains, so I think too much can definitely be a bad thing.

Protein does not cause back pains. You probably injured yourself while doing exercise.

If you ate 250g protein a day, and fit it into your calories for the day (i.e 250g protein means 1,000 calories gone and you eat 50g carbs 20g fat to equal the other 400, or whatever) then you wouldn't gain weight because you're still on a large calorie deficit from your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE).
Eat 250g protein, 300g carbs and 100g fat? Then you're above your maintenance calories and you'll put on weight.

If anything, studies show that increased protein consumption while on a calorie deficit can lead to greater fat loss and lean mass retention.

PROTEIN IS GOOD.

Excess protein consumption actually affects kidney function. Often issues with kidneys are first notices as back pain due to where they are in the body and how their pain radiates. This poster indead may have had back pain as a result of too much protein affecting kidney function.

delaney056

I noticed I gained when I was getting to over 130g a day and started having some back pains, so I think too much can definitely be a bad thing.

Protein does not cause back pains. You probably injured yourself while doing exercise.

If you ate 250g protein a day, and fit it into your calories for the day (i.e 250g protein means 1,000 calories gone and you eat 50g carbs 20g fat to equal the other 400, or whatever) then you wouldn't gain weight because you're still on a large calorie deficit from your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE).
Eat 250g protein, 300g carbs and 100g fat? Then you're above your maintenance calories and you'll put on weight.

If anything, studies show that increased protein consumption while on a calorie deficit can lead to greater fat loss and lean mass retention.

PROTEIN IS GOOD.

Excess protein consumption actually affects kidney function. Often issues with kidneys are first notices as back pain due to where they are in the body and how their pain radiates. This poster indead may have had back pain as a result of too much protein affecting kidney function.

No back pain!

CaseRat

I noticed I gained when I was getting to over 130g a day and started having some back pains, so I think too much can definitely be a bad thing.

Protein does not cause back pains. You probably injured yourself while doing exercise.

If you ate 250g protein a day, and fit it into your calories for the day (i.e 250g protein means 1,000 calories gone and you eat 50g carbs 20g fat to equal the other 400, or whatever) then you wouldn't gain weight because you're still on a large calorie deficit from your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE).
Eat 250g protein, 300g carbs and 100g fat? Then you're above your maintenance calories and you'll put on weight.

If anything, studies show that increased protein consumption while on a calorie deficit can lead to greater fat loss and lean mass retention.

PROTEIN IS GOOD.

Excess protein consumption actually affects kidney function. Often issues with kidneys are first notices as back pain due to where they are in the body and how their pain radiates. This poster indead may have had back pain as a result of too much protein affecting kidney function.

If you are consuming somewhere in the range of at least 300g+ a day consistently, possibly. But I highly doubt that would be the case in most people. I eat 225-250g a day and that's with protein shakes and lots of meat/eggs while consuming 3,000calories a day on a bulking phase. Most normal people, especially people on diets, especially women who are only eating around 1,500 calories, will get nowhere near that number unless they soley eat meat and vegetables, which again not many, if any are doing.

If she had liver problems in the past, fair enough. From everything I've learnt, though, then I doubt it.

Cait_Sidhe

I know that TOO much can. But I think you'd at least need to get your bodyweight in protein before it'd even be a worry.

Only if you consistently go over your maintenance calories eating protein will you gain fat.

Hendrix7

Too much protein won't make you fat, but there ARE dangers. Here is a quote I found on MedicineNet.com.

Too Much Protein

A diet in which protein makes up more than 30% of your caloric intake causes a buildup of toxic ketones. So-called ketogenic diets can thrust your kidneys into overdrive in order to flush these ketones from your body. As your kidneys rid your body of these toxic ketones, you can lose a significant amount of water, which puts you at risk of dehydration, particularly if you exercise heavily.

That water loss often shows up on the scale as weight loss. But along with losing water, you lose muscle mass and bone calcium. The dehydration also strains your kidneys and puts stress on your heart.

And dehydration from a ketogenic diet can make you feel weak and dizzy, give you bad breath, or lead to other problems.

Ideally, you should consume 0.36 grams of protein for every pound of body weight, according to recommended daily allowances (RDA) set by the Food and Nutrition Board. So if you weigh 170 pounds, you need about 61 grams of protein each day.

Protein should also make up approximately 15% of your total daily caloric intake, also according to the RDA. In a diet of 1,800 calories a day, for example, about 270 of those calories should come from protein.

This is quite out of context. A ketogenic diet is very low/zero carbs, If you are consuming "A diet in which protein makes up more than 30% of your caloric intake" this is not necessarily a ketogenic diet, it would depend on the other macros.

Also latest research shows that sufficient protein consumption is MORE important for people in calorie deficit, i.e, most people on this site.

LexyDB

I noticed I gained when I was getting to over 130g a day and started having some back pains, so I think too much can definitely be a bad thing.

Protein does not cause back pains. You probably injured yourself while doing exercise.

If you ate 250g protein a day, and fit it into your calories for the day (i.e 250g protein means 1,000 calories gone and you eat 50g carbs 20g fat to equal the other 400, or whatever) then you wouldn't gain weight because you're still on a large calorie deficit from your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE).
Eat 250g protein, 300g carbs and 100g fat? Then you're above your maintenance calories and you'll put on weight.

If anything, studies show that increased protein consumption while on a calorie deficit can lead to greater fat loss and lean mass retention.

PROTEIN IS GOOD.

Excess protein consumption actually affects kidney function. Often issues with kidneys are first notices as back pain due to where they are in the body and how their pain radiates. This poster indead may have had back pain as a result of too much protein affecting kidney function.

Unless there is a pre existing condition which the protein will exacerbate then no.

I have yet to find one documented study where protein is the cause of kidney problems. The amount you'd have to consume to cause any damage on a daily basis is more than most people eat in calories per day when they are not losing body fat, regardless of carbohydrates and fat as well.

Countless body builders and weight trainers have lived on high protein diets for decades with no ill effects from protein. What is the obsession on here with excess or over eating protein? You don't see a fraction of posts regarding too much fat or carbohydrates which will cause more damage over time when consumed to excess.

Folklore and urban myth perpetuated by forums.

kalynn06

I noticed I gained when I was getting to over 130g a day and started having some back pains, so I think too much can definitely be a bad thing.

Protein does not cause back pains. You probably injured yourself while doing exercise.

If you ate 250g protein a day, and fit it into your calories for the day (i.e 250g protein means 1,000 calories gone and you eat 50g carbs 20g fat to equal the other 400, or whatever) then you wouldn't gain weight because you're still on a large calorie deficit from your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE).
Eat 250g protein, 300g carbs and 100g fat? Then you're above your maintenance calories and you'll put on weight.

If anything, studies show that increased protein consumption while on a calorie deficit can lead to greater fat loss and lean mass retention.

PROTEIN IS GOOD.

Excess protein consumption actually affects kidney function. Often issues with kidneys are first notices as back pain due to where they are in the body and how their pain radiates. This poster indead may have had back pain as a result of too much protein affecting kidney function.

Unless there is a pre existing condition which the protein will exacerbate then no.

I have yet to find one documented study where protein is the cause of kidney problems. The amount you'd have to consume to cause any damage on a daily basis is more than most people eat in calories per day when they are not losing body fat, regardless of carbohydrates and fat as well.

Countless body builders and weight trainers have lived on high protein diets for decades with no ill effects from protein. What is the obsession on here with excess or over eating protein? You don't see a fraction of posts regarding too much fat or carbohydrates which will cause more damage over time when consumed to excess.

Folklore and urban myth perpetuated by forums.

This. I'm on the lookout for a study showing any dietary protein level actually causing kidney disease rather than exacerbating extant disease. I found exactly one study in rats and it was spectacularly inapplicable, since the problems were associated with a diet high in a particular bacterial protein in one specific strain of female rats.

NoxDineen

Caloric surplus makes you fat. If you're working out regularly you should aim for 1g protein per pound you weigh.

MFP's default protein requirements are crazy low for anybody who is active on a regular basis.

diverdiza

I'm grateful to those who have posted on this thread for their input - I joined MFP a few days ago and the limited protein allocation was catching me out - I've been over every day!
I'm glad to see there are many people (who are successfully losing weight!) that say that more protein is not necessarily bad!

tigersword

you should be eating about that much protein daily anyway.

I've heard 1g for every pound you weigh.

1g for every 1 lb of lean body mass, not exactly body weight.

Excess protein doesn't make you fat. Excess dietary fat doesn't make you fat. Excess sodium can make you retain some water but does not make you fat.

Excess calories DOES make you gain body fat.

But don't macros determine your body composition? Like if person A ate a ton of carbs and not enough protein, and person B ate a ton of protein and kept their diet low carb but they both had the same net calories, wouldn't person B would look a lot better?

No. Exercise and total calories determine body composition, the type of food is mostly irrelevant. Google "The Twinkie Diet" for an example.

Wonderob

I've gone over on protein by 45g today, but am still under my calories and all other macros. Can too much protein make you fat?

I've consumed 99g of protein today, and I weight 126 pounds.

The range you want to be in should be between 0.6 - .085 g of protein per body weight n pounds. The low end is for active lifestyles to competitive athletes at the high end.

For you: 76 - 107 grams per day.

These are the correct figures according to every bit of research I have done