protien intake in grams

lldem

Hi there,
I'm new to MFP. I'm following 1200cals as the program set up for me. I don't have a problem with that - just need to choose right - more veggies, low fats etc. I haven't paid attention to the allotted protien grams per day. But today I've already reached my max of 45 grams. I've only had 1/2 cup taco meat and 2 sm breakfast ham slice. I've also had other stuff (yogurt, crackers, salsa and salad) all of which used small amts of protien. I'm a little confused bc I always counted yogurt as a carb on body of life diet or a milk on WW. Is my protien too low? I'm starting weight training this week and know its important to eat protien for muscle.
I can just ignore it and keep going with counting calories but I'm just wondering what everyone else's norm protien levels are? Any ideas or suggestions?

fuelingit

hi,
i would definitely increase your protein. 45 seems awfully low. if you're exercising, 1200 calories is also way too low. 1200 is a bare minimum in which you need in order for your body to perform all it's bodily functions.. to increase your calories and protein, i would suggest adding greek yogurt, lean proteins (tuna, salmon, chicken breast, beef, etc), nuts, protein shakes if you're low on time, canned tuna, eggs/egg whites, and milk to your diet. to increase calories, have nuts with your daily snacks, or eat more throughout the day so your calorie intake is higher. this will NOT make you fat, unless you are eating junk food. as i said before, 1200 is the MINIMUM..

Cr01502

It depends on your goals really. Although out of the three macronutrients groups protein is the least likely to turn to body fat. Also eating adequate protein during weight loss will preserve muscle. MFPs recommendations are too low in my opinion. For training days I would say 1.2-1.6 grams per kilogram. On days when you don't workout I would say about .8 grams per kilogram of body weight.

geekyjock76

The recommended protein intake by MFP is too low. If you are trying to reduce body fat percentage, aim for 1g of protein x lean body mass in pounds.

Secondly, please be aware that the 1200 suggestion is actually your energy availability, or net calories, that should be left after subtracting exercise calories from total dietary calories eaten. So if you eat 1200 calories and engage in 300 calories of exercise, you need to eat an additional 300 to net the recommended 1200 if you want to adhere to the rate of fat loss predicted by MFP.

lldem

Thanks for the input - I've only just realized about the exercise calories and to make sure I eat them back - a bit mind boggling bc I thought the idea was to eat less, but since, I've read lots of post that explain that so thanks.
Another question, how do I change the amount of Calories, protiens that I should take in daily on MFP

eilmeister

Another question, how do I change the amount of Calories, protiens that I should take in daily on MFP

Go to Goals -> Change Goals -> Custom