Too much protein?

mrfrodogetdown

Was looking at my food diary, and I see I'm frequently over (or way over) in protein! I thought protein was good, and that you were supposed to have loads of it?

But I try to eat healthy- how can I cut back on it? It seems that prepackaged foods are low in protein, but I don't want to eat those cause they're crap! Should I cut back on it? I'm pretty much where I should be with everything else.

moosegt35

Was looking at my food diary, and I see I'm frequently over (or way over) in protein! I thought protein was good, and that you were supposed to have loads of it?

But I try to eat healthy- how can I cut back on it? It seems that prepackaged foods are low in protein, but I don't want to eat those cause they're crap! Should I cut back on it? I'm pretty much where I should be with everything else.

You won't eat too much protein if you stay at your cal limit. It really isn't possible. The protein counter I use as a minimum and try to go over on it while staying under on cals, fat, carbs and sugar.

jzammetti

I eat over 100 gr of protein every day. Unless you have some medical issues, the more protein the better

mrfrodogetdown

Is it okay to go over in fat if a lot of it comes from healthy things, like avocados and other fruits?

LoseYouself

We only need 15% protein in our diets, and that recommended amount includes safety margin. Even for someone who is active, if you're eating extra food to fuel workouts, that is accounted for in your daily macro targets. I wouldn't worry about going over on it too much though unless it's constantly coming from sources that are very high in cholesterol and saturated fat. Too much protein is taxing on your kidneys, but you'd have to eat a very large amount consistently for it to have that effect.

emrogers

I believe you're supposed to try and get 1gm of protein per lb. So If you're 200 lb=200gm of protein.
bodybuilding.com is a great source and I use it a lot for research purposes.

LoseYouself

To an extent, yes. However, keep in mind that every gram of fat contains 9 calories, whereas every gram of protein and carbohydrates contain 4 calories. So it'll feel as if you're eating a larger volume of food for your calories if you eat more protein and carbohydrates more than fat. If you're having trouble reaching your daily calorie goal, fats like nuts and avocados are great ways to boost calories in a healthy way in my opinion.

LoseYouself

I believe you're supposed to try and get 1gm of protein per lb. So If you're 200 lb=200gm of protein.
bodybuilding.com is a great source and I use it a lot for research purposes.

That's true, however remember that is 1g per pound of LEAN mass. Feed the muscle, not the fat. So for example, if you're 200 lbs but your lean mass is 140 lbs, you'd eat for your lean mass (140g) not for your lean mass + extra body fat combined. 15% is plenty, but many people aim higher for peace of mind.

The standard requirement for an average person s 0.5-1.0g per pound of lean mass. However, bodybuilding sites advocate for more than that because of their protein needs specific to their fitness goals such as heavy/intense lifting for gaining size. Actual NEED though for average people is 0.5-1.0. The RDA also includes safety margins. II stay around 15-20% of my calories from protein and I lift, no problems. If you workout, you are supposed to eat more also, which will automatically increase protein target in your macros for that day. So you don't need to worry as long as you follow that as a guide.

GoTeamMeaghan

Too much protein won't make you fat. Too much carbs won't make you fat. Too much sugar won't make you fat. Too much fat won't make you fat. Excess calories is what makes you gain weight, no matter what the source is. Eating adequate amounts of protein while in a calorie deficit will help you retain muscle while losing fat. I typically eat between 120-160 g of protein a day...and I'm not fat.

schigara

Excess protein cause hypercalciuria.

jrmartinezb

http://whqlibdoc.who.int/trs/WHO_TRS_935_eng.pdf

page 125-126

My summary of the summary:

The average requirement for healthy adults is around .66 g/kg per day of protein
There is considerable uncertainty about the true between-individual variability.
.0.83 g/kg per day protein would be expectedto meet the requirements of most (97.5%) of the healthy adult population

The report is a bit old (2007), but I don't think there's been enough research done in the last 5 years to drastically change it's findins. Athletes and very active people probably have higher requirements. I think you can be perfectly fine being anywhere between 0.7 and 1.5 g/kg. I wouldn't go over that without consulting with a medical professional.