Is it good or bad to exceed your protein allowance?

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Replies

  • basillowe66
    basillowe66 Posts: 432 Member
    Protein helps get rid of fat. I am on 80 grams of protein a day!! today I had 100 grams!

    Basil
  • robinxhope
    robinxhope Posts: 125 Member
    From Spontaneous Healing by Dr. Weil.

    "When you eat more protein then your body needs to make and repair tissue it is used as an energy source. But it is not the most ideal fuel for the body. Protein molecules are big and complicated and their digestion and metabolism require more work then the digestion and metabolism of carbs and fats. The ratio of work in to energy out is not as favourable as other nutrients. As a consequence your digestive system is doing a lot of work and less energy may be available to other systems such as your immunity. It also does not burn clean. Protein contains nitrogen which degrades to toxic nitrogenous residues which is left to the burden of the liver to process it into urea which is also highly toxic. The kidneys must then take up the burden of eliminating urea. Furthermore these toxic nitrogenous residues can irritate the immune system increasing risk of allergy and autoimmunity.

    Less then 120g/day is what is recommended by Dr. Weil (based on current clinical research)."

    Take his advice for what it's worth.
  • T34418l3angel
    T34418l3angel Posts: 474 Member
    you know you can go into diary settings and do custom and change just the %'s 40/40/30 is fairly standard ratio many ppl use.

    I don't know why MFP sets Carbs at 55%

    I just tried doing this, I don't see the option, just the option to pick what I track not change the percentages. But honestly as long as I know what I'm trying to shoot for daily it doesn't matter. Just thought it be cool to actually set it :/

    It's under the Goal tab at the My home tab. Just click custom setting or whatever and then you'll be able to set it from there

    Thanks!
  • Also keep in mind that the effective calorie value of protein is significantly lower than the absolute calorie value. About 25% of the calorie value of most protein foods is used up in the process of digesting and metabolizing protein. The extra calories are primarily lost as heat energy. This is called the"thermic effect" of food. So while the food list on myfitnesspal may give you a value of around 126 calories for a 4 oz. grilled chicken breast, the effective calorie count is actually about 95 calories after digestion. In contrast, only about 3% of the calorie value of fat is lost in digestion. The thermic effect of carbohydrates varies from 5% to 25%, depending on the degree of processing, fiber content, and other factors.

    You also need more protein on a weight loss diet than you do for weight maintenance to counter the catabolic (breaking down) effects of calorie restriction. If you don't consume adequate protein while dieting, and if you are not doing strength training, you will likely lose significant amounts of muscle before you lose any fat. Then when you come off the diet, you will regain fat faster than you put it on to start with and be heavier than before you started - even if you are eating somewhat less than you did pre-diet.
  • tyrog11
    tyrog11 Posts: 35 Member
    For a guy who preaches Protein, Protein, Protein...I am going to dissent (sort of!). Too much protein can harm your body. (that ought to get some people flying off the proverbial handle...especially if they don't read on). It all depends on your weight, activity level and you need to flush with water...a lot. Most people say "I drink a lot of water", but until you start to actually monitor your water daily, you really don't know that you are. So here goes...A non-active person (meaning you are doing no extra physical activity, but you are going to work, cleaning the house, mowing the lawn, etc) should consume about .36 grams of protein per pound of body weight to maintain current weight. If you are losing weight using a keto approach, you will reach levels of .7 grams (and higher) per pound of body weight. But, if you are participating in some athletic activities regularly, then you will push up to 1 gram to 1.5 grams or higher depending on the activity...ie. what are you trying to accomplish? If you are bodybuilding, you will exceed 1.5 grams, but if you are simply running for 5K's, you will want to stay closer to the 1 gram. It all depends on what you are trying to accomplish. In any case, if you are going to exceed the .36 grams you need to consume plenty of water to make sure the toxins that are produced as a by-product of the excess proteins are flushed from your kidneys. I consume about 175 - 225 grams of protein per day. I weight about 180 lbs. I drink about 150 oz (sometimes more) of water per day. I am training for a half marathon in early September.
  • sukaera
    sukaera Posts: 53 Member
    Excess CALORIES lead to weight gain. Actually the protein level on here are set very low. I got 115 grams in today.

    ^^this so much right now.
  • kuger4119
    kuger4119 Posts: 213 Member
    In general, MFP doesn't provide for enough protein in their default settings so going up to 50% over the default isn't going to hurt you. Ridiculous amounts of protein are unhealthy, but you've got to be over 200 g in a day to start getting into the ridiculous range. Bodybuilders get away with it because they are trying to feed (and build) huge muscles. Normal people should probably be closer to 100 g in a day.

    LOL what? I generally get 200-250g easily a day. i'm also 213lbs I hate when ppl make stupid statements.

    If you are active enough (and heavy enough) 200-250 per day might be right for you. In general, I've read that a realistic goal for people doing normal workouts is about 0.8 g per lb of lean body mass, which is probably in the same ballpark as the 0.7 g per lb of total mass mentioned above (close enough not to argue about). As a general rule, if someone doesn't want to mess around with specifics, 100 g per day is probably good for most people on this site. There is absolutely no need for someone who isn't trying to bulk up to be taking in 200 g of protein in a day.

    Too often, people who are losing weight with that amount of protein are doing low carb diets. People who want to do that are fine by me, but personally, I don't buy into diets that require you to dramatically change what you are going to eat compared to what you might eat after you are done. I think those are the people who will struggle to keep the weight off when they are eating a normal diet.....but that is just one guy's opinion.

    BTW, for someone accusing someone of making a stupid statement, ask 10 doctors which is healthier, 100 g or 200 g, and I guarantee that 10 out of 10 recommend the 100 g level.
  • RuthSweetTooth
    RuthSweetTooth Posts: 461 Member
    I shoot for 15-20 grams per meal and sometimes I get higher, never stress about it.
  • TheRealParisLove
    TheRealParisLove Posts: 1,907 Member
    you know you can go into diary settings and do custom and change just the %'s 40/40/30 is fairly standard ratio many ppl use.

    I don't know why MFP sets Carbs at 55%

    I didn't know that you could change those settings, thanks for the tip!