Protein needs?
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jkchampton
Posts: 27
Hi. I am new to mfp and this group (just 6 days). I have noticed that I always go over on protein, but stay below on carbs, fat, and calories.. Am I the only one that tends to eat more protein, or is that common? Maybe it is because I was taught to eat lean protein with each meal and then try to eat a lot of veggies/fruits and a few whole grains and good fats. Anyone know how mfp determines our carb, fat, and protein needs? Just curious what weight loss specialists think is best. Anyone read about it?
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I frequently hear on the forums that MFP recommendations for protein are too low. I strength train frequently and repairing muscles requires a high amount of protein so I have set my goals using the custom option. You can do the same if you feel you would be more successful this way.0
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Recommended protein intake is generally 0.8-1 grams per KG of total body weight. As in, if you weigh 140 lbs, you should eat between 51gs and 63 gs of protein a day (2.2 lbs in a kg).
MFP defaults are very low because they are based on a percentage of total intake to don't take into consideration your current weight. Therefore, considering most people on here are trying to lose weight and so are eating at a defecit, the percentages are off until they reach maintenance (by my understanding).
You should definitely check your protein goal and manually update it (My Home > Goals> Custom). Proper protein intake is vital to retaining/gaining muscle mass. Also to feeling full (making your cal goal easier to hit).
Also, just thought I would mention that fat intake needs to be between 25-35% of your total calorie intake. Healthy fats are VITAL to keeping your body running properly, most importantly your brain. Just make sure you are getting lots of the good kinds of fats like mono and poly (like in nuts and vegetable oils) instead of unhealthy saturated (fatty meats, dairy products) and trans (processed, packaged foods) ones.
Carbs are whatever is leftover after your protein and fats. Just make sure you try to get most of them from whole (not refind, or enriched, etc) grains.
Adjusting things manually can be tricky on MFP because of the way the drop down boxes work but fiddle around and you'll get it.0 -
Thanks ladies!0
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Hi. I am new to mfp and this group (just 6 days). I have noticed that I always go over on protein, but stay below on carbs, fat, and calories.. Am I the only one that tends to eat more protein, or is that common? Maybe it is because I was taught to eat lean protein with each meal and then try to eat a lot of veggies/fruits and a few whole grains and good fats. Anyone know how mfp determines our carb, fat, and protein needs? Just curious what weight loss specialists think is best. Anyone read about it?
Great question! I noticed that I was over in protein also and was wondering the same thing. For me the protein helped me to not be hungry longer.0 -
Recommended protein intake is generally 0.8-1 grams per KG of total body weight. As in, if you weigh 140 lbs, you should eat between 51gs and 63 gs of protein a day (2.2 lbs in a kg).
MFP defaults are very low because they are based on a percentage of total intake to don't take into consideration your current weight. Therefore, considering most people on here are trying to lose weight and so are eating at a defecit, the percentages are off until they reach maintenance (by my understanding).
You should definitely check your protein goal and manually update it (My Home > Goals> Custom). Proper protein intake is vital to retaining/gaining muscle mass. Also to feeling full (making your cal goal easier to hit).
Also, just thought I would mention that fat intake needs to be between 25-35% of your total calorie intake. Healthy fats are VITAL to keeping your body running properly, most importantly your brain. Just make sure you are getting lots of the good kinds of fats like mono and poly (like in nuts and vegetable oils) instead of unhealthy saturated (fatty meats, dairy products) and trans (processed, packaged foods) ones.
Carbs are whatever is leftover after your protein and fats. Just make sure you try to get most of them from whole (not refind, or enriched, etc) grains.
Adjusting things manually can be tricky on MFP because of the way the drop down boxes work but fiddle around and you'll get it.
Thanks for the info. According to your information here I am not over in my protein. I do show on one particular day my vitamin A was over by 411% and Vitamin C by 243%. Should I be concerned about this?0 -
Hi Not That Heavy Girls-
I have reset my carb and protein goals using the custom settings, and am eating a TON of protein. About 50% carbs and 50% protein. My Dr. recommended it. The protein goals set as default for MFP are way too low.0 -
Thanks for the info. According to your information here I am not over in my protein. I do show on one particular day my vitamin A was over by 411% and Vitamin C by 243%. Should I be concerned about this?
Don't worry about it. It is really hard to get too much vitamins unless you are taking supplements. You would have to overshoot your goals consistently by like 500%. And i think the consistencey thing is key.
http://www.lenntech.com/recommended-daily-intake.htm
http://www.livestrong.com/article/381214-how-much-is-too-much-vitamins/
http://www.livestrong.com/article/85062-daily-recommended-vitamin-intake/0
