How much protein is too much?

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bluebellkarma
bluebellkarma Posts: 7
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi, I've only been on here for a few weeks, but finding it incredibly motivational to track exactly what I'm eating and how i'm exercising.

I am not following any kind of radical low carb-high fat diet, just eating 'clean' foods that I know make me feel satisfied. The only thing is, I notice from my food diary results that my protein intake is in the red zone. Should i be worrying about this? I don't really know anything about why eating too much protein should be bad. I am eating less carbs than my daily allowance, but that is because I've never been a particularly big eater of carbs and i don't see why i should start now. I'm on 1240 calories a day, unless i exercise and eat them back, which i do quite a bit. But on the days when i'm on 1240, that generally feels like plenty, I don't feel hungry at the end of the day.

Any advice gratefully received!

Replies

  • fishgutzy
    fishgutzy Posts: 2,807 Member
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    I have read in different places that 25-30% of calories is a good percentage.
    It is easy to tell when you are getting too much protein. You will get *kitten* breath. My wife tells me immediately when I get *kitten* breath. :bigsmile:
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    Protein needs will depend on a number of factors including but not limited to:

    Body composition goals
    Training
    Your current stats (LBM, typically)
    Deficit size if one exists
    and of course personal preference

    But without knowing all of the above I can give you a few generalizations that may help:

    1) MFP sets protein values quite low. If you're using MFP's default settings then I would generally encourage you to exceed protein at the expense of carbs, and again I'm basing this off of MFPs'defaults.
    2) If excess protein causes you to push fat intake too low, it could be a problem. If it causes you to push carbs too low for you to maintain training intensity, it could be a problem. If it causes you to exceed your calorie intake, it could be a problem.
  • bluebellkarma
    bluebellkarma Posts: 7
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    Thank you! For starters I didn't even know you could change those default settings, I'm not sure I even understand them so I ought to have a look at that first. I'm in no danger of eating too little fat :love: and carbs, well i don't eat the full MFP guideline amount but i'm sure i'm getting enough. I'll have a look at the settings.
  • monty619
    monty619 Posts: 1,308 Member
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    i think when you eat 2x your bodyweight in grams of protein its officially too much.. so for a 200lb man to eat 400g protein its a little overkill it would be more efficient to use those calories for carbohydrates.. whether or not it will make you fat depends on how many calories you are eating all together but you wont build any extra muscle by eating extra protein.

    when trying to gain muscle weight and put on mass go for around 1g per lb of bodyweight maybe .8g per lb and definately get your carbohydrates in... when trying to get leaner and in a caloric defecit its better to eat more than 1g per lb say around 1.3-1.5g to get extra amino acids to preserve muscle in an energy defecit.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    The post from Sidesteel was right on the mark. Also, with a little more info on your goals a good recommedation regarding protein could be made. Are you trying to lose weight/ fat? What kind of workouts, if any, are you doing? Is maintianing lean mass a priority?
  • adelitas_star
    adelitas_star Posts: 91
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    I don't think there is too much! XD

    Joking, I just really love meat and protein, haha!

    Anyways, I usually do about 30% of my daily calories as protein and it's been doing really good on helping me build muscle. I've gotten a lot stronger after I started eating more protein daily :)
  • Espressocycle
    Espressocycle Posts: 2,245 Member
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    If you get gout, you're eating too much! But seriously, if you are under calories needed for weight loss, you probably can't get too much protein. The effects of general over-eating can be made worse when it's too much protein, but you probably aren't even close to that.
  • Melissameme
    Melissameme Posts: 2
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    I'm having the same problem. I'm already over my daily intake which is 53 by two points.
  • StarLeopard
    StarLeopard Posts: 80 Member
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    Thanks for all the thoughtful replies. I'm low-carbing and trying to grasp the protein-fat balance too. All of this makes good sense to me.
  • bluebellkarma
    bluebellkarma Posts: 7
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    You guys rock, thanks so much for all your helpful replies. I have got a LOT to learn :love:

    My goal is to lose 10 lbs or so, I want to get back to a UK dress size 12. And for health reasons I really want to give up eating Kettle Chips, sour cream dips and OD'ing on the steak and red wine, sigh. I'm 3 weeks in to MFP and it is definitely working, I'm losing 1lb a week.

    Exercise-wise I'm mainly doing cardio - walking and running, and bike and ski machines at the gym, as well as kundalini yoga.

    Apart from the protein, I think i need to learn more about carbs. I'm not a big fan of bread, and pasta seems really high in calories when you're only on 1240 calories a day. Does anyone have good tips for other good sources of carbs that aren't going to break the calorie bank?
  • lynz4589
    lynz4589 Posts: 389 Member
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    im in the process of upping my protein, ive struggled! lol, complete opposite problem! Im trying to work up to 50% as reccomended by my PT and with dr consultation too. More protein less cabrs thats the hope for me anyway!
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    You guys rock, thanks so much for all your helpful replies. I have got a LOT to learn :love:

    My goal is to lose 10 lbs or so, I want to get back to a UK dress size 12. And for health reasons I really want to give up eating Kettle Chips, sour cream dips and OD'ing on the steak and red wine, sigh. I'm 3 weeks in to MFP and it is definitely working, I'm losing 1lb a week.

    Exercise-wise I'm mainly doing cardio - walking and running, and bike and ski machines at the gym, as well as kundalini yoga.

    Apart from the protein, I think i need to learn more about carbs. I'm not a big fan of bread, and pasta seems really high in calories when you're only on 1240 calories a day. Does anyone have good tips for other good sources of carbs that aren't going to break the calorie bank?

    The priorities in setting macros is protein, then fats, then carbs. Based on your exercise and goals, I'd say about 1 gram per lb of lean body mass. As you are not doing strength training, it is somewhat critical to maintain as much lean muscle mass as possible. As little more wouldn't hurt. I probably wouldn't go less. Then fats at about .4 grams per lb of body weight and then carbs with the rest. Veggies and fruits are great sources of carbs and desnse with healthy micronutrients. Some starches are fine. But should not nessesarily be your only source of carbs.

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