Question about protein intake???

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scronan30
scronan30 Posts: 10
in Food and Nutrition
I was originally on the Dukan Diet with says basically in a nut shell, that protein takes more effort from your body to digest, therefore you will lose more weight eating a protein rich diet.

I basically stopped the Dukan Diet about a month ago and have been consentrating more on calorie intake, carbs, but still seem to go over on my protein.

I have lost 11 pounds since I started in late October, 168 to 157.

Does anyone have a tips or information? I am desperate to get to my ideal weight of 115, I'm getting married in May.

Thanks!!!

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  • 1ConcreteGirl
    1ConcreteGirl Posts: 3,677 Member
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    How much protein are you eating? What is your macro split? I aim for 45% protein, 35% carbs, 20% fat. You really can't eat too much protein, and most people don't eat enough of it. I really wouldn't worry about eating too much protein.
  • scronan30
    scronan30 Posts: 10
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    I'm not sure how to calculate macro split, but here are my percentages.

    protein 66%
    carbs 26%
    fat 6%
  • zindasgru
    zindasgru Posts: 6 Member
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    if your training to gain a little muscle and reduce fat then you should be taking on about 0.5 - 0.7g of protein per lb of body weight. my daily goal on MFP is 99g of protein per day, i'm training more for muscle gain now and go over my daily goal by 50- 60 grams per day. don't worry about eating to much protein, if your body can't use it, it will rid itself of it!
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    I was originally on the Dukan Diet with says basically in a nut shell, that protein takes more effort from your body to digest, therefore you will lose more weight eating a protein rich diet.

    I basically stopped the Dukan Diet about a month ago and have been consentrating more on calorie intake, carbs, but still seem to go over on my protein.

    I have lost 11 pounds since I started in late October, 168 to 157.

    Does anyone have a tips or information? I am desperate to get to my ideal weight of 115, I'm getting married in May.

    Thanks!!!

    There is some truth to the statement but it's not quite that simple. Each macronutrient has a different energy requirement to digest it. Protein has the highest (IIRC it's in the 25-30% range with fat being the lowest and carbohydrate between the two but I'd have to revisit that for exact numbers).

    However, you have to consider a few things:

    First, it's a percentage of total calories consumed. So if you consume 400 calories in steak, you may burn 100 calories digesting it (I'm making an assumption that we're working with all protein and a 25% thermic effect for purposes of this explanation. In real life the steak has some fat content and the TEF of protein is probably not exactly 25%).

    So, you don't just "lose weight" by eating more protein. You expend more energy by eating more protein because of the thermic effect.

    In a real world application of this however, the total difference in thermogenesis isn't usually substantial unless you're making significant swings in macronutrient intake. For example if you were consuming say, 70% carbohydrate, 20% fat, and 10% protein, and you switched to a diet of 30% carbs, 30% fat, and 40% protein, I'd expect to see a measurable difference in thermogenesis.

    But juggling around 20-30g here and there (more common) isn't going to make a significant dent in total expenditure.

    Finally, you always have to consider that drastic increases in protein (and consequently a big reduction in carbohydrate typically) can result in decreased exercise intensity, which could cancel out the thermogenic effect of eating more protein just through crappy workouts.

    I totally went off on a tangent there.
  • scronan30
    scronan30 Posts: 10
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    Little bit of a tangent, I think I got the jist of it. Right now I am focussing on weight and slowly adding in exercise. Light lifting of weight a couple of times a week, a thirty minute ride on my bicycle, and an hour and a half walk on the weekends.

    So lean protein good.

    Thanks guys and gals... yes, I 'm from Texas! GO COWBOYS!!!

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