What % protein do you eat

jaz050465
jaz050465 Posts: 3,508 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm taking advice from another post and want to increase the amount of protein I eat compared to what MFP sets. I don't know what to set it to though.

I'm within my healthy weight range but according to my scales, have a body fat% of 37%.

I'm 47 year old female, 5ft8 and 149 pounds.

I've just started Chalean Extreme which I'm going to alternate with running.

I get calories for running from Runkeeper and put it down as circuit traing for CE. (As an aside, still debating whether to get bodymedia fit to wear all day or Fitbit for general activity and HRM for exercise- to get more accurate figures).

Replies

  • FullOfWin
    FullOfWin Posts: 1,414 Member
    It is better to not think of it in terms of percentages. Eat at least 1g\lb of LBM in protein and .45g\lb of LBM in fat and fill the rest of your calories with whatever you like.

    So let's say you're 20% bodyfat. That means you have 120 lbs of LBM. So eat 120g protein and 54g fat and fill the rest with more of these or all carbs or whatever mix.
  • lauren3382
    lauren3382 Posts: 372 Member
    I aim for at least 150g per day. I'm trying to build muscle and at 5'6" and 118, it's between 1-2g per pound of body weight. For me that is 40% of my cals from protein. It's been the magic number for me, but I know others who do fine with 30-35%. I definitely think you need more than the 15% MFP defaults to.
  • John2347
    John2347 Posts: 336 Member
    I try to be at Carbs/Protein/Fat - 40/30/30
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    I eat 25-35% depending on the day.

    Try aiming for grams instead of % then work backwards. aim for a minimum of 0.8 grams per lb of BW, or since you know your BF% aim for 1gram per lb or lean body mass, then round up to the next closest 5% when setting your target on MFP.
  • Ge0rgiana
    Ge0rgiana Posts: 1,649 Member
    I aim for at least 150g per day. I'm trying to build muscle and at 5'6" and 118, it's between 1-2g per pound of body weight. For me that is 40% of my cals from protein. It's been the magic number for me, but I know others who do fine with 30-35%. I definitely think you need more than the 15% MFP defaults to.

    Yeah, this. Then again, I lift heavy, so...
  • mirthfuldragon
    mirthfuldragon Posts: 124 Member
    It is better to not think of it in terms of percentages. Eat at least 1g\lb of LBM in protein and .45g\lb of LBM in fat and fill the rest of your calories with whatever you like.

    So let's say you're 20% bodyfat. That means you have 120 lbs of LBM. So eat 120g protein and 54g fat and fill the rest with more of these or all carbs or whatever mix.

    This /\ /\. For me, my macros break down 40/40/20, which works out to about 180g of protein per day.

    Regarding the Bodymedia device, my wife loved hers, but ultimately dropped it since, after 6 or 8 months, the data simply gets redundant. It's probably better than the FitBit, but neither will replace a HRM for accurate cardio measurements (though, nothing is 100% accurate).
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
    It is better to not think of it in terms of percentages. Eat at least 1g\lb of LBM in protein and .45g\lb of LBM in fat and fill the rest of your calories with whatever you like.

    So let's say you're 20% bodyfat. That means you have 120 lbs of LBM. So eat 120g protein and 54g fat and fill the rest with more of these or all carbs or whatever mix.

    ^ yep basing it on your body weight is much better than a percentage of calorie intake. The minimums above would be good whether you were losing, maintaining, or gaining weight. Eating more than that would be fine but you should at least try to meet these as a minimum on most days.
  • SyStEmPhReAk
    SyStEmPhReAk Posts: 330 Member
    Current macros: 40P/40C/20F thats 270 Protein

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