Is it bad to eat too much Protein?

kody1234
kody1234 Posts: 27 Member
Today is the first day that I've really fully done the food journal on here....but it's 10:26pm and I just finished dinner (I worked till 9)....and I have 588 calories left to eat and still some carbs and fat left...but I've eaten over what i was supposed to of protein (i'm at -33 on my remaining counter now)....is this bad? I wouldn't think that protein would be a bad thing...lol

Replies

  • kody1234
    kody1234 Posts: 27 Member
    Today is the first day that I've really fully done the food journal on here....but it's 10:26pm and I just finished dinner (I worked till 9)....and I have 588 calories left to eat and still some carbs and fat left...but I've eaten over what i was supposed to of protein (i'm at -33 on my remaining counter now)....is this bad? I wouldn't think that protein would be a bad thing...lol
  • Gigi2008
    Gigi2008 Posts: 7
    I was wondering the same thing. Only been on this site a couple of days. I went over on protein two days, today I was good on protein, bad on carbs. I'm not sure, but I would think protein is a good thing!!:happy:
  • spaul82478
    spaul82478 Posts: 709 Member
    I belive its hard not to go over protein with all the new High fiber breads with proteine, the cottage cheeses and yougurt.. I go over every day and loose.. the only one i stay away from going over is FAT... FIber is also a big one for me. most foods have protein and high fiber that are healthy for you... so that is how i feel...:bigsmile:
  • kody1234
    kody1234 Posts: 27 Member
    well you've lost 13...so i'll trust ya=) Thanks for the response!
  • spaul82478
    spaul82478 Posts: 709 Member
    Not a problem.. I have 95 more to go still.... LOL... :bigsmile:
  • mdcroft
    mdcroft Posts: 37 Member
    i've heard a good guide for protein intake is half your body weight, so i changed my goal on MFP to 70g. the preset level is rather low. especially if you're doing any weights in your workouts, you're fine. (i think you have to consume a crazy high amt for it to be bad?)
  • My understanding is that you should have 0.8 g of lean protein per pound of body weight. I see that the MFP calculator sets a goal lower than that. I aim for 100g per day and feel great. I eat 5 small 200-300 calorie meals, not more than 2 1/2 hours apart, with at least 10g protein in each meal/snack. This keeps my energy and apetite level throughout the day. I can tell yhe difference when I don't hit those marks.

    The 100g is not arbitrary. It is the amount that was recommended while I was pregnant and nursing. I kinda stopped paying attention to it when I weaned my daughter. That along with still eating for 2 but no longer nursing is when I started putting on the weight.

    I have gotten back to watching caloried and eating more protein and I feel much better and have been able to drop the weight.
  • MisdemeanorM
    MisdemeanorM Posts: 3,493 Member
    If people are anything like animals going super high on protein would just amp you up on an energy burst and then pass the rest through you with some strong smelling urine. WAY over on long term basis (I'm talking WAY over) would cause protein buildups in the kidneys, which is not a good thing.

    But, not sure people are like animals :smile: The above is true for my horse. :laugh:

    I Googled it and it looks to be about the same - http://www.thedoctorwillseeyounow.com/articles/nutrition/protein_2/

    Too much is just excreted but WAY too much on regular basis is bad for kidneys and other things.
  • spaul82478
    spaul82478 Posts: 709 Member
    If people are anything like animals going super high on protein would just amp you up on an energy burst and then pass the rest through you with some strong smelling urine. WAY over on long term basis (I'm talking WAY over) would cause protein buildups in the kidneys, which is not a good thing.

    But, not sure people are like animals :smile: The above is true for my horse. :laugh:

    I Googled it and it looks to be about the same - http://www.thedoctorwillseeyounow.com/articles/nutrition/protein_2/

    Too much is just excreted but WAY too much on regular basis is bad for kidneys and other things.
    I'm not sure... I eat the amount i got from a nutrisionist from my dr. my req amount is a serving per meal and snack which is 2-3 eggs 4 breakfast can of tuna for lunch 7 2% cheese cubes for snack and whatever for dinner weather it be ham, chicken, steak, fish. ect..... but i guess everyone will be differnt depending on your body... so thanks for the tip
  • spaul82478
    spaul82478 Posts: 709 Member
    sorry double
  • songbyrdsweet
    songbyrdsweet Posts: 5,691 Member
    If people are anything like animals going super high on protein would just amp you up on an energy burst and then pass the rest through you with some strong smelling urine. WAY over on long term basis (I'm talking WAY over) would cause protein buildups in the kidneys, which is not a good thing.

    But, not sure people are like animals :smile: The above is true for my horse. :laugh:

    I Googled it and it looks to be about the same - http://www.thedoctorwillseeyounow.com/articles/nutrition/protein_2/

    Too much is just excreted but WAY too much on regular basis is bad for kidneys and other things.

    If you're passing protein in the urine, it's a sign of renal failure or diabetes, not of a high-protein diet. Ammonia levels can increase due to very high protein diets and/or dehydration, but that's from deamination, not the actual amino acids. It's flushed out of the body just like any other waste product. Too much protein can increase blood viscosity, and in turn increase BP, but you'd have to eat HUGE amounts (think more than 50% of your calories for a long time). Unfortunately you definitely can't compare the digestive tract of a thousand-pound herbivore to a 150 pound omnivore hehe :wink:
  • magdalune
    magdalune Posts: 80 Member
    Protein is a funny thing. If you eat too much of it, the extra is converted and stored as fat. If you eat too little, it's all converted and stored as fat. If your protein is unbalanced, it's all converted and stored as fat. It's not a very practical set-up our body has for protein, if you ask me.
  • songbyrdsweet
    songbyrdsweet Posts: 5,691 Member
    Protein is a funny thing. If you eat too much of it, the extra is converted and stored as fat. If you eat too little, it's all converted and stored as fat. If your protein is unbalanced, it's all converted and stored as fat. It's not a very practical set-up our body has for protein, if you ask me.

    That's not actually how it works, though. If you eat too much of anything--hence, you overeat--calories are stored in the form of either glycogen (stored blood sugar, which can be created from some amino acids via a process called gluconeogenesis) or triglycerides (which are stored in fat cells). If you eat too little protein, it's not converted to fat, you simply aren't providing your body with sufficient amino acids to repair damaged tissues. You won't gain fat, but you won't recover well either. The only time you're going to store *all* of your nutrients as fat is if you're overeating. When you're in a deficit, that doesn't occur...hence the point of the deficit.
  • annielouise
    annielouise Posts: 29
    the ADA formula to calculate protein needs is:
    your body weight in pounds X .45 to get your body weight in Kilograms. Then multiply that by 0.8 to get the number of grams of protien you should eat per day. If you weighed 145 lbs X.45 = 65.25 X .08 = 52.2 grams of protien. There are 4 calories per gram of protein so you'd eat 208.8 calories of protien a day. Aren't you glad you asked!! :tongue:

    athletes should eat 1.2 -1.4 grams per kilogram of body weight and body builders1.6 -1.7grams!! :noway:
  • kerrilucko
    kerrilucko Posts: 3,852 Member
    I think the general rule is that protein should make up no more than 40%. I think you are going a little TOO high, but generally going over a bit is no big deal, these settings are low anyway.
  • kody1234
    kody1234 Posts: 27 Member
    ok...i mean i only went over cause I had a piece of chicken for lunch and dinner cause it's all i had in the house..lol

    i did that equation to figure out how much I should eat so I did 168.5 x .45 =75.825 x .8 =60.66 so I should aim for 60g of Protein a day?