It's lunch time and I'm already over my protein!

alimarie53
alimarie53 Posts: 102 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I'm guessing my protein came from the chicken breast that was in my salad at lunch and the egg whites I had for breakfast. I was planning on eating some fish for dinner, but I'm wondering if I should bypass that.

Here is another question... Is it really that big a deal if I go over protein?

I lift on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I'm doing 30 Day Shred. And I get at least three days of cardio in a week. Am I really damaging myself? My eating isn't crazy... I think I eat a balanced diet... (my diary is open if anyone wants to peek and throw me some ideas though)

Does this happen to anyone else? Any thoughts? Ideas? Help please? :)
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Replies

  • Kmenczynski88
    Kmenczynski88 Posts: 70 Member
    It will not make any difference over the period of 1 day. If you were consistently going over every single day, that could potentially impact your progress. If you're really that concerned, just eat slightly less carbs or fat to balance out the total calories for the day.
  • julieh391
    julieh391 Posts: 683 Member
    It's meant as a minimum. Like fiber or calcium. I try to eat at least 100 grams per day.

    Edited to add, you diary actually isn't open. Try it again! I'm curious! :smile:
  • alimarie53
    alimarie53 Posts: 102 Member
    Looking back, I see that I go over protein almost every day! Yikes!
  • FullOfWin
    FullOfWin Posts: 1,414 Member
    You need a minimum of 1g\lb of LBM per day. Over is fine. Consistently way under is bad.
  • LexThaSongbyrd
    LexThaSongbyrd Posts: 63 Member
    What's your protein goal daily? I'm a bariatric patient (weight loss surgery) and we are taught to strive for a MINIMUM of 70-80 grams of protein per day. I've also seen that the rule of thumb for any person's protein intake is multiply the body weight in kilograms by .8, or weight in pounds by .37. This is the number of grams of protein that should be the daily minimum. And if you work out, you need a little more. I'm sure you didn't get your whole daily intake from chicken in a salad (probably 20 grams of protein in 4 oz) or eggs (6-7 grams of protein in a whole egg-most protein coming from the yolk and you only ate the egg white...). So you could probably use a couple pieces of fish tonight! :)
  • Kmenczynski88
    Kmenczynski88 Posts: 70 Member
    I really wouldn't worry about it...it will also depend on your goals. If you're not looking to step on stage and be judged via - fitness model, bikini, bodybuilder etc. then who cares. It will have minimal impact on your overall body comp.
  • JAT74
    JAT74 Posts: 1,081 Member
    I take it you are following the pre-set MFP goals? i have modified mine in the settings so that I eat more protein and less carbs. My current ratios are 40% protein, 25% carbs & 35% fat. I find this works much better for me as I'm trying to lose fat and hopefully gain some muscle. I find that a high carb, lower protein diet is really bad for my body and i gain weight very easily like this. I actually struggle most days to eat enough protein but I know it's better for me that way.
  • alimarie53
    alimarie53 Posts: 102 Member
    Oops! I had the diary only open for friend's. It's public now. I will say... It's not a model of healthy eating lol. But I think it's what the average person takes in. I'm looking to adjust too so any comments are welcomed.
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    Don't worry about it. Unless you have medical issues, consider your protein goal to be a MINIMUM. This is also true of fiber.

    Sadly, it is not true of sugar, but the goals here are set incredibly low, so you would have to be on Atkins to be under regularly.
  • julieh391
    julieh391 Posts: 683 Member
    It will not make any difference over the period of 1 day. If you were consistently going over every single day, that could potentially impact your progress. If you're really that concerned, just eat slightly less carbs or fat to balance out the total calories for the day.

    This seems like very odd advice coming from someone who appears to know a thing or two about protein and muscles (judging from your pictures. Whoa!) I've never seen anyone anywhere say to limit protein.
  • JAT74
    JAT74 Posts: 1,081 Member
    I have calculated that I need a minimum of 105 grams per day based on the calculation suggested here and I workout 5-6 days per week so I normally try and get in more, around 120grams ideally or even more depending on how much training I do. It's VERY hard to eat that much.
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    Here's some helpful information about calculating how much of your macros you should be eating and how to change the setting. Protein and fat should be based on how much you weight not a random percentage.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets
  • slearley
    slearley Posts: 13
    I am on a 40% Protein, 40% Carb, 20% Fat per my MD and personal trainer. At least those are my goals. I also had my resting metabolic rate done and was able to increase my calories from 1100 to 1400 as I have put on so much muscle, my burn is reached very easily. Actually the more I eat the more I lose. I was told that my protein grams are something I should never go under and my carb grams are something I should never go over. Same with Fat, never go over 20%.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Looking back, I see that I go over protein almost every day! Yikes!

    This isn't necessarily a bad thing. MFP's macro settings are pretty heavy on the carbs...I'm guessing if you're over on protein you're probably under elsewhere if you are within your calorie goals. You can manually set your macro settings to your desired goal. Generally speaking, healthcare professionals recommend no more than 30% of your diet...I think MFP sets it around 10-15% or something ridiculously low like that. If you don't have kidney issues, there's not a whole lot to worry about...but make sure you're getting plenty of water.

    To boot, when you're eating a deficit, protein is very important to help you preserve lean body mass while you burn fat. Your body will consume both LBM and fat at a deficit, but less LBM if you're getting protein. Lifting also goes a long way in preserving what LBM you have while you're at a deficit.
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    Would be a problem if it was calories but Protein, not so much........
  • BigGuy47
    BigGuy47 Posts: 1,768 Member
    You'll be OK. You're not going to drop dead from getting the small amount of protein that MFP sets.
  • Kmenczynski88
    Kmenczynski88 Posts: 70 Member
    It will not make any difference over the period of 1 day. If you were consistently going over every single day, that could potentially impact your progress. If you're really that concerned, just eat slightly less carbs or fat to balance out the total calories for the day.

    This seems like very odd advice coming from someone who appears to know a thing or two about protein and muscles (judging from your pictures. Whoa!) I've never seen anyone anywhere say to limit protein.

    I didn't reccomend limiting protein, i reccommended cutting it out elsewhere - from carbs or fat, if she was really concerned as to weight gain or something. I personally ear 1g/lb for Protein, .5g/lb fat, and dump the rest into carbs to the point where i can gain about 1lb per month when i want to add size. When i want to drop weight, ill just reduce my carbs a bit, and up my protein slightly.
  • nyusha
    nyusha Posts: 21 Member
    I don't know how much you weigh, but 60ish g of protein is quite low. When I'm eating a deficit I eat my weight in lbs (not even LBM) so that I stay fuller longer. I always make sure to hit that on lifting days.
    MFP is quite high on crabs, and as someone said above, you have to calculate based on your weight/LBM not random %.
  • reneegee23
    reneegee23 Posts: 232 Member
    I wouldn't worry about it.
  • Kmenczynski88
    Kmenczynski88 Posts: 70 Member
    It will not make any difference over the period of 1 day. If you were consistently going over every single day, that could potentially impact your progress. If you're really that concerned, just eat slightly less carbs or fat to balance out the total calories for the day.

    This seems like very odd advice coming from someone who appears to know a thing or two about protein and muscles (judging from your pictures. Whoa!) I've never seen anyone anywhere say to limit protein.

    I didn't reccomend limiting protein, i reccommended cutting it out elsewhere - from carbs or fat, if she was really concerned as to weight gain or something. I personally ear 1g/lb for Protein, .5g/lb fat, and dump the rest into carbs to the point where i can gain about 1lb per month when i want to add size. When i want to drop weight, ill just reduce my carbs a bit, and up my protein slightly.

    My bad... i see what i said. I meant to say if you were consistently going over total calories, not over protein.
  • julieh391
    julieh391 Posts: 683 Member
    It will not make any difference over the period of 1 day. If you were consistently going over every single day, that could potentially impact your progress. If you're really that concerned, just eat slightly less carbs or fat to balance out the total calories for the day.

    This seems like very odd advice coming from someone who appears to know a thing or two about protein and muscles (judging from your pictures. Whoa!) I've never seen anyone anywhere say to limit protein.

    I didn't reccomend limiting protein, i reccommended cutting it out elsewhere - from carbs or fat, if she was really concerned as to weight gain or something. I personally ear 1g/lb for Protein, .5g/lb fat, and dump the rest into carbs to the point where i can gain about 1lb per month when i want to add size. When i want to drop weight, ill just reduce my carbs a bit, and up my protein slightly.

    She's not saying she's going over on calories. Just that she went over the piddly 60g of protein MFP set her at, and she was wondering if that was a bad thing (which obviously it's not.) She still has over 1,000 calories left for the day. The way I read your first comment was that you were telling her consistently going over on protein could limit her progress, but I see that you thought she was talking about calories. Miscommunication all around. Never mind.
  • n0ob
    n0ob Posts: 2,390 Member
    You need a minimum of 1g\lb of LBM per day. Over is fine. Consistently way under is bad.

    define "need"
  • 4_Lisa
    4_Lisa Posts: 362 Member
    going over on protein is not a big deal. My trainer WANTS me over, just means I recover faster from workouts.
  • DebraYvonne
    DebraYvonne Posts: 632 Member
    be over on protein -- it doesn't hurt you -- change your settings.
  • MightyDomo
    MightyDomo Posts: 1,265 Member
    I might think that your protein percentage might be too low and your carb percentage too high. If you feel like more protein though it couldn't hurt as long as your aren't doubling it everyday without adding a weight lifting routine :)
  • stealthSLOTH
    stealthSLOTH Posts: 695 Member
    You need a minimum of 1g\lb of LBM per day. Over is fine. Consistently way under is bad.

    I also manually changed my goal to 1gram of protein per pound of Lean Body Mass.
    I found this to be helpful:
    http://www.livestrong.com/article/553149-healthy-eating-101-improve-your-fat-loss-and-muscle-gain/
  • shanmackie
    shanmackie Posts: 194 Member
    People telling you that it's not possible to go over on protein are not correct. You can go over on protein and it can cause huge problems, including kidney failure. That being said, it's okay to go over on a few days, just don't go overboard every single day. And if you're strength training you will need some protein to repair your muscles. I'm sure you'll be fine. The people that go over are usually people that make it a point to over consume protein thinking it will help them, or people that regularly eat too much animal protein.
  • FullOfWin
    FullOfWin Posts: 1,414 Member
    You need a minimum of 1g\lb of LBM per day. Over is fine. Consistently way under is bad.

    define "need"

    by need i mean should get ;)
  • alimarie53
    alimarie53 Posts: 102 Member
    Everyone is saying the same thing! So I guess I need to hit up these sites and figure out what the correct percentages for me would be.

    Thanks everyone! :)
  • laf0195
    laf0195 Posts: 71 Member
    As people have been saying on here, mfp sets the protein goal extremely low for someone at a calorie deficit. When I started out here my protein "goal" was 15%, around 30 or 40g. Istarted doing some research into healthy macro levels, and calculated my LBM (lean body mass) and realized that in order to keep from losing significant LBM, I needed more like 110 g of protein per day. I've only been doing that the past few days, and let me tell you, it's hard when you start out. However I'm finding great sources of protein and definitely feel pretty good. Also, I do an aerobic/strength workout about 4-5 times per week to burn calories but retain what muscle I have.

    Do your own calculations and figure out how much protein YOU should be getting. And don't ignore carbs, they are essential for recovery after strength training. My macros are set at 40% carbs, 30%protein and 30% fat.

    Hope this has helped a bit. Good luck!

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