Protein cannot get stored as fat

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  • goodtimezzzz
    goodtimezzzz Posts: 640 Member
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    I used to eat protein lots of it tons of it..I was a fat ****:) Calories are calories...after 20 years in denial:)
  • Cari_n_Jax
    Cari_n_Jax Posts: 7 Member
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    I'm currently reading the book Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It. The author, Gary Taubes, addresses at length fat storage, how it works and what types of nutrients the body converts to fat .
    He says every successful weight loss plan is the result of reduced carbohydrate intake intentionally or otherwise. When you reduce calories and maintain the same ratio of nutrients (that is protein, fat and carbs) you significantly decrease all including carbohydrate intake.
    His basic premise is that carbohydrate consumption causes the secretion of insulin which causes the body to not only store more fat but hold on desperately to already stored fat. He says the calories in calories out model is completely wrong and we have been misled by professionals who were misguided or who are unable or unwilling to accept the truth (as he sees it).
    It's been difficult for me to accept some of what he says. I'm about 2/3 through the book and, I must admit, I'm ready to seriously restrict my carbohydrate intake. Not eliminate all carbs but eliminate as many sources of sugars and simple carbs as possible. It might be worth your time to read this book.
  • darwinwoodka
    darwinwoodka Posts: 322 Member
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    Ok, kids... let's make it simpler...

    Fat: 1 gram = 9 calories
    Protein: 1 gram = 4 calories
    Carbohydrates: 1 gram = 4 calories
    Alcohol: 1 gram = 7 calories

    "Of all the food categories, the digestion of proteins is the most time consuming. It takes over three hours to break down and assimilate proteins. The reason for this is simple: protein molecules are long chains with well-soldered links, and to break down their resistance requires the combination of good chewing and the simultaneous attack of various gastric, pancreatic, and biliary juices.

    This long process of calorie extraction taxes the system; it has been calculated that to obtain 100 calories from a protein food, the system must use 30 calories. We can say that the specific dynamic action of proteins is 30 percent, while it is only 12 percent for fats and just 7 percent for carbohydrates."

    So... proteins have fewer calories per gram and it's harder to digest and use them. But yes, if you eat an excess of them it gets stored as fat.
  • DopeyDudleyDursley
    DopeyDudleyDursley Posts: 155
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    I can't find any studies, but know my nutritional science professor taught me that any unused calories will be stored as fat. Regardless, if for some reason protein couldn't be stored as fat, which I just don't believe I still would limit my intake. Why? Excessive amounts of protein would overwork your kidneys. I will take a little body fat over kidney stones haha.
  • FunkyTobias
    FunkyTobias Posts: 1,776 Member
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    I'm currently reading the book Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It. The author, Gary Taubes, addresses at length fat storage, how it works and what types of nutrients the body converts to fat .
    He says every successful weight loss plan is the result of reduced carbohydrate intake intentionally or otherwise. When you reduce calories and maintain the same ratio of nutrients (that is protein, fat and carbs) you significantly decrease all including carbohydrate intake.
    His basic premise is that carbohydrate consumption causes the secretion of insulin which causes the body to not only store more fat but hold on desperately to already stored fat. He says the calories in calories out model is completely wrong and we have been misled by professionals who were misguided or who are unable or unwilling to accept the truth (as he sees it).
    It's been difficult for me to accept some of what he says. I'm about 2/3 through the book and, I must admit, I'm ready to seriously restrict my carbohydrate intake. Not eliminate all carbs but eliminate as many sources of sugars and simple carbs as possible. It might be worth your time to read this book.


    Everything Taubes says is wrong.
  • savoiaS1
    savoiaS1 Posts: 129
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    Any macronutrient over your daily energy expenditure will turn to fat. You can get fat off broccoli if you eat enough of it. Altho thatd be a lot of Broccoli lol.
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,306 Member
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    didn't read the link...but theoretically if you eat below 25 carbs a day could that work. For me.. I did eat that way ..and it Did NOT work.. i maintained after trying it for four weeks... however.. i was not hungry and was sad when it failed me.
  • FunkyTobias
    FunkyTobias Posts: 1,776 Member
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    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/nutrition/excess-protein-and-fat-storage-qa.html

    I don't really agree with some of the claims in this article. How can he be certain that the carbon skeleton from an amino acid or a carbohydrate for that matter is unlikely to be used for lipogenesis? A substrate is a substrate no matter it's origin.

    Curious now....I must go and do some reading...


    De Novo lipogenesis is an irrelevant process in a normally functioning human. This is well established by science.

    Converting carbs/protein to fat is nonsense. Overeating on carbs/protein can cause a state where all ingested fat is stored instead of burned. Carb and protein intake controls the ratio of fat burn:storage.

    Nope, this is simply incorrect and is certainly not well established by science.

    Here's a nice review article in a high impact factor journal that discusses it in relation to carbs.

    http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/v28/n4s/full/0802852a.html

    Did you read the experiment?

    Clearly eating 700-800-900-1000g carbs day after day is normal eating patterns for a human. In that experiment DNL didn't start until 1500g carbs had been consumed within 2 days, without exercise, and then started ramping up as the CHO intake continued to climb.

    DNL can occur no doubt, but to absolutely top off glycogen and begin DNL as a safety valve release for excess carbs takes dietary conditions a normal human is unlikely to experience.

    You need to keep reading up on this. DNL is irrelevant in a normal functioning human, this is widely agreed apon.
    Which experiment are you referring to?

    I can assure you that this it is not widely accepted in the scientific community, although it seems to be widely accepted in the bodybuilding community based on a few old studies. I accept that under usual conditions, it is not energetically favourable but I am convinced that is way more complex than the simplistic view that is interpreted from some of the studies I have read.

    Edit: Just saw your edit. I'm not talking about individuals eating under requirements and I'm assuming that the OP wasn't either.

    And if you read the article you posted you would see that DNL only occurs under massive carbohydrate overfeeding.

    According to Hellerstein,27 DNL becomes a quantitatively major pathway under one condition: when total CHO intake—expressed in energy terms—exceeds total energy expenditure, that is, when more than 100% of the energy requirement is covered by CHO ingestion. He rightly pointed out that this circumstance is unusual in daily life.


    The studies that resulted in significant DNL used massive caloric surpluses. For example, in the study performed by the authors of the paper the subject were fed 7000 calories and 1000 grams of CHO.

    Not really relevant.
  • mistesh
    mistesh Posts: 243 Member
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    there is an upper limit on the amount of calories of protein that can be used by the body daily. Something like 600 calories.
    Protein: 1 gram = 4 calories

    600 / 4 = 150. So going beyond 150 grams is no good and perhaps even bad?
  • FunkyTobias
    FunkyTobias Posts: 1,776 Member
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    there is an upper limit on the amount of calories of protein that can be used by the body daily. Something like 600 calories.
    Protein: 1 gram = 4 calories

    600 / 4 = 150. So going beyond 150 grams is no good and perhaps even bad?

    The maximum for an 80 kg person is 285 to 365 g/d.

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16779921
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,708 Member
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    Personally I haven't found any clinical studies that show protein gets stored as fat in calorie surplus. If anyone has it, I'd love to read it.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • GrannyGwen1
    GrannyGwen1 Posts: 213 Member
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    Food and Nutrition
    Protein cannot get stored as fat

    BUMP TO READ LATER
  • mistesh
    mistesh Posts: 243 Member
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    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16779921

    Interesting stuff. Thank you.

    Thinking in simple terms (it's getting late, and the day is almost over), I suppose the "2 to 2.5 g" could break even with 1 kg = 2.2 pounds, which would mean the maximum number of grams of protein per day equals your weight in pounds!
  • EmmaB332
    EmmaB332 Posts: 39 Member
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    Your friend is wrong. The simplified metabolic pathway schematic posted earlier demonstrates how the various pathways are very interconnected (if you want the full version, google "metabolic map" and you'll see just how complex metabolism it - btw, to whoever posted that, thanks for the high school flashback /cringe).

    But, ingested protein will fill you up faster than fat for the same calories because it is less calorie dense; so it is still a better choice if you are trying to lose weight.

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