Interesting Study Done on High Protein/Low Protein Diets

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  • LJSmith1989
    LJSmith1989 Posts: 650
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    Thats interesting. But how much protein. I struggle to get 56g per day on a veggie/vegan diet, I have heared that it should be .8 to 1g per llb of lean body mass, I have a lean body mass of about 107llb so thats 85g to 107g impossible!
  • pjp1125
    pjp1125 Posts: 313
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    I try to get about 200 grams of protein per day (I am in the mid to high 190lbs range 5'8"). I also lift heavy 5 days per week. That being said, my increased protein intake is at the expense of my carb intake, so I am still in a calorie deficit. I've lost about 12 lbs in the past month and one half, although I have definitely added a good amount of muscle in that time. My waist is down about two sizes, but my arms, shoulders and chest are noticeably larger. I think once you get into your 40's, especially if you are active, you should increase lean protein and reduce simple carbs. It is working wonders for me.
  • annieconverse
    annieconverse Posts: 27
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    Great study! Thank you for posting!
  • str8ngefruit
    str8ngefruit Posts: 7
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    The article was interesting, but leaves me scratching my head. I'm learning so much about the importance of a good nutrition. I would consider myself a novice. Per my lean body mass, I should intake about 103 grams of protein a day! I can only eat so much chicken and turkey. Any ideas on how I can get additional protein? I could use all the tips and tricks you can spare :-)
  • pjp1125
    pjp1125 Posts: 313
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    I supplement with protein powders- usually one scoop whey and one scoop casein, which is good for 50 grams. I do that twice a day (after weight training in the morning and cardio in the afternoon).
  • GoTeamMeaghan
    GoTeamMeaghan Posts: 347 Member
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    Thats interesting. But how much protein. I struggle to get 56g per day on a veggie/vegan diet, I have heared that it should be .8 to 1g per llb of lean body mass, I have a lean body mass of about 107llb so thats 85g to 107g impossible!

    I've been vegetarian for over 3 years and eat around 175g of protein a day and only 21g of that is protein powder. Feel free to check out my diary for ideas.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
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    This is the study in question:
    http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1103993

    Title:
    Effect of Dietary Protein Content on Weight Gain, Energy Expenditure, and Body Composition During Overeating

    It's free, you should read it.


    The meat of the issue for the tl;dr crowd.
    Results Overeating produced significantly less weight gain in the low protein diet group (3.16 kg; 95% CI, 1.88-4.44 kg) compared with the normal protein diet group (6.05 kg; 95% CI, 4.84-7.26 kg) or the high protein diet group (6.51 kg; 95% CI, 5.23-7.79 kg) (P = .002). Body fat increased similarly in all 3 protein diet groups and represented 50% to more than 90% of the excess stored calories. Resting energy expenditure, total energy expenditure, and body protein did not increase during overfeeding with the low protein diet. In contrast, resting energy expenditure (normal protein diet: 160 kcal/d [95% CI, 102-218 kcal/d]; high protein diet: 227 kcal/d [95% CI, 165-289 kcal/d]) and body protein (lean body mass) (normal protein diet: 2.87 kg [95% CI, 2.11-3.62 kg]; high protein diet: 3.18 kg [95% CI, 2.37-3.98 kg]) increased significantly with the normal and high protein diets.

    Conclusions Among persons living in a controlled setting, calories alone account for the increase in fat; protein affected energy expenditure and storage of lean body mass, but not body fat storage.

    I don't think the author of the about.com article really understood it as much as they should have prior to writing a review. It might be worth trolling through pubmed later to see if anyone picks it up for a peer review article.
  • conniemaxwell5
    conniemaxwell5 Posts: 943 Member
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    The article was interesting, but leaves me scratching my head. I'm learning so much about the importance of a good nutrition. I would consider myself a novice. Per my lean body mass, I should intake about 103 grams of protein a day! I can only eat so much chicken and turkey. Any ideas on how I can get additional protein? I could use all the tips and tricks you can spare :-)

    Egg whites, nuts and seeds, whole grains, greek yogurt, cottage cheese, lean pork (tenderloin has about the same fat as chicken and tastes better!), and beans
  • str8ngefruit
    str8ngefruit Posts: 7
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    Thank you for all of these tips and suggestions! It's crazy, I've been in this body for 30(+) years and I'm just learning how to feed and fuel it correctly....LOL!
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
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    As the study was only on 25 people I wouldn't be rushing to copy its ideas quite yet
  • bulimiargh
    bulimiargh Posts: 15
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    Thats interesting. But how much protein. I struggle to get 56g per day on a veggie/vegan diet, I have heared that it should be .8 to 1g per llb of lean body mass, I have a lean body mass of about 107llb so thats 85g to 107g impossible!

    How is that impossible? I'm vegan and I can easily hit that much:

    Breakfast:
    Raw vegan protein shake (around 20g)

    Lunch:
    Wholewheat pasta with vegan chicken pieces, broccoli, and nooch seasoning (around 25g)

    Dinner:
    Scrambled tofu on two slices bran bread with mushrooms and vegan bacon (around 20g)

    That's 65g right there, and not counting snacks, such as
    - dry roasted chickpeas (88 cal/7g)
    - vegan jerky (99 cal/7g)
    - nuts & seeds
    - soya milk lattes

    And so on :)
  • allshebe
    allshebe Posts: 423 Member
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    "Intervention After consuming a weight-stabilizing diet for 13 to 25 days, participants were randomized to diets containing 5% of energy from protein (low protein), 15% (normal protein), or 25% (high protein), which they were overfed during the last 8 weeks of their 10- to 12-week stay in the inpatient metabolic unit. Compared with energy intake during the weight stabilization period, the protein diets provided approximately 40% more energy intake, which corresponds to 954 kcal/d (95% CI, 884-1022 kcal/d)."

    Since protein supplies about the same number of calories per gram as carbs, the only way I can see the "high protein" diets providing 40% more energy intake, is if they were also comparatively high fat. If you take in 40% more calories in one diet over another, you're going to gain more weight. DUH!
  • goodtimezzzz
    goodtimezzzz Posts: 640 Member
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    ahhh the protein myths.. I eat about 5 to 10% of calories coming from protein..I have never been leaner stronger and healthier..
    Life is great when you know the Secrets!
  • rjmudlax13
    rjmudlax13 Posts: 900 Member
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    ahhh the protein myths.. I eat about 5 to 10% of calories coming from protein..I have never been leaner stronger and healthier..
    Life is great when you know the Secrets!

    Had to LOL at this because it is true. You don't need as much protein as everyone claims. The exceptions are if you are a bodybuilder or a serious athlete. Also, there are some other rare conditions that may require extra for various reasons.

    I think the misconception comes from people thinking that the recommended intake is 0.8 x your body weight in lb (imperial). It's actually 0.8 x your body weight in kg (metric). If you are a bodybuilder or athlete you usually can increase it to 1.5 - 1.75 x bw in kg.

    I am 185, so on the low end I would need about 68 g of protein. On the high end I would need about 140 g. I usually only go on the high end during heavy lift days or if I did an extremely difficult cardio workout.

    However, It doesn't really hurt if you eat extra unless you have kidney issues. It just gets to a point where you are just wasting your money and/or you are creating a calorie surplus and not doing enough weightlifting to get the benefit so it (not necessarily the protein itself) eventually gets indirectly stored as fat.

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