How much protein is too much?

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  • skipotronik
    skipotronik Posts: 9 Member
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    i am 185 pounds and almost 6 feet tall, last year i hired a bodybuilding coach to tell me what to eat, at the time i was 166 pounds, he gave me a diet with 400 gr of protein and in about 3 months i was 185. i gained almost 20 pounds of muscle with that diet. now i wanted to bulk again but only with 300g but i get no results. from my point of view its all about the amount of protein you eat from fish,turkey,chicken and horse combined with great amount of green vegetable.

    its a very interesting topic. i know this type of diet cannot be done year around, it s a cycle thing.
  • terizius
    terizius Posts: 425 Member
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    Does anyone have any personal, first-hand experience with various levels of protien consumption while bulking? So far, there have a lot of suggestions/recommendations, a few science/research backed responses but little to no first-hand knowledge or experiences being passed along

    Edit - I must have posted this right as Skip posted his above comment. Skip, thanks for sharing your experience.
  • skipotronik
    skipotronik Posts: 9 Member
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    i actually put this diet in my diary and it scores 500g of protein...i know it sounds crazy but i was bulking like crazy and gaining strenght in the gym.
  • Huffdogg
    Huffdogg Posts: 1,934 Member
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    I can tell you that my coach, Greg Nuckols, a world record holder in the squat and 3 lift total, tells me that there is no credible evidence that anything over 1.5g per kg is of any real use. The rest is training. I love science, but results also speak volumes.
  • terizius
    terizius Posts: 425 Member
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    Huffdogg, I agree - there is no evidence that I can find supporting anything above 1.5g/lb. However, neither is there any evidence that there is any harm in more (in a normal, healthy, active person), and as the study I referenced previously mentions, a little more is better than a little less. The extra just gets burned as fuel. On the other hand.. protien is a pretty expensive source of fuel compared to carbs and fats..
  • grantdumas7
    grantdumas7 Posts: 802 Member
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    Just keep in mind that protein is more thermogenic than carbs or fats, so I would only go about .85 to 1.25 grams of protein per LB. I would increase the carbs.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    IMO in a caloric SURPLUS you're easily sufficient at 1g/lb BW and that's probably more than enough. Going WAY over that number won't likely cause you any problems but you're basically eating really expensive carbs at that point since you'll be oxidizing a ton of it.
  • GGDaddy
    GGDaddy Posts: 289 Member
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    Does anyone have any personal, first-hand experience with various levels of protien consumption while bulking? So far, there have a lot of suggestions/recommendations, a few science/research backed responses but little to no first-hand knowledge or experiences being passed along

    Edit - I must have posted this right as Skip posted his above comment. Skip, thanks for sharing your experience.

    Another data point, take it for what it's worth.

    Back in my 20's, exactly 20 years ago, I bulked with a trainer who was under the impression that more than 15% protein just converts to fat. She had me on a 500 cal surplus at 3200 calories a day, and I logged macros with pen & paper. I stayed under 15% protein, which meant no more than 480 calories, i.e. 120 grams/day (at 190 lbs, roughly 0.63 g/lb) For perspective, I'm 6'4".

    Progress was:
    April 1994--190 lbs
    June 1994--197 lbs
    Nov 1994--213 lbs

    My %BF stayed near 14% throughout, so it was mostly muscle gains. Roughly 20 lbs lean muscle tissue in 7 months on 0.63g/lb protein.

    So it's possible.
  • terizius
    terizius Posts: 425 Member
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    GGDaddy, Thanks for the info. That sounds pretty consistent with the lean gains I've read about. Interesting info.
  • Huffdogg
    Huffdogg Posts: 1,934 Member
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    protien is a pretty expensive source of fuel compared to carbs and fats..

    TBH this is the only reason I don't eat a way higher protein macro. I just can't afford it lol.
  • GGDaddy
    GGDaddy Posts: 289 Member
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    GGDaddy, Thanks for the info. That sounds pretty consistent with the lean gains I've read about. Interesting info.

    Glad to contribute to a good thread. Thanks for the summary of the Lyle study.
  • Fithealthyforlife
    Fithealthyforlife Posts: 866 Member
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    I agree with SideSteel. And not only that, but I feel great when I eat ~25% protein. Less than 15 or 20%, and I feel like I have less strength. More than 30% and digestion can get uncomfortable depending on the type of protein. I also read a study that showed that people not exercising but eating a carefully controlled surplus gained the same amount of muscle on both 15% and 26% protein. But less than 15% and most of the weight gain was fat (however they also gained less weight). So that tells you something. And personally I think more than 35% protein or so might be overkill in general. (Too much might even cause or worsen existing kidney/liver issues.) I eat according to MFP and it works well most of the time for me, personally.
  • avocadoshaped
    avocadoshaped Posts: 35 Member
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    DRINK WATER. Healthy or not kidneys dealing with more than 30% of your daily calories in protein get unhappy, and when they get unhappy you get stones, and when you get stones you regress to being 2 complete with the crying. Do not get stones it is not a good look.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    Protein intake related to kidney stones? Never heard of that. Can you give more info?
  • avocadoshaped
    avocadoshaped Posts: 35 Member
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    When you metabolize proteins you throw off uric acid, which is excreted by your kidneys, when your urine PH drops the uric acid can make stones as it falls out of suspension or it pushes the calcium oxalate out of suspension. These collect and make kidney stones, and give you an unhappy face.

    Forgot the reference

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1169452/
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    Interesting. It appears it can contribute, but probably only of you're prone to them already.
    http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/2/1/25

    This link discusses the above study as well as others.
  • avocadoshaped
    avocadoshaped Posts: 35 Member
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    If you are peeing at least 2 liters it all sort of become moot. Real the problems mount when get chronic dehydration plus Atkins and then you get major stones, and remember that was only a 6 week study.

    I am not saying that not to eat large amounts of protein, just to make sure you are drinking more water. As they suggest in the stone section of your piece there may be underlying quirks of metabolism that may be exacerbated with excess protein.
  • Huffdogg
    Huffdogg Posts: 1,934 Member
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    I agree with SideSteel. And not only that, but I feel great when I eat ~25% protein. Less than 15 or 20%, and I feel like I have less strength. More than 30% and digestion can get uncomfortable depending on the type of protein. I also read a study that showed that people not exercising but eating a carefully controlled surplus gained the same amount of muscle on both 15% and 26% protein. But less than 15% and most of the weight gain was fat (however they also gained less weight). So that tells you something. And personally I think more than 35% protein or so might be overkill in general. (Too much might even cause or worsen existing kidney/liver issues.) I eat according to MFP and it works well most of the time for me, personally.

    Percentages are silly.

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