How much protein do I really need?

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Iknowsaur
Iknowsaur Posts: 777 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I am 18, 5'6, and 280 (oh my god, ugh, I know, how .-.)
As of now I am not doing very much exercise. I have a soft tissue disorder that is aggravated by my weight, so doing intense strength training and cardio is something I will have to reserve for being under 250 or close to 200. I do some basic exercises like crunches and wall sits when I can, but it's still very light.
I am a vegetarian (I eat fish, but not if I cook it) and a very picky eater. Although I love my veggies and carbs, I dislike beans and tofu. Hummus is okay, but I certainly don't eat it every day.

As it is, my protein intake is usually about 30-40 grams per day.

- 30 from a protein shake (the powder and the milk)
- 5-10 from cheese, which I am trying to cut back on since it's a trigger food for binging. I currently only keep parm. in the house, because a little goes a long way and I won't just eat plain or melt it on anything I can get my hands on.
- 5-10 from snacking on nuts, which is rare for me

MFP says I should be aiming for 50-60, and I've gotten varying opinions from outside sources citing something higher.

Am I okay where I am? Any suggestions for what I could be doing to get more protein, if need be?

Replies

  • acogg
    acogg Posts: 1,870 Member
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    You want to aim to get in about 1 gram per pound of lean mass, which for most women is about 100 grams. The added protein will help you retain muscle and make you feel full longer. When I started doing this, I felt much, much better!

    ETA: most women
  • dancephysics
    dancephysics Posts: 53
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    General advice is 1g of protein per pound of lean body mass, and I've also heard .8g per pound of total weight. Even if you don't do weight training, getting enough protein in your diet can help prevent muscle loss as you lose weight. I am not a nutrition professional, but I'd guess that 30-40g is probably not enough. I am 5'6" and 135, and my goal is over 100g a day, but I consider anything above 75g to be acceptable for myself.

    My first two suggestions were going to be beans and tofu. I know you said you don't like them, but maybe you should try preparing them in new ways, or somehow "disguising" them so that the taste/texture doesn't bother you. Since you already use a protein powder, try looking up protein powder recipes. I don't know any, but I have heard about protein pancakes, adding protein powder to oatmeal, protein cheesecake, etc.
  • gigglesinthesun
    gigglesinthesun Posts: 860 Member
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    At 280lbs you are highly likely to have more lean body mass then what the person cited, so chances are you are actually looking at 150g of protein or so daily.

    Nuts/seeds have protein, so does avocado, eggs, tinned tuna or sardines are also options that you don't need to cook very much. Alternatively don't be a vegetarian if you don't like the vegetarian sources of protein.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    100g/day is a nice round number and easy to remember. It would be a great start, in the context of a caloric deficit.
  • Iknowsaur
    Iknowsaur Posts: 777 Member
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    Alright, crap, so I guess I'm way under.

    My best bet is to probably use protein powder in my snacks.
    I'm recently back from being vegan, so I can go back to yoghurt too which I forgot all about.

    Thanks guys.
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
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    Protein is actually brilliant if you are not very active. It is filling and it will help preserve your muscles as you drop weight. I would say both it, and fat, are most important, followed by carbohydrates. I aim to get at least 100g a day, from such sources as cottage cheese, eggs, Greek yoghurt(the proper, plain stuff, like Fage), fish, beans, soya, nuts/seeds and cheese. I find it quite easy to keep to a calorie goal as things like 0% Greek yoghurt, fish and cottage cheese are pretty low in calories. Milk is another source, whether it be soya or dairy. I also avoid protein powder like the plague. I prefer to source my protein from more natural, food sources. Egg whites are a good way if you eat eggs. Egg white omelettes.
  • free_state
    free_state Posts: 9 Member
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    I think you are getting more than enough, most Americans eat way more than needed. The CDC recommends:

    Recommended Dietary Allowance for Protein
    Grams of protein needed each day:
    Children ages 1 – 3: 13g
    Children ages 4 – 8: 19g
    Children ages 9 – 13: 34g
    Girls ages 14 – 18: 46g
    Boys ages 14 – 18: 52g
    Women ages 19 – 70+: 46g
    Men ages 19 – 70+: 56g

    http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/everyone/basics/protein.html
  • Huffdogg
    Huffdogg Posts: 1,934 Member
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    I think you are getting more than enough, most Americans eat way more than needed. The CDC recommends:

    Recommended Dietary Allowance for Protein
    Grams of protein needed each day:
    Children ages 1 – 3: 13g
    Children ages 4 – 8: 19g
    Children ages 9 – 13: 34g
    Girls ages 14 – 18: 46g
    Boys ages 14 – 18: 52g
    Women ages 19 – 70+: 46g
    Men ages 19 – 70+: 56g

    http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/everyone/basics/protein.html

    utter ****ing nonsense when anyone throws out a flat number. This doesn't even make a smattering of sense. It's even more idiotic than BMI.



    No science has proven anything greater than .82g per lb of LBM is effective. Most people round it up to 1g per lb 'cause math.
  • Rayman79
    Rayman79 Posts: 2,009 Member
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    I think you are getting more than enough, most Americans eat way more than needed. The CDC recommends:

    Recommended Dietary Allowance for Protein
    Grams of protein needed each day:
    Children ages 1 – 3: 13g
    Children ages 4 – 8: 19g
    Children ages 9 – 13: 34g
    Girls ages 14 – 18: 46g
    Boys ages 14 – 18: 52g
    Women ages 19 – 70+: 46g
    Men ages 19 – 70+: 56g

    http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/everyone/basics/protein.html

    utter ****ing nonsense when anyone throws out a flat number. This doesn't even make a smattering of sense. It's even more idiotic than BMI.



    No science has proven anything greater than .82g per lb of LBM is effective. Most people round it up to 1g per lb 'cause math.

    This, and so much this!

    For the sake of evidence, i present the following:
    http://bayesianbodybuilding.com/the-myth-of-1glb-optimal-protein-intake-for-bodybuilders/
  • FemmeFitFarm
    FemmeFitFarm Posts: 25
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    I think you are getting more than enough, most Americans eat way more than needed. The CDC recommends:

    Recommended Dietary Allowance for Protein
    Grams of protein needed each day:
    Children ages 1 – 3: 13g
    Children ages 4 – 8: 19g
    Children ages 9 – 13: 34g
    Girls ages 14 – 18: 46g
    Boys ages 14 – 18: 52g
    Women ages 19 – 70+: 46g
    Men ages 19 – 70+: 56g

    http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/everyone/basics/protein.html

    utter ****ing nonsense when anyone throws out a flat number. This doesn't even make a smattering of sense. It's even more idiotic than BMI.



    No science has proven anything greater than .82g per lb of LBM is effective. Most people round it up to 1g per lb 'cause math.

    This, and so much this!


    +1
  • _db_
    _db_ Posts: 179 Member
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    No science has proven anything greater than .82g per lb of LBM is effective. Most people round it up to 1g per lb 'cause math.

    This, and so much this!

    For the sake of evidence, i present the following:
    http://bayesianbodybuilding.com/the-myth-of-1glb-optimal-protein-intake-for-bodybuilders/

    Thanks for that link. It agrees with my review of available studies that .8g/lb FFM is about as much as can be used to actually build FFM. Of course, that number assumes an amount of protein with an ideal amino acid profile (eggs/whey).

    Further reading has led me to believe that egg( white)s are the ideal protein source....mostly because they provide the highest level of cysteine/methionine.

    A diet deficient in cysteine/methionone could require a significantly greater amount of "protein" in order to maintain the machine.
  • ottermotorcycle
    ottermotorcycle Posts: 654 Member
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    There's a lot of science in this thread so I'm just going to take the following stance:

    More protein can't hurt.

    Since you're a vegetarian, you need to add some protein to your diet. Maybe you can mask some of those things you don't like in some delicious recipes. When in doubt, add more dairy - eating a couple of egg whites will boost your protein, as will having an additional glass of skim milk. Head over to the recipes section and look around. I started a thread where people are posting some awesome protein pancake recipes!

    You could also add me and take a peek at my diary if you want. I'm not a vegetarian, but I do eat protein in a few forms since I aim for 100g+/day.
  • cactuswax
    cactuswax Posts: 77 Member
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    I'm a vegetarian as well, and i've been weight training for about 6 weeks now. I aim for about 70g of protein a day (which takes work!). So far I've been losing weight and i can see definition forming. I read in a few other threads you should be up about 100g, but i had a super hard time figuring out how to fit that in and not go over my calorie goals.

    My go to sources:
    • Sunwarrior natural protein
    • Garden of Eden Vanilla Chai Spice protein powder
    • Almonds
    • Fage 0% yogurt
    • Tempeh
    • Oatmeal
    • Peanut flour

    Feel free to look at my diary if you'd like!
  • free_state
    free_state Posts: 9 Member
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    Thats the governments recommendation - and its not a flat number - notice the "+" that's indicating a minimum. Your link is talking about athletes, the OP is not an athlete and even states she does not exercise "very much".
  • jonlefave
    jonlefave Posts: 8 Member
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    According to this resource, 0.8g/lb is even overkill, if you're not a hardcore bodybuilder.

    "There hasn’t been any recorded advantage of consuming more than 0.64g/lb"

    http://bayesianbodybuilding.com/the-myth-of-1glb-optimal-protein-intake-for-bodybuilders/

    If you want to maintain muscle while cutting, or build muscle, 0.82g/lb is more than enough.

    If you're losing weight slowly, 0.64g/lb is suffice.

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