Protein amount

littlelily613
littlelily613 Posts: 769 Member
in Food and Nutrition
When choosing how much protein I plan on having a day, should I be looking at my current weight (in which case I would be doing nothing but eating protein all day long....) or my goal weight (which seems much more realistic....)?

Replies

  • ghosthackexe
    ghosthackexe Posts: 181 Member
    Eat what MFP tells you to eat. That's kinda the beauty of the whole thing =P. Go with your current weight as you progress and you log your weight loss your calories will change as will your total macro nutrient intake. ^_^
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    The 1 gram per weight number is really for lean body mass, which ideally shouldn't change that much, so I think either is fine (and a range is fine too).

    I figure I'm going to still be over 20% BF at my current goal of 120, so 95 grams is more than sufficient. Since I'm currently around 150, I bump it up a bit to 105, which also happens to be 30% of my base calories (1400), although I usually eat more due to exercise. I don't worry so much about the macro breakdown in the extra calories so long as I get my minimum grams in.

    I don't think you have to be any more precise than that, unless you are at the point of really trying to gain muscle or get the fat percentage as low as possible or some such.
  • alanabanana86
    alanabanana86 Posts: 21 Member
    Hey, I have to say that I'd like some help about protein too!

    I'm vegetarian and my aim for protein is 60- I have sometimes reached that, but on my deficit my daily calories is 1200- which makes it SO hard to get enough protein in. SO HARD.

    I snack on nuts, beans, cottage cheese, I have tofu, but man is it tough to reach that amount, and if I do by some chance reach it, I'm then way under on my carbs!

    How important is it for fat loss and strength that we reach the macro's recommended?

    Thanks in advance :)
  • afortunatedragon
    afortunatedragon Posts: 329 Member
    Did you try Protein shakes?
    There are some with up to 97% Protein.
    So with 25 or 30g you can get 24 to 28g of Protein.
    Whey, Soya, pea, hemp, rice based shakes available (pea is horrible) :sick:
  • mixtapes23
    mixtapes23 Posts: 30 Member
    Hey, I have to say that I'd like some help about protein too!

    I'm vegetarian and my aim for protein is 60- I have sometimes reached that, but on my deficit my daily calories is 1200- which makes it SO hard to get enough protein in. SO HARD.

    I snack on nuts, beans, cottage cheese, I have tofu, but man is it tough to reach that amount, and if I do by some chance reach it, I'm then way under on my carbs!

    How important is it for fat loss and strength that we reach the macro's recommended?

    Thanks in advance :)

    We're similar - I am a vegetarian, my daily calories is set at 1210, and I get over 70g of protein per day. My diary is open if you'd like to take a look for ideas! I do a different meal prep for the work week so don't be put off by the fact that it looks like I'm eating the exact same things every day that week =)
  • davert123
    davert123 Posts: 1,568 Member
    The 1 gram per weight number is really for lean body mass, which ideally shouldn't change that much, so I think either is fine (and a range is fine too).

    I figure I'm going to still be over 20% BF at my current goal of 120, so 95 grams is more than sufficient. Since I'm currently around 150, I bump it up a bit to 105, which also happens to be 30% of my base calories (1400), although I usually eat more due to exercise. I don't worry so much about the macro breakdown in the extra calories so long as I get my minimum grams in.

    I don't think you have to be any more precise than that, unless you are at the point of really trying to gain muscle or get the fat percentage as low as possible or some such.

    I agree with this - 1g per lean lb seems to be general advice that people give and it doesn't change much. MFP scales everything down which means you would most probably end up with far less than this if you follow MFP. From what I have seen eating protein protects the body a little from you eating your own muscle. I boost my protein levels with protein shake as I am semi veggie (I eat fish but nothing that has walked about). By doing this is possible to hit my macros quite easily.
  • sparklefrogz
    sparklefrogz Posts: 281 Member
    I'm vegetarian and my aim for protein is 60- I have sometimes reached that, but on my deficit my daily calories is 1200- which makes it SO hard to get enough protein in. SO HARD.

    I snack on nuts, beans, cottage cheese, I have tofu, but man is it tough to reach that amount, and if I do by some chance reach it, I'm then way under on my carbs!

    How important is it for fat loss and strength that we reach the macro's recommended?

    Thanks in advance :)

    Here is a thread that lists vegetarian and vegan sources of protein by caloric and protein density: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/926789-protein-sources

    Weight loss depends only on total caloric intake. How much is fat vs lean muscle depends more on the protein intake and whether you are doing resistance-based training. This thread has some info on setting macro targets: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

    For a sample vegetarian menu that hits realistic macro targets for an already small woman trying to lose weight, see here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/925464-fitting-it-in-giggity
  • alanabanana86
    alanabanana86 Posts: 21 Member
    Thanks so much for the advice guys! (sorry to hijack the original thread...)

    I've not tried shakes no, but I'll take a look. Wow- hitting 70, that's pretty great, I'll have a read and hopefully get the hang of this a little better then.

    Yeah I'm doing cardio in the form of roller derby at 5 hours per week, and I have a high intensity strength training program 3x per week so that's really why I'm looking into making the most of the calories that I have to eat.

    Thanks again!

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