I almost always eat too much protein!

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SarahBaylis
SarahBaylis Posts: 9
in Food and Nutrition
I log every day and almost always go over in protein but I don't necessarily go over on the fat, carbs, or calories. Should I be paying more attention to the amount of protein I consume?

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  • thkelly
    thkelly Posts: 466 Member
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    don't worry about your protein intake. you should be going over the recommended amount because it's way too low on this site
  • bodybyrick
    bodybyrick Posts: 17
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    If you are a healthy person with no medical conditions and you drink plenty of water then the risk
    for protien toxcicity is low. If you make your food diary public I'll take a look for you.
    Remember: For an active woman with no medical issues you should take somewhere
    around a gram of protien for every lb of your target weight. Some people say more some
    say less. The key is that you don't consume more than 30grams of protien in any one
    sitting. Your body can only metabolize so much at a time so be sure to spread it out
    throughout the day.
    Hope this helps,
    Rick
  • choley222
    choley222 Posts: 57
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    I read an article that said you should eat the amount of protein that you would like to weigh. So if you want to weigh 125 lbs you should eat that many proteins. It works for weight loss or muscle building for guys. So if a guy weighs 150 and wants to bulk up to 180 he should eat that many proteins. I do agree they have it set really low on here.
  • nickscutie
    nickscutie Posts: 303 Member
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    That is true, you can only use so much protein at a time.

    Also - you can adjust your daily protein levels by customizing your goals if you think it is too low for you. Saying that the levels on MFP are too low is a sweeping generalization. It is different needs for different people who are trying various weight loss and maintenance approaches.
  • fwdmotion
    fwdmotion Posts: 4
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    I always go over on my protein too. So you mean if you want to weigh 125 you should/could eat 125 grams of protein a day? No more than 30 per "meal" is a good idea, I have gone over that a little.
  • SarahBaylis
    SarahBaylis Posts: 9
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    Thanks, everyone! Makes sense.
  • choley222
    choley222 Posts: 57
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    Yes if you want to weigh 125 lbs eat 125 grams of protein a day. Sorry I was typing and helping my son with his homework so I got distracted.
  • LKSmith61
    LKSmith61 Posts: 10
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    I met with a dietitian on Monday, and I asked her this same question. She said our bodies only need a small amount of protein daily and what isn't used as fuel does revert to stored fat, so I cut back on my portion sizes, and I haven't gone "over" since. (This is for me at my weight; could be different for others.)

    Good luck!! :o)
  • jen0619
    jen0619 Posts: 414
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    I met with a dietitian on Monday, and I asked her this same question. She said our bodies only need a small amount of protein daily and what isn't used as fuel does revert to stored fat, so I cut back on my portion sizes, and I haven't gone "over" since. (This is for me at my weight; could be different for others.)

    Good luck!! :o)

    Your dietician is absolutely correct. We don't need as much protein as people think we do there is a simple formula to figure out what you need.

    Weight / 2.2 then multiplied by .8 and it is daily consumption. Note that this is not based on any increased activity levels because then of course it would vary. As told by a nutrition professor with a masters do not double your intake. If the case that you do you are potentially setting yourself up for harm. Also, if you consume a lot more protein consume a lot more water so the protein can try to be balanced out by your body.

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