Protein - how much is too much?

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  • aprylkemper
    aprylkemper Posts: 123 Member
    While carbs are not the enemy, protein can be your best friend, not only because it promotes muscle growth and recovery, but because they have the amazing ability to keep you full longer. I also try for 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight and it's a good rule of thumb. You should try for a lean protein with each meal and don't be concerned with going over the MFP recommendation, I think their daily goal is on the low side.
  • missbeezy
    missbeezy Posts: 198
    bump
  • myofibril
    myofibril Posts: 4,500 Member

    All of the below associations all recommend between .08 and 1.7 grams per KILOGRAM (I.E. .35 to .75 grams per pound) even for resistance training and muscle growth. I doubt 1 gram per pound would be an issue, but I don't think it's necessary.

    I don't think there is any real science behind a fixed value of 1g per 1lb to be fair. It's just a generic recommendation thrown out by many fitness professional so individuals can get a rough baseline figure from. Really, there is a continuum as you say which as people advance through their regime can play around with and find out what suits them best.

    I haven't read Lyle McDonald's "Protein Book" but apparently he goes into (excrutiating) detail on the science behind the varying approaches to protein from % to grams per pound in various contexts.

    ETA: I have taken out the numbers as I have miscalculated seemingly...
  • Pandorian
    Pandorian Posts: 2,055 Member
    BUMP - as used on myfitnesspal is used for one of two things, by the original poster to Bring Up My Post (BUMP) to make it seen by me people, because really, who has clicked through more than 3 pages of threads in the forum to see what posts they have missed? When it's BUMPED to the top people that weren't on earlier when the thread was being commented in will get a chance to see it,
    AND
    people use it on here to "mark" the thread in "my topics" where the last 25 threads you've posted in are tracked, so if someone posts a question you want to see the answer on, or posts something interesting that you don't have time to read right now BUMP gets used to make it appear there as they've posted in the thread so its easy to find. For these ones I prefer bookmarking the thread until I'm done with it, doesn't contribute a worthless post to the thread and I can keep an eye on FAR more than 25 posts this way ;)

    Also, just to tie it into the thread, MFPs default protein is set to 15% of your calories, I bumped mine to 30% to get me to my goal of 0.5 grams per pound of body weight. Which conveniently enough works out to 1 gram per pound of my goal weight which is what I'll be aiming to eat by that point of this weight loss / fitness increasing lifestyle :)
  • erisfreenici
    erisfreenici Posts: 277 Member
    so bump means it is a topic that has already been shared somewhere else? I am unclear on that as well......sound's like someone is saying, "Bump........been there done that heard that before"....kind of rude if that is the case.

    If you are not trying to build muscle, the excess protein can be hard for your kidney's to handle and put a little strain on them....if you are lifting some serious weight, your body will use a lot of that protein.
    If you are sedentary, I don't recommend that much protein.

    When someone does "bump" they are replying so it will go back to the top of the list in the message board forum so more people will see it to answer the question. It's just a short saying meaning "I don't really have anything to add, but I want others to see this so the topic doesn't die before the question gets answered". It's pretty easy for topics to get buried in here.

    I hope that clears up the confusion.
  • Lizzgeorge77
    Lizzgeorge77 Posts: 52 Member
    Too much protein isn't a significant risk as far as the nutrient itself is concerned - it's certainly not as potentially damaging as too much sugar, for instance. However loading up on one gram per pound or more is not likely to help your body unless you are doing serious athletic training. It's not someting humans "need" - nor something we have consumed in large quantities in the history of civilization. Many studies have linked increased meat consumption with cancers, heart disease and other illnesses.

    Protein is expensive and it puts you at risk of consuming too many chemicals and preservatives, depending on the types you are choosing. If you're not a serious athlete and you're loading up on protein shakes and bars you are wasting money and consuming a lot of artificial "foods" colors and usually lots of added sugar too. If you're loading up on meat and dairy, you're probably ingesting a lot of hormones and antibiotics which will screw with your body chemistry. Plus it's bad for the environment (farming livestock is a leading cause of carbon emissions, fresh water depletion and deforestation around the globe).
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,330 Member
    Remember, long term very high protein intake MAY have adverse affects on your body. It could affect mineral balance, kidney function, liver function, and colonic function. I'm not saying you WILL see these side effect, just that it's possible, and really there's no evidence to show that eating lots of protein is helpful in any way so. I say why risk it?

    The key part of that statement is "very high" not simply high. The other key is what was emphasized in the MAY. There is little hard evidence at this point of any of that. As for using the protein for energy, it is one of the harder macro nutrients to turn to fat, not that it can't be, but it takes a lot of energy in the body to do so, but like anything eat too much of it and it will be stored as fat. Also, you do need the other macro nutrients like carbs and fat as well. They are not the enemy in any way.
  • myofibril
    myofibril Posts: 4,500 Member
    Too much protein isn't a significant risk as far as the nutrient itself is concerned - it's certainly not as potentially damaging as too much sugar, for instance. However loading up on one gram per pound or more is not likely to help your body unless you are doing serious athletic training. It's not someting humans "need" - nor something we have consumed in large quantities in the history of civilization.

    That's certainly true.

    However, increased protein consumption in dieting has a number of beneficial upsides to balance the downsides. Those are: increased satiety in comparison to carbs and fat leading to less likelihood of over consumption under ad libitum dietary conditions 2) increased thermogenesis under the TEF component of the energy balance equation and 3) maintenance / accretion of lean body mass and stimulation of muscle protein synthesis.

    Whilst I agree that there is no real need to go overboard, keeping your protein levels high is a generally very good tactic in dieting as it a) keeps you full b) increases daily calorie expenditure from eating moderately and c) helps with retention of LBM in preference to fat as referenced above.

    Of course this is not the full picture and there are a number of inter linking factors to be considered. Really nothing can beat an individualised diet based on full information. However, in the real world sometime broad guidelines are the best you can hope for...
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    I think some people are missing why I say that protein has long term risks when taken consistently at levels considered very high.

    Most of the work done converting dietary protein into the amino acids we need is done in the liver and kidneys. When you increase the work these organs do over the long term, it stresses them, increasing the chances that they will break down or weaken. Plus, protein breakdown and conversion into energy releases ammonia, which needs to be converted to urea in the liver and sent to the kidneys for removal, over a few days or weeks or even months, this is no big deal, but do this for years, and it could intensify or cause problems in the liver and kidneys that were either not existent before, of extremely mild. Also, research has shown that high protein diets reduce certain micro-fauna in the colon, this beneficial fauna has been shown to reduce the likelihood of colo-rectal cancer.

    Ask yourself why doctors prescribe a low protein diet for people with kidney and in some cases liver diseases. It's all right there, stressing any organ for short periods is fine and probably helpful if the organ is healthy, but stressing an organ long term is dangerous.
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
    No. I aim for at least 100g of protein per day. 25-30% of your diet in protein is healthy for someone trying to lose weight. If you're working out a lot, your muscles need more protein anyway.
  • Steph_135
    Steph_135 Posts: 3,280 Member
    I've read for lifting weight and gaining muscle that 40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30% fats are ideal. That's based on the amount of calories you are eating.
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