How much protein...

choosing_fitness
choosing_fitness Posts: 102
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi- today I just restarted on my fitness and health journey (if you will ;)) And I was trying to not be hungry and opted for higher protein foods. Today I looked at my protein intake and I had 135 grams and I am currently 126 lbs. Was this too much? I also had a little too much fat, but it happens. How much should I be eating? I don't want the extra to store as fat. I may have overeaten by 100 calories today, but I am trying to take my weight loss slow because I only want to lose about 5-10 lbs. So I figure a maintenance day is better than a day over.

Thoughts?

Replies

  • BombshellPhoenix
    BombshellPhoenix Posts: 1,693 Member
    The only thing that causes fat is a calorie surplus, not out of balance macros. So, don't worry about that.

    Ideally, 1g per pound of lean body mass in protein is recommended but it won't harm you to go above that. I think you'd have to eat like 300g worth of protein consistently to do any damage and let's be honest, too much of anything can be harmful.

    Excess fat also isn't a huge concern, especially not one day and I actually treat my fat as a minimum. I prioritize protein, fat, and fiber to hit, then let my carbs fall wherever they may.

    Calories in vs out for weight loss,macros for body composition. The focus should be calorie amount. Make sure you're diligently logging and see how the scales trend.

    What are your stats? Would be a place to start. I'd stick to one calorie amount for a few weeks and see how the scale moves. Adjust up or down by 100 as needed.
  • choosing_fitness
    choosing_fitness Posts: 102
    GREAT ADVICE! Thank you :)
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    I struggle so hard to get protein...I don't like protein foods much! So jealous of people who can exceed it easily!! Awesome that!

    As far as your weight loss goes, calories are the big deal. Keep those at or under goal and you should lose.

    As you go along, you will find that some things work better than others. It's a very individual thing. Trial and error. :)

    Excellent work, congrats!
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    I would just worry about caloric deficit at first, you can get the macros down later. Having too much of any of those won't hurt you, unless you were having exorbitant amounts regularly.

Categories