Too Much Protein???

laurenbfabulous
laurenbfabulous Posts: 5 Member
edited November 11 in Food and Nutrition
My recommended calculations set my protein intake goal to 60... but I keep going over that. Plus now that I'm looking at other diaries it looks like 60 is kind of low. Any thoughts? I'm new to this and honestly am completely lost. :neutral_face:

Replies

  • Hi

    The nutritionist that I am working with says to shoot for 60-80 grams of protein per day.
    Good luck!

    Andrea
  • alyhuggan
    alyhuggan Posts: 717 Member
    The general rule is around one gram of protein per pound of body weight!
  • Can you have too much protein and will it cause weight gain if so?
  • ovinas1
    ovinas1 Posts: 413 Member
    People who just exercise and do not diet should aim to consume somewhere around 0.8-1 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight daily.

    If you're dieting and exercising, aim higher—between 1-1.5 grams of protein per pound of your bodyweight per day. As your caloric intake decreases, your protein needs will actually increase, so keep that in mind as you plan out your diet.

    Focus on eating high-quality protein sources such as chicken, fish, lean red meat, eggs, low-fat dairy products, and quality whey protein powder.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    alyhuggan wrote: »
    The general rule is around one gram of protein per pound of body weight!

    1 gram per pound of lean body mass, not body weight.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    MFP sets protein really low, 15% of total cals. I would suggest, if you don't know your BF% put your protein to 0.75-0.8 grams per lb of body weight
  • mommyvo23
    mommyvo23 Posts: 22 Member
    1 gram per pound of lean body mass, not body weight.[/quote]

    This
  • tibby531
    tibby531 Posts: 717 Member
    I aim for 130 grams of protein a day. (I feel I have about 130 pounds of lean muscle mass in my body.) my personal macros are at 25% protein, 30% fat, and 45% carbs. I like the way my body functions on that ratio. it helps me unlock beast mode. *flexes* ;)
  • 89nunu
    89nunu Posts: 1,082 Member
    edited January 2015
    ovinas1 wrote: »
    People who just exercise and do not diet should aim to consume somewhere around 0.8-1 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight daily.

    If you're dieting and exercising, aim higher—between 1-1.5 grams of protein per pound of your bodyweight per day. As your caloric intake decreases, your protein needs will actually increase, so keep that in mind as you plan out your diet.

    Focus on eating high-quality protein sources such as chicken, fish, lean red meat, eggs, low-fat dairy products, and quality whey protein powder.

    that would be a bit high indeed.

    But what hornsby sais is right. 1 gram per pound lean body mass is ideal for people dieting or training hard.

    The mfp number are for the average person and a little low for anyone trying to lose weight
    So don't worry, it's hard to get too much.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    erickirb wrote: »
    MFP sets protein really low, 15% of total cals. I would suggest, if you don't know your BF% put your protein to 0.75-0.8 grams per lb of body weight

    or that.^
  • sullus
    sullus Posts: 2,839 Member
    ovinas1 wrote: »
    People who just exercise and do not diet should aim to consume somewhere around 0.8-1 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight daily.

    If you're dieting and exercising, aim higher—between 1-1.5 grams of protein per pound of your bodyweight per day. As your caloric intake decreases, your protein needs will actually increase, so keep that in mind as you plan out your diet.

    Focus on eating high-quality protein sources such as chicken, fish, lean red meat, eggs, low-fat dairy products, and quality whey protein powder.

    That's way too much protein. I am dieting and exercising, and would never consider eating 345g of protein a day.

    about 100 is plenty for anyone

  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    The USDA recommendation is to get 10% to 35% of your total daily calories from protein. This ranges between 50 to 175 grams a day on a 2000 calorie a day diet. Obviously, there is a lot of room for individualization there. I don't remember what MFP's default setting is but I changed mine to 35% which seems to be a perfect amount for me.
  • jpaulie
    jpaulie Posts: 917 Member
    edited January 2015
    your protein is fine when it is over and is probably closer to where it should be. However, some days your net cals are low. and that could lead to some issues.
  • tar0809
    tar0809 Posts: 122 Member
    My fitness instructor who has lost almost 70lbs herself told me that if you want to lose bf% to have as many grams as your goal weight. So since my goal is to get to 105lbs I should be having around 105g of protein daily.
  • ovinas1
    ovinas1 Posts: 413 Member
    Its a balance between the calories you need to still lose weight and the amount of protein. I consume 230 g of protein a day, But i do it to build muscle and mostley with low carb protein powders.
  • Susieq_1994
    Susieq_1994 Posts: 5,361 Member
    Adequate intake for protein is set at 0.8 grams of protein per KILO of body weight. This is an absolute minimum to avoid loss of lean body mass and such.

    As others mentioned above, for those who are losing weight and exercising, 0.8-1.0 grams per pound of lean body weight is more than enough protein to sustain lean body mass.

    As for the question regarding too much protein and weight gain--You'll only gain weight if the excessive protein intake takes you over your total daily energy expenditure, or the amount of calories that your body needs to maintain your current weight.

    As for eating too much of it, you only need to limit your protein if you have kidney disease. Obviously, you shouldn't consume it to the point that you exclude other food groups from your diet, however. Balance is always key!
  • laurenbfabulous
    laurenbfabulous Posts: 5 Member
    jpaulie wrote: »
    your protein is fine when it is over and is probably closer to where it should be. However, some days your net cals are low. and that could lead to some issues.
    So my calories are low.... I thought that would be a good thing??? What kind of issues? At the end of the day I can see my calories are low, what is the best thing to eat (especially if I notice my calories are low late in the evening) to boost them but not mess up everything else??

  • tennisdude2004
    tennisdude2004 Posts: 5,609 Member
    Hornsby wrote: »
    alyhuggan wrote: »
    The general rule is around one gram of protein per pound of body weight!

    1 gram per pound of lean body mass, not body weight.

    0.7g - 1g per lb of lean mass depending on workouts and energy expenditure. Unless you are recovering from and injury or regularly lifting heavy then the bottom end of the scale is probably where you need to be.

    That being said if you have healthy kidneys it really doesn't matter if you go over or not!
  • The amount of protein you need really depends on your goals. Personally, I'm pretty active and trying to build muscle, so I shoot for 80-100g protein a day (5'4 female). Also, take the macro goals that MFP gives you with a grain of salt. I found that when I first joined, MFP was telling me to eat way too little, so my calorie and macro goals were set pretty low. I went through the custom settings and edited my goals, and I just played around with percentages until I found what worked for me.
  • lthames0810
    lthames0810 Posts: 722 Member
    Would any of these rules be different for a...ahem, 60 year old female that doesn't lift weights?
  • tennisdude2004
    tennisdude2004 Posts: 5,609 Member
    Would any of these rules be different for a...ahem, 60 year old female that doesn't lift weights?

    Yes the older you are the more protein you may need!

  • lthames0810
    lthames0810 Posts: 722 Member
    Would any of these rules be different for a...ahem, 60 year old female that doesn't lift weights?

    Yes the older you are the more protein you may need!

    Really? I was hoping I would need less. I guess I need to switch some things around.

  • bonniejo
    bonniejo Posts: 787 Member
    It's pretty hard to have too much protein unless you have kidney problems. You are definitely safe up to 1g/lb LEAN body weight, I wouldn't go higher than 1.7 g/lb of LEAN body weight though. There are few proven benefits of going over 1g/lb anyway, its just expensive calories at that point
  • Unknown
    edited January 2015
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