Is there any downside to protein?
trusty48
Posts: 75 Member
As I sipped my second protein shake for the day, I started to wonder if my protein intake was getting out of hand. I know I don't need as much protein as I usually consume but I like it and it seems to keep me satisfied longer.
Does anyone know of any bad side effects to eating lots of protein? Is there an upper limit to how much one should consume?
Does anyone know of any bad side effects to eating lots of protein? Is there an upper limit to how much one should consume?
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2 shakes?
Probably not
Check your macronutrients suggested0 -
How much is lots and do you have any preexisting or disposition for kidney issues?
I will say that if your protein intake is so high that you can't meet other nutritional needs then you might need to reevaluate.
Never had any kidney issues beyond the occasional urinary tract infection. So, I unless it causes those I'm probably ok.
Checking my diary, my protein intake is usually between 110-150g out of about 1500 calories. That's significantly more than recommended and was wondering if MFP knows something I don't.
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For me, too much protein at the detriment of fat and fiber is an issue... I'm just not full as much.0
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How much is lots and do you have any preexisting or disposition for kidney issues?
I will say that if your protein intake is so high that you can't meet other nutritional needs then you might need to reevaluate.
Never had any kidney issues beyond the occasional urinary tract infection. So, I unless it causes those I'm probably ok.
Checking my diary, my protein intake is usually between 110-150g out of about 1500 calories. That's significantly more than recommended and was wondering if MFP knows something I don't.
What is your height and weight?
What's your activity like?
Are you meeting the dietary fat requirements?
Are you meeting fiber requirements?
Well- I'm 5'2", 37 years old, currently weigh 111 lbs. Would classify my job as lightly active, do cardio 3 times a week and body weight strength training every other day.
Checking my diary- I usually hit or get close to my fat target, my fiber intake is hit and miss. Don't get anywhere near the recommended carbs though.
I can see where I need to add some nutrition, especially more fiber and vegetables. That said, those have so few calories there is no reason I couldn't eat more and still have lots of calories left for protein.
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Just changed my diary setting to public if anyone wants to look
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Downside to too much protein is that if you take in more than your body needs you just excrete it...thus, $$ wasted on protein powder. However, I highly doubt you have this issue with just two shakes a day.0
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If you're predisposed to accumulate uric acid, a long term surplus of protein high in purines could trigger gout. An occasional surplus shouldn't be a problem, however.0
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I'm 5'2" and 111 is one pound above my goal weight. I'm surprised you aren't maintaining. I would much rather eat food than drink shakes, although shakes have their place once in a while. Plus, as @MrM27 said, protein shakes are very expensive.0
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Thanks for the responses- I will try reducing my protein intake a little. It seems unlikely that I would get kidney problems or gout, but why take chances?
As far as the cost- protein powder is fairly cheap and so are eggs. I'm more concerned about my health than the cost.0 -
The downside is that meat is expensive. Oh and drinking too many shakes makes your "wind" really stinky.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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professionalHobbyist wrote: »2 shakes?
Probably not
Check your macronutrients suggested
Agree with this.
Protein should come from food first, and protein shakes and bars should fill in any gaps. Protein shakes are also used for recovery after heavy weight lifting. But, drinking two protein shakes a day is a bit extreme.0 -
Thanks for the responses- I will try reducing my protein intake a little. It seems unlikely that I would get kidney problems or gout, but why take chances?
As far as the cost- protein powder is fairly cheap and so are eggs. I'm more concerned about my health than the cost.
Really? I've never seen any cheap protein powder.0 -
The downside is that meat is expensive. Oh and drinking too many shakes makes your "wind" really stinky.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
I found staying away from whey concentrate, and sticking with isolate/casein solved the wind issue
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Unfortunately after I had increased my protein significantly, I got a kidney stone. It took a couple of months, not immediately. Not fun at all!! I was told that it was due to excess protein in my case. Of course that there are other types of stones, and I didn't know I had kidney issues until recently. But I am cautious now with protein.
OP since there is no advantage to over 1 g per lb of lbs, I would be cautious and reduce a little bit.0 -
How much is lots and do you have any preexisting or disposition for kidney issues?
I will say that if your protein intake is so high that you can't meet other nutritional needs then you might need to reevaluate.
Never had any kidney issues beyond the occasional urinary tract infection. So, I unless it causes those I'm probably ok.
Checking my diary, my protein intake is usually between 110-150g out of about 1500 calories. That's significantly more than recommended and was wondering if MFP knows something I don't.
What is your height and weight?
What's your activity like?
Are you meeting the dietary fat requirements?
Are you meeting fiber requirements?
Well- I'm 5'2", 37 years old, currently weigh 111 lbs. Would classify my job as lightly active, do cardio 3 times a week and body weight strength training every other day.
Checking my diary- I usually hit or get close to my fat target, my fiber intake is hit and miss. Don't get anywhere near the recommended carbs though.
I can see where I need to add some nutrition, especially more fiber and vegetables. That said, those have so few calories there is no reason I couldn't eat more and still have lots of calories left for protein.
I think it's supposed to be something like .8 grams per pound of body weight. That means you need only 103 grams of protein each day. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.0 -
The downside is that meat is expensive. Oh and drinking too many shakes makes your "wind" really stinky.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Yep, that too!0 -
How much is lots and do you have any preexisting or disposition for kidney issues?
I will say that if your protein intake is so high that you can't meet other nutritional needs then you might need to reevaluate.
Never had any kidney issues beyond the occasional urinary tract infection. So, I unless it causes those I'm probably ok.
Checking my diary, my protein intake is usually between 110-150g out of about 1500 calories. That's significantly more than recommended and was wondering if MFP knows something I don't.
What is your height and weight?
What's your activity like?
Are you meeting the dietary fat requirements?
Are you meeting fiber requirements?
Well- I'm 5'2", 37 years old, currently weigh 111 lbs. Would classify my job as lightly active, do cardio 3 times a week and body weight strength training every other day.
Checking my diary- I usually hit or get close to my fat target, my fiber intake is hit and miss. Don't get anywhere near the recommended carbs though.
I can see where I need to add some nutrition, especially more fiber and vegetables. That said, those have so few calories there is no reason I couldn't eat more and still have lots of calories left for protein.
At your weight you don't need to be getting in 110g and you need no where near 150g, you're just spending money at that point. You're easily fine with 80 or so grams. A little less a little more is fine but it doesn't need to be where you have it. What that will do is limit your other macronutrients which you don't want. As far as the damage to your body by drinking the amount you are, that not an issue in my opinion. Wasting money is.
Not to hijack a thread but I'm actually a little curious on this. I'm at the same height but about 5 pounds above her and maintaining. The protein has gotten a little weird for me because just 20% at my maintenance calories pushes me over 100g. Maybe it's an active short person issue caused by having a lot of calories to eat for a smaller person. You'd still recommend going under 20% at that point? Ignoring percentages for the actual numbers.
ETA: although I'd agree OP probably overdoing it at that calorie amount.0 -
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Well you can overdo it just like anything else. But protein is quite difficult to overdo. You have to be rather excessive with it over a period of time to do any damage and even then it isn't usually anything unfixable.
Like others have said the problem becomes when you aren't getting enough fat and carbs cos your protein count is so high. And yeah I said enough carbs. Deal with it.0 -
atypicalsmith wrote: »I'm 5'2" and 111 is one pound above my goal weight. I'm surprised you aren't maintaining. I would much rather eat food than drink shakes, although shakes have their place once in a while. Plus, as @MrM27 said, protein shakes are very expensive.
Now in weight-loss limbo- at 111 but my goal weight is 110. So close, but I would like to lose that last pound.
Truth- I drink the shakes partially because I like them and partially because I'm too busy/lazy to cook real food. Thankfully, I don't get any "wind" from them either, lol.
It's weird- but I really crave protein. Even now, after having 119 g of it today, I feel like getting up and making some eggs. Trying to convince myself to just eat some crackers and drink a glass of milk.
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1 lb? You realize you're not going to get down to 110 by losing 1 pound then remain at exactly 110 every minute of the day? Maintenance will be a range not a singular number.atypicalsmith wrote: »I'm 5'2" and 111 is one pound above my goal weight. I'm surprised you aren't maintaining. I would much rather eat food than drink shakes, although shakes have their place once in a while. Plus, as @MrM27 said, protein shakes are very expensive.
Now in weight-loss limbo- at 111 but my goal weight is 110. So close, but I would like to lose that last pound.
Truth- I drink the shakes partially because I like them and partially because I'm too busy/lazy to cook real food. Thankfully, I don't get any "wind" from them either, lol.
It's weird- but I really crave protein. Even now, after having 119 g of it today, I feel like getting up and making some eggs. Trying to convince myself to just eat some crackers and drink a glass of milk.
Lol- yeah, I know. I'm in limbo because I'm trying to transition from losing to maintaining. Slowly increasing my calories but don't want to do it too fast.
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How much is lots and do you have any preexisting or disposition for kidney issues?
I will say that if your protein intake is so high that you can't meet other nutritional needs then you might need to reevaluate.
Never had any kidney issues beyond the occasional urinary tract infection. So, I unless it causes those I'm probably ok.
Checking my diary, my protein intake is usually between 110-150g out of about 1500 calories. That's significantly more than recommended and was wondering if MFP knows something I don't.
What is your height and weight?
What's your activity like?
Are you meeting the dietary fat requirements?
Are you meeting fiber requirements?
Well- I'm 5'2", 37 years old, currently weigh 111 lbs. Would classify my job as lightly active, do cardio 3 times a week and body weight strength training every other day.
Checking my diary- I usually hit or get close to my fat target, my fiber intake is hit and miss. Don't get anywhere near the recommended carbs though.
I can see where I need to add some nutrition, especially more fiber and vegetables. That said, those have so few calories there is no reason I couldn't eat more and still have lots of calories left for protein.
At your weight you don't need to be getting in 110g and you need no where near 150g, you're just spending money at that point. You're easily fine with 80 or so grams. A little less a little more is fine but it doesn't need to be where you have it. What that will do is limit your other macronutrients which you don't want. As far as the damage to your body by drinking the amount you are, that not an issue in my opinion. Wasting money is.
Not to hijack a thread but I'm actually a little curious on this. I'm at the same height but about 5 pounds above her and maintaining. The protein has gotten a little weird for me because just 20% at my maintenance calories pushes me over 100g. Maybe it's an active short person issue caused by having a lot of calories to eat for a smaller person. You'd still recommend going under 20% at that point? Ignoring percentages for the actual numbers.
ETA: although I'd agree OP probably overdoing it at that calorie amount.
What's your goal right now?
What's your height and weight exactly?
How many calories do you eat?
What's the breakdown for all the macros in grams?
I personally am not a fan of ratios for macronutrients. I prefer to set it based on grams.
@MrM27
My calorie goal is 1950 with 65g fat, 219g carbs, and 122 protein (ratio is 30, 45, 25).
Height is 5'2" and weight bounces between 116-120. I just call it 118. And I'm good with this weight. Goal is recomp right now.0 -
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Too much of anything can be bad for you but it would have to be a lot of protein. There's a point, though, where you are just consuming more than is needed and necessary. Try and think of your body like a car. You wouldn't just keep pumping gas in the tank after it's full. There's only so much gas it can hold and burn through. Same goes for calories and protein and such. Just get an idea on your full meter and don't go past it.0
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