Question about protein

Keri_girl
Keri_girl Posts: 44
edited September 28 in Food and Nutrition
So I have set my food tracker to watch my protein intake and I constantly go over their recommendation. Is this something I need to be concerned about? Is there such a thing as too much protein?

Replies

  • sla0814
    sla0814 Posts: 240
    I was wondering the same thing!!
  • therealangd
    therealangd Posts: 1,861 Member
    Too much protein is apparently bad for your kidneys. How much is too much? I don't know. It would probably be a lot though. I'm sure someone will come on and know how much.
  • mark03264
    mark03264 Posts: 334 Member
    You would really have to work at it to get too much protein. The protein recommendation on MFP is way too low. You should be getting about 1 gram of protein for each pound of body weight. This level of protein helps maintain muscle mass and, if you are doing the right exercises, build some muscle which helps burn fat.
  • registers
    registers Posts: 782 Member
    Higher protein in your diet is recommended. But I am not talking about a TON of protein. you should consume about .5grams per lbs of body weight. Carbs are more determinable to weight loss.Protein supports weight loss. For a beginner I'd recommend something like 50% protein, 30% carbs, 20% fats. Of your total caloric intake.

    I wrote how the macro nutrients protein and carbs effect the biochemistry in my blog. Here's a link if you're interested to know more.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/asmcriminal/view/macro-nutrients-guide-and-how-i-lost-20lbs-in-3-weeks-108725
  • rharris86dc
    rharris86dc Posts: 635 Member
    Generally, if you are doing strength training, more protein is good and will help repair/build (i'm no expert, lol) the muscle.

    I don't know if you can have "too much," but I have seen that the general consensus on the site is that the protein allotment is set pretty low to begin with, so going over isn't usually a big deal. I go over on my protein pretty consistently, and I'm still kicking, lol!
  • khrys1
    khrys1 Posts: 444 Member
    I've seen this exact question on here before with some good responses- do a search for "protein" and hopefully you'll have your answer!
  • mursey
    mursey Posts: 191 Member
    If you weight train, you need more protein to repair your muscles, if you don't . .. you need less. The protein recommended for this website seems to be very low in my opinion (for supposedly active people, anyway.) I changed my macros. My goals are higher in fat and protein and much lower in carbs and sugar than MFP suggests.

    I don't' know the exact amount of protein you want to shoot for, as I have read different things. I mean, you can google it. I once saw a chart where you could put in your stats, your activity level, and it would tell you how much according to that information.

    Wait, I just googled . .

    One sight says this:

    "Most Americans consume a 12% protein diet and most body builders a 25% to 30% protein diet "

    Here's another general discussion on it:
    http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/nutrition/a/protein.htm
  • Pete_Mann
    Pete_Mann Posts: 94
    Like anything, you can always have too much, but what are we talking about, a few grams over, doubling, tripling?

    From WebMD:

    http://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/high-protein-diet-weight-loss

    However, the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein is 56 grams a day for men and 46 grams a day for women. Most Americans have no problem getting this much, but would struggle to take in enough protein to make up 35% of their calories.

    That said, is it possible to eat too much protein? There are no dangers associated with higher intakes of protein - unless you have kidney disease.

    To get the potential weight loss benefit, experts advise aiming for around 120 grams of protein a day. If you want to increase your protein intake, do it slowly over the course of a week.

    To be on the safe side, check with your doctor before adding large amounts of protein to your diet.
  • joanneeee
    joanneeee Posts: 311 Member
    You should be getting about 1 gram of protein for each pound of body weight.
    you should consume about .5grams per lbs of body weight.

    so which one is it? i'm 113 pounds.
  • anjalip
    anjalip Posts: 3
    your protein intake depends on your wt / what type of life style u have etc etc ...so typically for sedentary life style we need 500 mg protein for 1 lb of our desirable wt
  • mursey
    mursey Posts: 191 Member
    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/maki1.htm

    That one has a box where you can put in your weight and it tells you 3 different recommendations from 3 different sources. Keep in mind this is a bodybuilding website though.
  • registers
    registers Posts: 782 Member
    You should be getting about 1 gram of protein for each pound of body weight.
    you should consume about .5grams per lbs of body weight.

    so which one is it? i'm 113 pounds.

    We're both right. protein intake varies on your activity. .5 is for a sedentary life style, 1.0 is for athletes.
  • sla0814
    sla0814 Posts: 240
    I'm not going over by a ton, and it's not everyday however I do seem to hit it pretty easily!
  • mapexdrummer69
    mapexdrummer69 Posts: 445
    In regards to weight loss, macronutrients like protein and fat should be viewed as minimum requirements based on an individuals needs, and an excess or deficit of calories determine how much weight is lost.
  • Keri_girl
    Keri_girl Posts: 44
    You should be getting about 1 gram of protein for each pound of body weight.
    you should consume about .5grams per lbs of body weight.

    so which one is it? i'm 113 pounds.

    We're both right. protein intake varies on your activity. .5 is for a sedentary life style, 1.0 is for athletes.

    Ok I think this answers my question and proves what people have said about MFP low balling the number. From what I just figured out I'm right on track with my daily protein intake. Thanks everyone for the input!!
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