Is there such a thing as too much protein when dieting?

jtmessiha · January 2016

I am a 30 year old female and want to lose about 30 pounds. I currently have set my MFP to 1200 calories per day, with protein being the primary nutrient, followed by fat and carbs. I keep remaining under my total calorie and carbs goal for the day, but sometimes go over fat by a little, and protein by a lot. Are there any downsides to going over daily protein amount?

LillysMomma09 · January 2016

I hope you get answers to this because I would like to know too! I go over usually on my protein and sodium.

madammags · January 2016

It depends.
What is your protein goal (in grams) and how much do you weigh? Do you or anyone in your family have known kidney problems?
Generally a high protein level can help you retain muscle and feeling full when losing weight. However, the muscle building/retaining doesn't increase linearly with protein intake, so generally, there's no reason (in that respect) to eat more than about 1g/1lb of lean body mass per day.
Further, high protein levels in your diet means more work for your kidneys, so if they are not functioning optimally, that can contribute.

Lastly, of course, depending on what specific high protein foods you consume, on a low calorie diet, you may find that consuming lots of protein rich foods makes it more difficult to also fit in adequate portions of other nutrients (e.g. fats and some vitamins).

RobertHolland567 · January 2016

I'm on a high protein low carb diet, the first 3 letters in diet D,I,E I miss my carbs

holothuroidea · January 2016

Your body only needs so much protein, and you also can only process a certain amount at a time.

Protien should not be your primary energy source. Even high protein diets keep the protein in equal proportion to fat at least. Look up a phenomenon called rabbit starvation.

juggernaut1974 · January 2016

Is there such a thing as "too much" protein? Yes.

Are you approaching it, if you limit yourself to 1200 calories per day? Even if you were eating 100% straight protein powder it's doubtful. (Aside from the fact that you would not be getting sufficient other nutrients)

MFP's protein default tends to be a little low. A good rule of thumb is to try to get at least 0.6-0.8 grams of protein per pound of body weight and 0.3-0.4 grams of fat. Above that it's personal preference

arditarose · January 2016

juggernaut1974 wrote: »

Is there such a thing as "too much" protein? Yes.

Are you approaching it, if you limit yourself to 1200 calories per day? Even if you were eating 100% straight protein powder it's doubtful. (Aside from the fact that you would not be getting sufficient other nutrients)

MFP's protein default tends to be a little low. A good rule of thumb is to try to get at least 0.6-0.8 grams of protein per pound of body weight and 0.3-0.4 grams of fat. Above that it's personal preference

All of this.

funchords · January 2016

A downside of a lot of protein is that you might struggle to get enough fiber. It's also expensive. But otherwise, if you eat too much protein, your body will convert it and use it as energy. It won't be wasted. BTW, I lost 110 lbs. and ate using MFP defaults: 50% carbs, 30% fat, 20% protein. It's fine.

pinggolfer96 · January 2016

The body needs fat as well to function at optimally. Nothing wrong with high protein, but excess won't do anything, and you want to make sure your hitting all essential macro minimums. There is also nothing wrong with carbs. You can eat minimal carbs on 1200 cals, or moderate carbs on 1200 cals, and weight loss will be the same.

MelaniaTrump · January 2016

You should open your diary so people can know how much you are getting. And if it's on a daily basis.

daniwilford · January 2016

If you are getting your protein from the usual sources, dairy, meat, whole grains, nuts and beans, you are unlikely to be able to over indulge in protein while in a deficit. If you consume massive amounts of supplemental protein powder for long periods of time, you can harm your organs, but it is rare.

lemurcat12 · January 2016

Like others have said, as you are on 1200 calories the main concern is a lack of other nutrients you should be taking in. MFP's default protein goal is low for someone on 1200, so exceeding that wouldn't matter, but from what you said I got the impression it was quite a bit more than that.

Is it theoretically possible to eat too much protein, sure. As for beneficial amounts of protein, there's evidence that it can help with maintaining muscle on a deficit (you'd want to be working out too, ideally strength stuff) up to around .65-.85 g / lb of healthy body weight (using goal works if you have lots to lose).

Merkavar · January 2016

I don't think there is an issue unless your using protein powders etc

I can't imagine you can get too much protein on 1200 calories, while eating fats and carbs.

But like others mentioned, with each bit of extra protein is a bit less carbs or fat which may contain micro nutrients.

I hear 1200 calories is a real balancing act cause you have so little calories to play with.

nordlead2005 · January 2016

You can easily get too much protien without shakes if you have a history of kidney stones. But your doctor probably already would have told you to limit protien to the minimum needed. Otherwise, unless you are getting 2g/lb bodyweight or more it shouldn't be a problem.

nevergiveup2319 · January 2016

I weigh 192 lbs and I eat between 50-150 grams of protein a day. I would say no more than 1g per pound...unless you're bulking then you eat a ton! I eat more protein when I'm at work because it helps me stay full and helps my body keep going since I'm on the go constantly.

Is there such a thing as too much protein when dieting?

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