How much protein !?

missallenxox · February 2016

There is way too much information and 'advice' every way i look. How much protein do I ACTUALLY need.
5'6.5" tall
179lbs

trying to lose weight, realistically, healthy.. abused my metabolism for years. My friend who trains said 1g of protein for every lb of body weight. 179lbs of protein? how in the blueberry muffin fckery can i manage that?

Also, he said 1800 cal at least.i have been trying. i am use to 1200... finding it hard. ratio for macros? help I'm so freaking annoyed here.

missallenxox · February 2016

also since my job requires sitting in a truck for 12 hours away from home. i am considering myself sedentary !

6502programmer · February 2016

find what works for you. I find 40/30/30 lets me eat well, lose weight, and keep lean mass. 1g/lb works well for bulking, but you're eating at a deficit. 180g of protein is 720 calories. You will need to do some serious exercise to make a crazy goal like that.

tara_means_star · February 2016

I read some research lately indicating that there is no additional benefit of more than .8 grams of protein per pound of body weight and that is typically only recommended for athletes, body builders, those who are very active, etc... for the average person, it's acceptable to eat more like .4-.6 per pound. You and I have about the same stats--I'm 5'7 179lbs. My macros are set to 50% carbs/30% fat/20% protein. I'm a vegetarian and sometimes I hit my macros and sometimes I don't. This works for me. Tweak yours and see where you feel the most comfortable.

Bethanyfutrell · February 2016

My doctor recently told me not to eat more than 75 g of protein per day. I only have one kidney though, so I imagine you could have a little more than that. I'm slightly shorter than you. 5' 4", 156 lb.

Trump2016 · February 2016

https://examine.com/faq/how-much-protein-do-i-need-every-day/

Read that and read it well. All your questions answered. Ignore your friend. Thorough and citations aplenty.

I personally take in 0.70-0.75g per pound on rest days and 0.85g on superhuman cardio days.

P.S. Even if we went with the 1g per pound of bodyweight myth, it's supposed to be 1g per pound of lean mass anyway. You don't want to be 179 pounds, so to suggest 179g of protein is asinine. Overkill. Don't fall for the broscience. Note that in the "during weight loss" section, it says you can go far higher to better preserve lean mass during the short-term and with a relatively drastic drop in calories. I presume you're not aiming to do that.

tara_means_star · February 2016

bare minimum for a woman is 46 grams per day. My goal is something like 75. I always exceed 46, I don't always hit 75. My calorie goal is 1500 (i'm sedentary).

missallenxox · February 2016

Trump2016 wrote: »

https://examine.com/faq/how-much-protein-do-i-need-every-day/

Read that and read it well. All your questions answered. Ignore your friend. Thorough and citations aplenty.

I personally take in 0.70-0.75g per pound on rest days and 0.85g on superhuman cardio days.

P.S. Even if we went with the 1g per pound of bodyweight myth, it's supposed to be 1g per pound of lean mass anyway. You don't want to be 179 pounds, so to suggest 179g of protein is asinine. Overkill. Don't fall for the broscience. Note that in the "during weight loss" section, it says you can go far higher to better preserve lean mass during the short-term and with a relatively drastic drop in calories. I presume you're not aiming to do that.

ok thanks. i thought realistically.. ok maybe per lb of muscle mass? surely not fat ahha.

tomteboda · February 2016

People are recommending a ridiculous amount of protein because someone failed at unit conversions and assumed what they read should be in Imperial, not metric units. The studies done on optimal protein intake for both dieters & athletes were reported, as all scientific studies, in metric units. Somewhere along the line someone read "Top performance athletes may need as much as 1 g / 1 kg" and then said "oh, all people need 1 g / 1lb." Whoever this person was, I hate them.

Its not that eating more protein is unhealthy. It isn't. However, the excessive protein being suggested by many will crowd out other important nutritional subgroups and often creates a quite unnecessarily restrictive diet.

1 lb IS NOT THE SAME as 1 kg!!!!!!!! However, the numbers are getting repeated all over the place as if they are.

I crunched the numbers and reported them with references on this thread: "Is 30/40/30 okay?"

Need for Protein

A study by William M. Rand, Peter L. Pellett and Vernon R. Young, reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, suggests that healthy adults require between 0.65 g and 0.83 g of protein for every 2.2 lb of body weight. Athletes and people involved in resistance training require between 1.2 g and 2.2 g of protein per 2.2 lb of body weight, as suggested in a study by Jacob Wilson and Gabriel J. Wilson in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition.
-- "How Many Calories are in One Gram of Protein"

An athlete requires 1.2 g - 2.2 g protein / kg body weight. That's 0.5 - 1 g / pound.

You ( a normal dieter with normal fitness goals) require 0.65 g - 0.84 g protein / kg. That's 0.30 g - 0.38 g / lb body weight

Helpful reference:
Macronutrient Ratios in a Diet (Livestrong)

*Numbers fixed. I should not do math while I have a migraine headache.

fi_b · February 2016

Sounds like your macro goals are quite similar to mine, generally aiming for 1900 cals. I consistently eat 150g of protein a day often closer to 170g, but that's because I don't seem to deal too well with many carbs. Feel free to add me and have a look at my diary if you like. I'm 5"8 if that helps.
Are you training at the moment? Other than being quite sedentary while you work, do you exercise out side of that?

roberta_m_s18 · February 2016

If your using MFP app under your calorie input for the day scroll all the way down press nutrition and it shows how much proteins, crabs, sodium, fats, and a bunch of other amounts for daily intake.

tomteboda · February 2016

So basically, if your protein falls anywhere between 54 g - 68 g you're getting plenty of protein to meet your nutritional needs. And yes, you can become stronger with this amount of protein as well, you're just probably not going to achieve bodybuilding competition winner status.

tomteboda · February 2016

I just figured out who came up with the 1g/1lb "mistake" . Protein powder manufacturers. They're the ones that really benefit from this.

AJ_G · February 2016

http://bayesianbodybuilding.com/the-myth-of-1glb-optimal-protein-intake-for-bodybuilders/

AnvilHead · February 2016

AJ_G wrote: »

http://bayesianbodybuilding.com/the-myth-of-1glb-optimal-protein-intake-for-bodybuilders/

And here is Eric Helms' rebuttal to Menno, with several links to peer-reviewed studies which back up his points: https://www.facebook.com/ericrhelms/posts/10156254344360441

AJ_G · February 2016

AnvilHead wrote: »

AJ_G wrote: »

http://bayesianbodybuilding.com/the-myth-of-1glb-optimal-protein-intake-for-bodybuilders/

And here is Eric Helms' rebuttal to Menno, with several links to peer-reviewed studies which back up his points: https://www.facebook.com/ericrhelms/posts/10156254344360441

The two don't disagree all that much, and the points they disagree on are small and overlapping:

We can't know for sure that the confounding variables in each of these studies fully explains their findings and that's enough to make me more comfortable prescribing 1.8g/kg as a minimum intake versus a solitary intake to ensure I cover the possibility of it being too little in some cases. For the record, I normally prescribe either 1.8-2.8g/kg of total body mass or 2-3g/kg of lean body mass for protein intake for recreational and competitive strength and physique athletes. Using the lower half for a caloric surplus/maintenance, and the upper half for a deficit.

They both are comfortable prescribing that protein intake as a minimum. What's wrong with that?

alittlelife14 · February 2016

I eat more protein in my diet because I don't like having high carbs.

jacklifts · February 2016

Here's what I use:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/jacklifts/view/easy-formula-for-cutting-fat-801443

For you, I'd eat about 150g if you're going to eat 1800 calories. That's around 8oz chicken, a couple of eggs, 5oz of beans, and a few oz of cheese.

For 1200 calories, I'd eat around 100g.

robertw486 · February 2016

Proof that even at lower levels and in some cases a deficit, people can still gain muscle. But some seem to think the protein levels have to get really high just to retain muscle mass. The workout intensity proves to retain more muscle mass even in studies of VLCD and lower protein levels.

Though protein keeps me full and there is no need to avoid it, I personally think it's blown way out of proportion myself. The largest gains I ever saw were on regular old military food with no crazy protein levels, and some guys eating that stuff were bulking monsters. But the ones that did the best put all their efforts in at the gym, as they didn't have the distraction of researching it on the internet.

How much protein !?

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