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more protien better...or not?

antennachick
antennachick Posts: 464 Member
edited February 2016 in Debate Club
So with all the protien craze going on what are you thoughts? Is protien powder a must for building muscle or just a good meal with protien works as well(I know food is best but lets face it protien powder is easy)? And do we really need that much protien? My fitness pal recommends 90 grams for me then if I exercise it recommends even more. I know the negative effects of too much on the liver so I am curious what is too much?
"The DRI (Dietary Reference Intake) is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, or 0.36 grams per pound (1). This amounts to (2, 3): 56 grams per day for the average sedentary man. 46 grams per day for the average sedentary woman."
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Replies

  • emilysuelemus
    emilysuelemus Posts: 66 Member
    I try to eat 80-100gms a day. Works well for me. some days hard to get in that much one thing for sure not as hungry as in eating carbs left me hungry after 2 hours. my body likes red meat all my labs re normal, I do eat lots of chicken and fish some pork, lots of eggs, and 1-2xs a week a protein shake, few years ago I drank 1-2 daily but Id much rather eat my calories. although my smoothies about 100 cals each and makes about a pitcher full so very satisfying and filling. We all need to find what works for us and support one another. Then there are times I just cant seem to eat meat and Im not a fan of soy or beans legumes at minimum as the carb count don't like my body. when I cut back to 50 gms I get leg cramps. I hope you find what works for you!
  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
    http://bayesianbodybuilding.com/the-myth-of-1glb-optimal-protein-intake-for-bodybuilders/

    If you're trying to build or retain muscle, there is solid evidence that amounts up to 0.8g per pound of bodyweight will give beneficial results, with some others going even further.
    The DRI is the absolute minimum anyone should ever consume to not become deficient.

    Getting more than that is not going to hurt you either if you like it. There is no negative effects on the liver in healthy people for normal intakes.

    https://examine.com/faq/can-eating-too-much-protein-be-bad-for-you/
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,373 MFP Moderator
    This is substantial amounts of research suggesting that increased protein, especially during weight loss, is highly beneficial.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/823505/research-on-protien-intake
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    edited February 2016
    And regardless of what level of protein you choose, protein shakes are not required to build muscle. You need adequate protein, progressive resistance training, and usually* a calorie surplus.

    *It is possible to build muscle in a deficit in certain instances, and muscle can be built while eating at maintenance, but at a much slower rate than bulking.
  • zcb94
    zcb94 Posts: 3,679 Member
    I enjoy my real food as usual, then supplement by snacking on a triple-chocolate shake every now and then. Although not a bodybuilder, my wound care team and other doctors have suggested that the more protein I can stand, the better. Regarding the potential for liver damage, that threshold is almost impossible to cross without eating enough calories for the whole year in one sitting.
  • _John_
    _John_ Posts: 8,642 Member
    The only problems with increasing protein % for haphazard dieters is that it then requires more nutritious foods from your remaining calories as fats and especially carbs.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited February 2016
    The evidence I've seen suggests to me that it can be helpful up to .65-.85 g per lb of healthy body weight, if one is trying to improve athletic performance and also eating at a deficit. There are some suggestions that more could be helpful but have not been tested and that eating amounts higher than what are usually recommended (the RDA) is especially important for older people (including those of us in our 40s), as well as people eating at a deficit (in both cases to retain muscle).

    Here's one source: http://examine.com/faq/how-much-protein-do-i-need-every-day/

    Beyond that, I find that including this amount (for me about 95 g, although I often eat more) in my diet tends to be satiating. Could I achieve the same effect on a lower protein diet in some other way? I expect so, but I find it easy enough to include the protein and enjoyable.

    I don't see any benefit to protein powder beyond convenience or a supplement if you find it difficult to get the protein in (and taste if you like the shakes). I sometimes add protein powder to oatmeal since otherwise my oatmeal breakfasts would have less protein than my usual ones.

    A lot of sites (like iifym.com) seem to me to recommend more protein than would be beneficial (often because they are working on a percentage basis), and I also see people eating more protein than necessary because they seem to think they should cut low on both fat and carbs, and that's when I see it as perhaps more of a problem.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    For someone with insulin resistance, I would say no. More protein is not beneficial to my health
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,373 MFP Moderator
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    For someone with insulin resistance, I would say no. More protein is not beneficial to my health

    That would depend on your starting point.
  • GsKiki
    GsKiki Posts: 392 Member
    I think high protein diet works well for some people, not so well for others. It's about finding what works the best for you. I prefer a nice balance in carbs, fat and protein. I found that's just what works for me best.
  • Yi5hedr3
    Yi5hedr3 Posts: 2,696 Member
    The rda is low, and ANY formula that is not based on LEAN BODY MASS, will be inaccurate as protein is only needed for muscle mass, not fat mass. .7 grams per pound of LEAN BODY MASS per day is about right.
  • cookielover_96
    cookielover_96 Posts: 177 Member
    edited February 2016
    GsKiki wrote: »
    I think high protein diet works well for some people, not so well for others. It's about finding what works the best for you. I prefer a nice balance in carbs, fat and protein. I found that's just what works for me best.
    Agreed. If you do your research OP, too much protein turns to fat IF you don't burn it off enough.
  • senecarr
    senecarr Posts: 5,377 Member
    GsKiki wrote: »
    I think high protein diet works well for some people, not so well for others. It's about finding what works the best for you. I prefer a nice balance in carbs, fat and protein. I found that's just what works for me best.
    Agreed. If you do your research OP, too much protein turns to fat IF you don't burn it off enough.

    Well, it is more likely that it gets burned off for energy and your body then keeps or absorbs dietary fat, rather than converting it to fat (there probably isn't a direct pathway in humans to turn protein into fatty acids), but the results are identical when all those molecules look alike.
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    GsKiki wrote: »
    I think high protein diet works well for some people, not so well for others. It's about finding what works the best for you. I prefer a nice balance in carbs, fat and protein. I found that's just what works for me best.
    Agreed. If you do your research OP, too much protein turns to fat IF you don't burn it off enough.

    To much of any calories can turn into fat.
  • cookielover_96
    cookielover_96 Posts: 177 Member
    auddii wrote: »
    GsKiki wrote: »
    I think high protein diet works well for some people, not so well for others. It's about finding what works the best for you. I prefer a nice balance in carbs, fat and protein. I found that's just what works for me best.
    Agreed. If you do your research OP, too much protein turns to fat IF you don't burn it off enough.

    To much of any calories can turn into fat.
    Not if you're eating correctly...?
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    auddii wrote: »
    GsKiki wrote: »
    I think high protein diet works well for some people, not so well for others. It's about finding what works the best for you. I prefer a nice balance in carbs, fat and protein. I found that's just what works for me best.
    Agreed. If you do your research OP, too much protein turns to fat IF you don't burn it off enough.

    To much of any calories can turn into fat.
    Not if you're eating correctly...?

    What do you mean by correctly?
  • cookielover_96
    cookielover_96 Posts: 177 Member
    auddii wrote: »
    GsKiki wrote: »
    I think high protein diet works well for some people, not so well for others. It's about finding what works the best for you. I prefer a nice balance in carbs, fat and protein. I found that's just what works for me best.
    Agreed. If you do your research OP, too much protein turns to fat IF you don't burn it off enough.

    To much of any calories can turn into fat.
    Not if you're eating correctly...?

    What do you mean by correctly?
    One can be eating a lot of protein but not consuming too much calories
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    auddii wrote: »
    GsKiki wrote: »
    I think high protein diet works well for some people, not so well for others. It's about finding what works the best for you. I prefer a nice balance in carbs, fat and protein. I found that's just what works for me best.
    Agreed. If you do your research OP, too much protein turns to fat IF you don't burn it off enough.

    To much of any calories can turn into fat.
    Not if you're eating correctly...?

    What do you mean by correctly?
    One can be eating a lot of protein but not consuming too much calories

    And they won't gain fat.

    Eating over calories = gain fat.

  • smhembrook
    smhembrook Posts: 1 Member
    Just remember; calories in, calories out. Your body will do the rest.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
    edited February 2016
    auddii wrote: »
    GsKiki wrote: »
    I think high protein diet works well for some people, not so well for others. It's about finding what works the best for you. I prefer a nice balance in carbs, fat and protein. I found that's just what works for me best.
    Agreed. If you do your research OP, too much protein turns to fat IF you don't burn it off enough.

    To much of any calories can turn into fat.
    Not if you're eating correctly...?

    What do you mean by correctly?
    One can be eating a lot of protein but not consuming too much calories

    In which case the protein (or any other macronutrient) wouldn't be stored as fat. There is no net fat storage when in a caloric deficit regardless of the macronutrient profile.

    Also, while the pathway for protein being stored as fat exists, it's extremely inefficient and basically doesn't happen: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/nutrition/excess-protein-and-fat-storage-qa.html/
    ...Which means that the odds of protein being converted to fat in any quantitatively meaningful fashion is simply not going to happen. Certain amino acids are processed to a great degree in the liver (as I discuss in The Protein Book) and this can produce glucose, ketones and a few other things. But triglycerides (the storage form of ‘fat’) isn’t one of them.

    I imagine that if protein were going to be converted to fat, it would first have to be converted to glucose and only if the amount produced were then in excess of daily maintenance requirements would there be conversion to fat. But as noted above, this simply isn’t going to happen under any even reasonably normal circumstances. No human could eat enough protein on a daily basis for it to occur.

    What will happen, as discussed in Nutrient Intake, Nutrient Storage and Nutrient Oxidation. is that amino acid oxidation (burning for energy) will go up somewhat although, as discussed in that article, it’s a slow process and isn’t complete.

    So, as noted above, while the pathway exists for protein to be stored as fat, and folks will continue to claim that ‘excess protein just turns to fat’, it’s really just not going to happen under any sort of real-world situation. Certainly we can dream up odd theoretical situations where it might but those won’t apply to 99.9% of real-world situations.
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