Too Much Protein

whatfatjeans · May 2016

I haven't lost a lot of weight recently. I was told it might be my protein intake. Is this for real?

RodaRose · May 2016

Explain what you mean by recently.

FitPhillygirl · May 2016

If you are not losing weight, you're eating more calories in a day than your body burns. Maybe you are consuming foods that are high in calories and protein. What is the recommend calories that MFP set you at? Make sure that you are weighing all foods and logging them correctly, and that you are not consistently going over on your calorie requirement.

See this cart for a few good weight loss tips:

Christine_72 · May 2016

Too much protein won't make you gain weight or stall, too many calories will though.

You didn't provide enough info..

AllSUMLIFE · May 2016

There are so many different factors that could contribute to not losing weight. However, you said "haven't lost a lot" not that you aren't losing at all. If you are continuing at a slow (between .5 and 2 lbs per week) but steady pace, that's a very healthy rate of weight loss.

Are you continuing to lose or have you hit a plateau (for more than 2 weeks)?

aubreyjordan · May 2016

I checked out your diary, and I eat more protein than that on a typical day and I'm losing. Weight loss can stall for many reasons. Time of the month, sodium levels and water weight, etc. Have you lost more than 10 lbs? If so, have you had MFP recalculate your nutritional goals? The less you weigh, the less you need. How long have you been stalling? If it's less than 3 weeks, be patient. Make sure you're weighing most everything with a food scale so you know you're accurate. What are you doing for exercise? MFP generally overestimates calorie burns. If you're eating back exercise calories, maybe eat back 50%.

sympha01 · May 2016

I also took a quick look at your diary and -- while I'm not certain -- it looks to me like you don't measure your portions but are just eyeballing and/or using "standard" portion sizes from the database. If that's the case, while I'm sure your intentions are to be accurate I also GUARANTEE that you are eating more than you think. Studies show that even experienced dieters and nutritionists tend to underestimate how much they are eating, usually in the range of 20% - 50% of calories. That's a lot, no?

While I advocate using a food scale if you can, I recognize that using a food scale is not always convenient (or discrete) when you are eating outside your home. I strongly urge you to consider using a food scale for food you prepare at home though, and even consider preparing more of your meals out at home until you have developed a better sense of portion sizes. For eating out, make a deliberate effort to log larger portion sizes than your instinct tells you. For instance, I see "one chicken breast" logged as 120 calories. That is almost certainly nonsense, unless it comes from the world's tiniest chicken!!! A USDA "standard" 5 oz chicken breast (fwiw, this is actually much smaller than the chicken breasts I normally see!) is 170 calories.

Bottom line: learn to be skeptical about database entries, learn to be skeptical about portion sizes, find ways to control or manage your portion sizes. Weighing is best when you can do it, measuring cups are not as precise but still better than saying "one chicken breast", and so on.

MelaniaTrump · May 2016

Lower your calories by 100.
When you finish shakeology, go to walmart and buy protein powder and multivitamin.
That could easily save you over $1,000 a year.

Christine_72 · May 2016

I had a peek in your diary too. You are no where near getting too much protein. The last 2 days I've been between 160-185g of protein

Too Much Protein

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