Protein?

Shadowmf023
Shadowmf023 Posts: 812 Member
edited December 3 in Health and Weight Loss
So, let me get this straight... While losing, I need to eat 100g of protein a day to preserve as much muscle as possible, right? Just wanted to make sure about the number.

And don't worry, starting next week I'm lifting weights 5 times a week for an hour daily. (Just because I actually like it, I know I don't need that much).

Replies

  • moto450
    moto450 Posts: 334 Member
    many people have different opinions, but a general rule is 0.8 grams to 1 gram per pound of lean body mass..

    For example, if you weigh 120 lbs you would ensure you reach 120 grams each day (if you are sitting toward the higher end.
  • LazSommer
    LazSommer Posts: 1,851 Member
    What is your program that calls for 5x a week for an hour for a beginner, out of curiosity?
  • born_of_fire74
    born_of_fire74 Posts: 776 Member
    Remember that, if she weighs 120lbs, some percentage of that will be fat so it'll be less than 120g of protein based on your equation.
  • ryry_
    ryry_ Posts: 4,966 Member
    Honestly OP if you are lifting weights and focusing on progressive overload I wouldn't stress about protein too much and focus on your calorie deficit. Somewhere between .5 - 1 gram / pound of bodyweight is probably good.

    If your strength is increasing you are doing great.
  • Shadowmf023
    Shadowmf023 Posts: 812 Member
    LazSommer wrote: »
    What is your program that calls for 5x a week for an hour for a beginner, out of curiosity?

    It's a personalized program designed by one of the trainers for me. :smile:
  • Shadowmf023
    Shadowmf023 Posts: 812 Member
    I don't actually know how much lean mass I have. I guess I'll try and stick to 100g just in case?
  • ryry_
    ryry_ Posts: 4,966 Member
    Shadowmf023 wrote: »
    I don't actually know how much lean mass I have. I guess I'll try and stick to 100g just in case?

    If you are comfortably able to eat 100 grams and maintain a diet you enjoy that is more than enough
  • Shadowmf023
    Shadowmf023 Posts: 812 Member
    ryry62685 wrote: »
    Shadowmf023 wrote: »
    I don't actually know how much lean mass I have. I guess I'll try and stick to 100g just in case?

    If you are comfortably able to eat 100 grams and maintain a diet you enjoy that is more than enough

    I wouldn't call it an easy task. But oh well. Just trying to hit all my macros as perfectly as I can. I used to just focus on protein and not much else, but I was hungry that way.
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,208 Member
    Shadowmf023 wrote: »
    LazSommer wrote: »
    What is your program that calls for 5x a week for an hour for a beginner, out of curiosity?

    It's a personalized program designed by one of the trainers for me. :smile:

    Did the trainer say to lift 5x a week for an hour? If not, i would follow the their plan as written, to reduce the risk of overtraining injuries. :+1:
  • Shadowmf023
    Shadowmf023 Posts: 812 Member
    Cherimoose wrote: »
    Shadowmf023 wrote: »
    LazSommer wrote: »
    What is your program that calls for 5x a week for an hour for a beginner, out of curiosity?

    It's a personalized program designed by one of the trainers for me. :smile:

    Did the trainer say to lift 5x a week for an hour? If not, i would follow the their plan as written, to reduce the risk of overtraining injuries. :+1:

    Nope. I just asked him for a plan for 5 days a week that's based around strength training only. It's a combination of resistance, bodyweight, and weight lifting exercises. Each day focuses on a different set of muscles. I don't like cardio much, other than walking.
  • cee134
    cee134 Posts: 33,711 Member
    Thus, despite the capacity to be able to digest more protein, there is obviously a finite capacity to put amino acids into skeletal muscle. Indeed a ‘muscle full’ phenomenon has been described following meal ingestion.
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20844073/

    Nonetheless, if we accept that a per meal dose of 0.25 g protein/kg/meal (or 0.114 g protein/lbs/meal) is a reasonable estimate and means of defining an optimal protein intake then this could allow the calculation of daily recommendation for an athlete looking for optimal protein intake.

    Using this approach and including four discreet eating occasions per day as well as one pre-sleep meal that is twice as large (i.e. 0.5 g protein/kg/meal) to offset catabolic losses during sleeping [16], then a 100 kg athlete would be consuming four meals of 25 g of protein plus one meal of 50 g of protein for 150 g of total daily protein or 1.5 g/kg/day. One could argue that more eating occasions could be required but it appears that such a feeding pattern would result in a relatively sustained daily hyperaminoacidemia, which has been shown to result in a refractory response of muscle protein synthesis [17].

    Also, the long-term translation of acute findings to chronic phenotypic changes requires caution in interpretation.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4213385/#CR8

    Yes 1g per lbs is too much. 1g per kg would be better. That's .45 per lbs of body weight.


    Also, the key word is athlete. I don't know what their definition would be for that. If your doing some real intense training, than this could be appropriate. But if you are lifting weights and such for an hour a day 5 x a day. I would think this would be overkill.

    Bottom line, you will need protein and carbs to build strength. Spacing it out seems to be more important then large intakes of protein at one time.

  • ryry_
    ryry_ Posts: 4,966 Member
    edited August 2016
    Shadowmf023 wrote: »
    ryry62685 wrote: »
    Shadowmf023 wrote: »
    I don't actually know how much lean mass I have. I guess I'll try and stick to 100g just in case?

    If you are comfortably able to eat 100 grams and maintain a diet you enjoy that is more than enough

    I wouldn't call it an easy task. But oh well. Just trying to hit all my macros as perfectly as I can. I used to just focus on protein and not much else, but I was hungry that way.

    I would say even if you couldn't eat a 100 every day you will still be fine. Just focus on getting a good protein source at every meal and let the chips fall where they may.

    ETA: In my scenario the chips can be either literal or figurative depending on the day.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    RDA recommendations for weight loss protein needs are low. When lifting weights and eating at a deficit and depending on how aggressive the deficit is, I use the .8 to 1gr body weight. I aim for this but usually around the .8 through food alone.

    There is an RDA recommendation for sedentary, sedentary based on age (elderly, etc.) there others based on athletes (endurance, power lifters, etc.) etc. However there are differing opinion and even information from studies that vary using the .8 to 1/lb per lean mass. However how does one know how much lean mass they really have? I am not an athlete, but I do have a heavy training load, which I exercise twice a day (approx 90 - 120 minutes a day)

    I always keep in mind that while dieting (eating a deficit) a persons protein needs increase and add exercise and weightlifting, the number of hours a week you perform exercise and to what intensity to me are all factors.

    I do not have a definitive answer, I do what I do, and others will provide recommendations based on their own research and perhaps you might want to do some for yourself.
  • Shadowmf023
    Shadowmf023 Posts: 812 Member
    Lol, everyone seems to think strength training 5x times a week is a bad idea (well that's what it sounds like). But why? It's just my preferred exercise. I'll also be working different muscles every day, to minimize the chances of injuries.
  • sunnybeaches105
    sunnybeaches105 Posts: 2,831 Member
    Shadowmf023 wrote: »
    Lol, everyone seems to think strength training 5x times a week is a bad idea (well that's what it sounds like). But why? It's just my preferred exercise. I'll also be working different muscles every day, to minimize the chances of injuries.

    If you're doing a body part split it is fine. Everyone here seems to love the 5x5 programs, and they're great for a beginning strength program, but a body part split is a perfectly valid approach.

    As for protein, the reality is that no one knows exactly how much protein you need and that's a very hard question to answer. The general rule that seems to be accepted by a good number of the experts with the necessary degrees and experience is start with about 0.8 grams per pound of bodyweight if you're strength training and trying to maintain or add lean mass. We do know that RDA is not optimal, and at some point north of 1 gram per pound of lean body mass you won't gain any benefit (though the only issue will be difficulty with diet adherence as more protein won't harm you.) See the below for additional information.

    http://www.jissn.com/content/3/1/7

    http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1139/apnm-2015-0549

    http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/early/2016/01/26/ajcn.115.119339
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