Weight loss and macros (aka how much protein?)

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  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
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    I'm 5'3", 151 (maintaining) and my daily protein in 125g (1g per pound of goal lean muscle mass)

    46g is the RDA for protein
  • earthnut
    earthnut Posts: 216 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    earthnut wrote: »
    earthnut wrote: »
    Seafood is the healthiest meat, and also the purest source of protein, so focus your meat eating there.

    Ummm, what now? The purest source of protein is, well, protein. Also, can you elaborate on what you mean by "seafood is the healthiest meat"?

    Seafood has healthier fats than other meat - it's high in omega 3 fats. While red meat had been implicated in heart disease and cancer, seafood has consistently been shown to reduce your risk of both. And poultry is generally a wash.

    Yes, purified protein has more protein than seafood. I should have clarified that it's the purest source of protein from unprocessed foods.

    The vast majority of studies that implicate red meat in heart disease and cancer neglect to look at the overall diet...most of those studies are on people eating the SAD which is a piss poor diet...it includes a lot of red meat, but it also includes a whole host of other *kitten* and tends to be lacking in vegetables and fruits as well as other fibrous complex carbohydrates...the SAD is a nutrient deficient diet and causes a whole host of problems.

    Conversely, those who consume sea food on a regular basis also tend to have overall healthier diets...yes, it's a great way to get your omega 3...and I mostly eat fish...but you have to be really careful when looking at those studies. Correlation studies are notoriously shoddy.

    Yes definitely. But there are enough studies that have attempted to control for these factors, and get the same correlations, that it convinces me. And it convinces major health organizations, like the WHO, the American Heart Association, and the American Cancer Society, who all recommend choosing fish before red meat.
  • earthnut
    earthnut Posts: 216 Member
    edited January 2017
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    earthnut wrote: »
    Certainly not all fish is farmed. I avoid farm raised fish myself because of environmental concerns. Even so, farm raised fish has higher levels of omega 3 fat than pasture raised beef.

    Avoiding farm raised fish was not part or your original statement. You made a blanket statement that seafood is the best and to focus our protein efforts there. Seafood isn't always the healthiest source of protein depending on where that seafood is coming from.

    Not all seafood is high in omega 3s, cold water fish is. Still for any benefit you'd need to ingest quite a bit cold water fish on a daily basis. Nothing wrong with that, just not as easy as having 4oz of salmon or cod a day and saying, "I'm at less risk for cancer and heart disease."

    Farm raised fish wasn't part of my original statement, because in terms of health, farm raised fish is, on average, still healthier than other meats, on average. Not only cold water fish are high in omega 3 fats, although those fish have some of the highest amounts. Farmed fish are sometimes deliberately given high-omega-3 diets and can be very high in omega 3. I don't eat farm raised fish because of its impact on the environment, not because i believe it's unhealthy for you.

    Omega 3 fats per ounce (from nutritiondata.com):
    Farmed atlantic salmon: 700mg
    Wild Atlantic salmon: 566mg
    Tilapia (farmed): 62mg
    Chicken: 53mg
    Ground grass fed beef: 27mg
    Ground beef, 30% fat: 17mg

    According to a Mayo Clinic report, taking a fish oil equivalent to 2.2 oz farmed atlantic salmon a day can reduce your risk of heart disease. http://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/omega-3-fatty-acids-fish-oil-alpha-linolenic-acid/dosing/HRB-20059372 Unfortunately they don't give references and i don't have the time to dig around for the study right now. But yes, it possibly can be that easy.
  • earthnut
    earthnut Posts: 216 Member
    edited January 2017
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    Duplicate
  • tarothelp
    tarothelp Posts: 167 Member
    edited January 2017
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    My weightloss really picked up when I had someone with experience and knowledge adjust my macros. I am 42 work out 3-5 time per week cardio weight lifting etc I have a pretty sedentary job although I work from home I sit a lot. My cals are 1200 per day which suits me just fine my macros are 50%protein 30 fat and 20 carbs. On the days I don't exercise I try and keep my carbs on the low side. This works magically for me and I am never hungry. Macros do make a difference at least they do for me note I did not have too much to loose but sometimes that makes weightloss even slower.
  • jenwil1999
    jenwil1999 Posts: 38 Member
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    Sorry to disappear, I'm not a daily forum user.

    I've ready all your thoughts and appreciate the answers. Thank you to the people that actually addressed my question. Several of you said 68 g is not very high. Considering it's double what I comfortably eat, I have no idea how you manage to do 100 g.

    Today was a great example of a normal day for me: I hit 33 g of protein and that was only because I realized I was at the end of the day and only had 20g. (Breakfast 7g, Lunch 5g, Dinner 5g, Snack 3g). Then I ate greek yogurt that I didn't want just for the extra 13 g of protein. Until looking at macros this month, I would have considered this a normal, pretty healthy day (most veggies, low cal) and I would've stopped at 20 g.

    Part of the reason I asked this question is because the calculations give me numbers that seem absurd. MFP says 68 g, but some calculations would have me doing up to 168 g (0.8*212, current weight, although I understand that's wrong). But on the other hand there's this RDA of 46 g, which seems much more achievable.

    By the way, I'm NOT asking how to get more protein, I'm just trying to understand the macros for someone who's quite overweight. In addition, it seems impossible to eat enough to meet the macros and still keep the calories low enough to lose.

    Anyway, I will keep trying to do at least 50 g per day. Eventually I might try for 68 g. But for now, at least 1-2 days a week will be somewhere closer to 30 g. Thanks for the input!
  • jenwil1999
    jenwil1999 Posts: 38 Member
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    tarothelp wrote: »
    My weightloss really picked up when I had someone with experience and knowledge adjust my macros. I am 42 work out 3-5 time per week cardio weight lifting etc I have a pretty sedentary job although I work from home I sit a lot. My cals are 1200 per day which suits me just fine my macros are 50%protein 30 fat and 20 carbs. On the days I don't exercise I try and keep my carbs on the low side. This works magically for me and I am never hungry. Macros do make a difference at least they do for me note I did not have too much to loose but sometimes that makes weightloss even slower.

    I'm glad to know that macros make a difference. How did you find someone to adjust them for you? I think this is more what I was looking for when I started this thread - understanding what my macros should be.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    jenwil1999 wrote: »
    Sorry to disappear, I'm not a daily forum user.

    I've ready all your thoughts and appreciate the answers. Thank you to the people that actually addressed my question. Several of you said 68 g is not very high. Considering it's double what I comfortably eat, I have no idea how you manage to do 100 g.

    Today was a great example of a normal day for me: I hit 33 g of protein and that was only because I realized I was at the end of the day and only had 20g. (Breakfast 7g, Lunch 5g, Dinner 5g, Snack 3g). Then I ate greek yogurt that I didn't want just for the extra 13 g of protein. Until looking at macros this month, I would have considered this a normal, pretty healthy day (most veggies, low cal) and I would've stopped at 20 g.

    Part of the reason I asked this question is because the calculations give me numbers that seem absurd. MFP says 68 g, but some calculations would have me doing up to 168 g (0.8*212, current weight, although I understand that's wrong). But on the other hand there's this RDA of 46 g, which seems much more achievable.

    By the way, I'm NOT asking how to get more protein, I'm just trying to understand the macros for someone who's quite overweight. In addition, it seems impossible to eat enough to meet the macros and still keep the calories low enough to lose.

    Anyway, I will keep trying to do at least 50 g per day. Eventually I might try for 68 g. But for now, at least 1-2 days a week will be somewhere closer to 30 g. Thanks for the input!

    Can you open your diary - I am a meat lover so I can't imagine so little protein? I'm really curious!!
  • giovanna8830
    giovanna8830 Posts: 80 Member
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    96 kg-30%bf=67,2 x 1,3g protein= 87,36g prot. = 349,44Cal.( x 1g protein= 67,2g protein= 268,8 cal )
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    Protein is the material your body uses to repair your cells - skin, hair, muscle, organs, etc. Your cells constantly need to be repaired and replaced. Also when you are losing weight, you will lose some fat and some muscle. It's possible eating some extra protein and doing resistance training can minimize the amount of muscle you lose.

    Most experts I've read suggest 0.6 to 0.8 grams of protein per lb of body weight. At the very least, aim for the RDA. I can't imagine how you can eat any meat at all and only get 20 grams protein for the day. I've eaten vegetarian days and gotten up over 50 grams without trying. Perhaps you are using incorrect entries?
  • calvinschneck
    calvinschneck Posts: 4 Member
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    jenwil1999 wrote: »
    I'm here primarily for weight loss, but am trying to understand/balance my macros too. I realize I definitely do not eat enough protein, but the estimation on MFP seems really high.

    Starting weight (3.5 weeks ago): 227
    Current Weight : 212 lbs
    Height: 5"4'
    Activity level: Low
    MFP goals: lose 1.5 lbs per week (2 lbs gave me 1200 cals and I can't manage that, but am still averaging 2 lbs per week on 1350 cals)

    MFP suggests
    Calories: 1350
    Carbs: 169 g
    Prot: 68 g
    Fat: 45 g

    Other factors: For now, I am NOT trying to exercise more. Just focusing on food, portions, and nutrition.

    For the past few years, I've probably averaged less than 20 g of protein per day. I'm not vegetarian, but living abroad, meat was served in smaller portions and I just naturally cut back. While I know protein is in a lot of things, I was never intentional about getting it (never have liked beans and nuts) and really only ate meat (3-5 oz) once or twice a week.

    For the past 3 weeks of logging, I've really tried to get my protein up and fat down. I struggled for the first week just to get my protein higher than my fat. Now I'm happy if I can get protein over 50 g, and keep fat under 50 g. I know that may not be perfect, but it's a lot better than I was doing. So my question is, what should I realistically be aiming for? Do I really need 68 g of protein? I hear some people on here talk about trying to get 100 g. I know there are calculations, but they seem to depend on ideal weight. But it also seems to be related to how much you're working out and the goal of muscle building.

    Finally, since my top priority is weight loss, the only goal I'm absolutely hitting every day is calories. Protein is my second and I usually hit the goal of 50+ g. But if it slips I don't worry about it, as long as the calories are right. Fat is my third goal, and it slips pretty often (1-2 times per week I exceed 50 g). Are these the right goals for me now? I'm not going to budge on calories as number one, but if I can only have one other goal, should it be protein or fat or carbs? Should it be a maximum or minimum?

    Ps - I don't know if it's relevant, but....

    Goal weight is undecided. Just focusing on getting under 200 lbs, then probably set another goal. Honestly be happy with staying under 150, but ideal weight is probably around 130.

    Any and all help appreciated. Thanks!

  • calvinschneck
    calvinschneck Posts: 4 Member
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    I prefer doing 40% carbs 40% protein and 20% fats
  • tarothelp
    tarothelp Posts: 167 Member
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    Hi op a trainer showed me.
  • jenwil1999
    jenwil1999 Posts: 38 Member
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    I prefer doing 40% carbs 40% protein and 20% fats
    tarothelp wrote: »
    Hi op a trainer showed me.

    Thanks!!
  • gnheller
    gnheller Posts: 12 Member
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    Gold Standard Whey protein contains 24 grams of protein and contains 120 calories. I make a smoothie with this on exercise days. Gold Standard is ranked one of the best protein powders and it tastes great.