How much protein is too much?

i have been told time and time again by different people that you should eat 1 gram for every pound you weigh.

I do high protein...80-110 grams per day. So 120 is high but if you are exercising alot you might need it.

Only those in the body building areas will go to higher amounts of protein.

I would recommend a Doctors apt just to be sure, they can check your urine, if you are eating too much it will show up there.

Best of Luck!

I don't know the answer, but I would think you'd have to have a whole lot before having TOO much!!

It depends on how much you workout, if you strength train, body composition, etc. I'm supposed to get 142 g protein before exercise. I have my macros set for 30% of my calories to come from protein. I use a high-protein, reduced-carb eating plan.

Protein is typically recommended at approx 1 gram per pound of LEAN body mass.

To determine your lean body mass, calculate your body fat as best you can. Your LEAN body mass is your weight - (your weight * body fat % as a decimal).

Hope this helps!

(PS -- You can calculate your approx body fat percentage here: http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/diet.html)

I don't know the answer, but I would think you'd have to have a whole lot before having TOO much!!

No, excess protein is a common problem because Americans generally eat about 2-3 times the amount they need. It is hard on the body and organs.

Define need. Need for what? Wouldn't protein requirements depend on a person's goals, training regimen, sensitivity to carbs, body structure, etc?

I personally think excess refined carb is a much bigger problem for Americans.

BTW, love your avatar.

I don't know the answer, but I would think you'd have to have a whole lot before having TOO much!!

No, excess protein is a common problem because Americans generally eat about 2-3 times the amount they need. It is hard on the body and organs.

Define need. Need for what? Wouldn't protein requirements depend on a person's goals, training regimen, sensitivity to carbs, body structure, etc?

I personally think excess refined carb is a much bigger problem for Americans.

BTW, love your avatar.

Just because there is a bigger problem doesn't negate the smaller problem. I don't know how big a problem there is with Americans eating too much protein, but based solely on posts on this site there quite a few people eating more than medical evidence suggests is needed.

I don't know the answer, but I would think you'd have to have a whole lot before having TOO much!!

No, excess protein is a common problem because Americans generally eat about 2-3 times the amount they need. It is hard on the body and organs.

Define need. Need for what? Wouldn't protein requirements depend on a person's goals, training regimen, sensitivity to carbs, body structure, etc?

I personally think excess refined carb is a much bigger problem for Americans.

BTW, love your avatar.

Just because there is a bigger problem doesn't negate the smaller problem. I don't know how big a problem there is with Americans eating too much protein, but based solely on posts on this site there quite a few people eating more than medical evidence suggests is needed.

And what medical evidence would you be referring to? And my original question stands..... what do you mean by "need"?

I don't know the answer, but I would think you'd have to have a whole lot before having TOO much!!

No, excess protein is a common problem because Americans generally eat about 2-3 times the amount they need. It is hard on the body and organs.

Define need. Need for what? Wouldn't protein requirements depend on a person's goals, training regimen, sensitivity to carbs, body structure, etc?

I personally think excess refined carb is a much bigger problem for Americans.

BTW, love your avatar.

Just because there is a bigger problem doesn't negate the smaller problem. I don't know how big a problem there is with Americans eating too much protein, but based solely on posts on this site there quite a few people eating more than medical evidence suggests is needed.

And what medical evidence would you be referring to? And my original question stands..... what do you mean by "need"?

Reccommended suggestions from Medical or Scientific organizations that calculate the recommendations based on current evidence based medicine (AMA, NIH, CDC, medical universities, research hospitals, etc.). I would define need as how much your body will use before storing it as fat or overworks your kidneys to process it.

Recommended daily by the CDC and AMA is just what is needed to stay healthy. AFAIK, they have not suggested a level at which you'd be causing bodily harm. Sure, there is probably a level at which you'd store it as fat but then you'd be over maintenance levels for calories as well. I have pretty good background in clinical chemistry and I can tell you that you are just as likely to do damage to your kindneys by drinking too much water as you are eating too much protein. Could it happen? Yes, but without doing it on purpose it's almost impossible, it would take massive amounts.

I don't know the answer, but I would think you'd have to have a whole lot before having TOO much!!

No, excess protein is a common problem because Americans generally eat about 2-3 times the amount they need. It is hard on the body and organs.

Define need. Need for what? Wouldn't protein requirements depend on a person's goals, training regimen, sensitivity to carbs, body structure, etc?

I personally think excess refined carb is a much bigger problem for Americans.

BTW, love your avatar.

Just because there is a bigger problem doesn't negate the smaller problem. I don't know how big a problem there is with Americans eating too much protein, but based solely on posts on this site there quite a few people eating more than medical evidence suggests is needed.

And what medical evidence would you be referring to? And my original question stands..... what do you mean by "need"?

Reccommended suggestions from Medical or Scientific organizations that calculate the recommendations based on current evidence based medicine (AMA, NIH, CDC, medical universities, research hospitals, etc.). I would define need as how much your body will use before storing it as fat or overworks your kidneys to process it.

Well the debate between people within the US RDA camp vs. people who are more active and swear by the benefits of an increase protein intake has been going on for about 3 decades now, so talking about it now really isn't going to settle anything.

However, I must point out some seriously flawed logic to your post. If the amount of protein we need is what the mainstream medical community says...and you define need as how much our body will use before storing it as fat...then I should be seriously fat. I've been consuming approximately 140 grams of protein per day. But according to you, I only need 70 grams. Do you see what I'm getting at? But my body-fat has been slowly going down over the weeks.

Also, people have been eating high protein diets for decades with no noticeable increase in reported kidney problems. Yes, people who ALREADY HAVE bad kidneys should keep their protein consumption (as well as an assortment of other foods) to a minimum, but for the rest of us, it would take an incredible amount of protein to overwork our kidneys. Protein hurting your kidneys is an outdated line of thinking that has been disproved by scientific research.

To the OP, my suggestion would be to enjoy your protein shakes. If anything, replacing your other macros with protein will accelerate fat loss.

some body builders actually eat as much as 300 grams of protein per day but realize that they are getting it mostly in their foods and only 1-2 protein shakes... so no 120 is not too much at all

Yes, they actually will more than 300g in a day sometimes because they have a huge amount of lean mass and are on intense training programs.

Sure, 200g of protein is probably more than someone who is inactive but if you are an average sized guy that lifts weights 4 days per week that's not too much.