Protein

makinemjellis
makinemjellis Posts: 91 Member
edited November 2024 in Food and Nutrition
Just curious as to how MFP calculates how much protein you need and how big a deal it is if you eat over. I saw somewhere that it's not a huge deal if you eat over as your body will just excrete it in urine or whatever but I don't know how valid that is.

After logging all my food I plan on eating today, I was well over the amount of protein MFP suggests so I was just curious if that's a problem or not.

Thanks in advance!

Replies

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    The default macro percentages give you 20% of your calories a protein. For many that’s a good starting point, as protein is extremely important in a calorie deficit to help with muscle retention. General guidelines state to aim for .8-1 gram per pound of lean mass or your goal weight. The only times going way over would be a problem is if you have kidney issues or if you aren’t getting enough of other important nutrients.
  • 5lambert
    5lambert Posts: 19 Member
    I doubt eating over is a problem as long as you're not eating over calories. I have the other problem of not eating as much protein as they want but I just set mine a little lower.
  • born_of_fire74
    born_of_fire74 Posts: 776 Member
    You can manually alter the macro splits to suit your eating preferences if you'd rather not see a bunch of red.
  • Cassandraw3
    Cassandraw3 Posts: 1,214 Member
    I agree with the above that the protein goal is low (at least for my goals). It works for someone who does not engage in exercise, but if you do any sort of strength training or want to preserve as much muscle as you can while in a deficit, the above recommendation of .6-.8g per pound would be a good goal for which to aim.
  • shaf238
    shaf238 Posts: 4,022 Member
    1g per 1lb of body mass or 0.8g per 1lb of total body mass (general guideline)
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    There's nothing magical about MFP's default macro settings...they're just the defaults and don't really mean anything. MFPs default for protein is a bit low IMO...it might be fine for someone who is sedentary and doesn't really engage in exercise, but for someone who exercises regularly it's pretty low. It's also pretty low for someone trying to lose weight...eating more protein during weight loss helps to preserve lean mass as you lose both muscle and fat when you lose weight...more protein mitigates the loss of muscle to a significant extent.
  • hopebs1993
    hopebs1993 Posts: 4 Member
    Where are you guys getting your protein? I always seem to be under my protein goal. Do you use a protein powder? And if you do does anyone know of one that advertising tastes nice? I have a banana one that I can only make it halfway through before I start feeling sick with the texture and flavour.
  • psychod787
    psychod787 Posts: 4,099 Member
    hopebs1993 wrote: »
    Where are you guys getting your protein? I always seem to be under my protein goal. Do you use a protein powder? And if you do does anyone know of one that advertising tastes nice? I have a banana one that I can only make it halfway through before I start feeling sick with the texture and flavour.

    Eggs, egg whites, yogurt, rentals, non starchy veggies, dairy, lean meats, occasional protein bar or shake for me.
  • Cassandraw3
    Cassandraw3 Posts: 1,214 Member
    hopebs1993 wrote: »
    Where are you guys getting your protein? I always seem to be under my protein goal. Do you use a protein powder? And if you do does anyone know of one that advertising tastes nice? I have a banana one that I can only make it halfway through before I start feeling sick with the texture and flavour.

    I try to get my protein from food as much as possible. Same foods as the poster above. One of my favorite snacks for a good calorie to protein ratio is beef jerky. I will occasionally have a protein shake for breakfast, but it was from a sample I got which the company doesn't appear to sell anymore (bummer, because it was actually pretty good). Just plain milk has a good amount of protein too.

    If you want to add me, I have an open diary to friends.
  • hopebs1993
    hopebs1993 Posts: 4 Member
    Thanks guys. I will add some of them to my meals.
  • Cassandraw3
    Cassandraw3 Posts: 1,214 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10247171/carbs-and-fats-are-cheap-heres-a-guide-to-getting-your-proteins-worth-fiber-also

    The data nerd in me loves this spreadsheet. Thank you for sharing.
  • hopebs1993
    hopebs1993 Posts: 4 Member
    I love it thank you so much!!
  • ExistingFish
    ExistingFish Posts: 1,259 Member
    hopebs1993 wrote: »
    Where are you guys getting your protein? I always seem to be under my protein goal. Do you use a protein powder? And if you do does anyone know of one that advertising tastes nice? I have a banana one that I can only make it halfway through before I start feeling sick with the texture and flavour.

    I go for 1g per lb of goal weight (because I'm not premium, my goal is just "close enough" on MFP). I do use protein powder, it's hard for me to get 120g of protein without protein powder, because protein containing foods also have carbs and fat. Breakfast is the hardest part for me and I usually have a protein shake with my breakfast. Sets the tone for the day and that is usually enough. If I work out I'll usually have another. If I'm short at the end of the day (on a non workout day) I may have one before bed (I hear that is good for you anyway). I get the integrated supplements whey isolate from Target/Walmart. It is the best tasting one I've found. I also like Tara's Whey (grass fed/organic).

    Otherwise I eat meats (of course), and cheeses a lot. Two sticks of string cheese has almost as much protein as a protein shake (16g if you don't get "light") and only 2g carbs (so way less than a shake made with milk), a lot of fat though.

    My diary is open if you want to look.
  • ExistingFish
    ExistingFish Posts: 1,259 Member
    Oh and greek yogurt. Greek yogurt is good. I like Oikos whole milk, or Triple Zero from Oikos.
  • pinggolfer96
    pinggolfer96 Posts: 2,248 Member
    It’s not excreted. It’s either stored as fat if you’re in a surplus or used by the body during diet he metabolic process.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    hopebs1993 wrote: »
    Where are you guys getting your protein? I always seem to be under my protein goal. Do you use a protein powder? And if you do does anyone know of one that advertising tastes nice? I have a banana one that I can only make it halfway through before I start feeling sick with the texture and flavour.

    I use protein powder with as few ingredients possible. I add my own strawberries and bananas, or whatever.

    For almost plain I use BioChem Natural Whey (it has a hint of vanilla) and for chocolate I use Whole Foods Chocolate Whey. When I've run out of that I've tried adding chocolate and sugar to the plain. This was acceptable until I got up to WF again, but I didn't like it as much.

    But thanks to Prime Now delivery I will never be out of Whole Food's protein powder again!

    I also eat meat, cottage cheese, eggs, cheese, legumes, etc. When I first started I prelogged and looked at the protein to see if I needed more.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    edited August 2018
    pinggolfer96 wrote: »
    It’s not excreted. It’s either stored as fat if you’re in a surplus or used by the body during diet he metabolic process.

    Protein, for all practical intents and purposes, is never stored as fat:

    https://bodyrecomposition.com/nutrition/nutrient-intake-nutrient-storage-and-nutrient-oxidation.html/

    https://bodyrecomposition.com/nutrition/excess-protein-and-fat-storage-qa.html/

    http://www.simplyshredded.com/does-excess-protein-get-stored-as-fat.html (studies cited)


    And it's a moot point anyway since OP is eating in a calorie deficit, and there is no net fat storage from any macronutrient while in a deficit.
  • makinemjellis
    makinemjellis Posts: 91 Member
    Thanks, y'all! Everything has been super helpful!
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    I’m guessing the rentals above are lentils.

    Most of my protein comes from meat. Eggs are the next obvious choice and I only resort to protein supplementation at the end of the day if I am deficient.
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