How much protein do you really need?

Looks legit to me.

But in competition with other amateur and pro bodybuilders, these guys are "skinny". Now mind you I'd rather have their physiques for everyday life, but to put these guys in the same category Cutler, Heath and Greene......................nah.

You do know that Cutler and the rest of the pros use, right? You're not comparing vegan to non-vegan...you're comparing vegan to steroids. The pro WOMEN are bigger than amateur guys.

Yeah, you can't compare the vegans BBers to the Open Pros who are roided up. However, as I said, the natural pros and many ams are significantly larger than the vegans I've seen. Not to diminish their achievement, it's outstanding what they can achieve while on such a restrictive selection of food sources. I would kill to look like the vegan BBers, they are impressive, just not compared to non-vegans.

Compare them to natural non-vegan BBers then. [And that's with the assumption that no "vegan" BBer cycles AND the assumption that a vegan BBer is on minimal protein macros.]

Looks legit to me.

But in competition with other amateur and pro bodybuilders, these guys are "skinny". Now mind you I'd rather have their physiques for everyday life, but to put these guys in the same category Cutler, Heath and Greene......................nah.

You do know that Cutler and the rest of the pros use, right? You're not comparing vegan to non-vegan...you're comparing vegan to steroids. The pro WOMEN are bigger than amateur guys.

Yeah, you can't compare the vegans BBers to the Open Pros who are roided up. However, as I said, the natural pros and many ams are significantly larger than the vegans I've seen. Not to diminish their achievement, it's outstanding what they can achieve while on such a restrictive selection of food sources. I would kill to look like the vegan BBers, they are impressive, just not compared to non-vegans.

Compare them to natural non-vegan BBers then. [And that's with the assumption that no "vegan" BBer cycles AND the assumption that a vegan BBer is on minimal protein macros.]

Ummm..... that's what I was doing. Assuming natural vegan vs non-vegan natural. Most non-vegan naturals I see are larger than the vegans. Then again, it's hard to tell who really is natural.

Looks legit to me.

But in competition with other amateur and pro bodybuilders, these guys are "skinny". Now mind you I'd rather have their physiques for everyday life, but to put these guys in the same category Cutler, Heath and Greene......................nah.

You do know that Cutler and the rest of the pros use, right? You're not comparing vegan to non-vegan...you're comparing vegan to steroids. The pro WOMEN are bigger than amateur guys.

Yeah, you can't compare the vegans BBers to the Open Pros who are roided up. However, as I said, the natural pros and many ams are significantly larger than the vegans I've seen. Not to diminish their achievement, it's outstanding what they can achieve while on such a restrictive selection of food sources. I would kill to look like the vegan BBers, they are impressive, just not compared to non-vegans.

Compare them to natural non-vegan BBers then. [And that's with the assumption that no "vegan" BBer cycles AND the assumption that a vegan BBer is on minimal protein macros.]

Ummm..... that's what I was doing. Assuming natural vegan vs non-vegan natural. Most non-vegan naturals I see are larger than the vegans. Then again, it's hard to tell who really is natural.

Bleh, picture links aren't working...here's the page though.

http://www.naturalbodybuilding.com/pages/events/2011/2011_americas_natural.php

I noticed that my daily protien is always high - and some days I won't eat any meat. What does taking in too much protein mean? Does that convert to fat if unused? Is it like a calorie in terms of what to keep low when tryin to lose weight?

I noticed that my daily protien is always high - and some days I won't eat any meat. What does taking in too much protein mean? Does that convert to fat if unused? Is it like a calorie in terms of what to keep low when tryin to lose weight?

Any kind of exess calories can be turned into fat. The only exception I am aware of is alcohol. Alcohol is actually a toxin in the body and you will metabolize it first to get it out of the body. Its good because it leaves the body, but bad because the body greatly slows in metabolising other calorie sources. My understanding is simple carbs are converted to fat for storage more easily than protien. I could be misunderstanding that, but it's what I've read.. I guess that's why people now say carbs are bad. In short protien is good and it's rather difficult to get too much protien. What you have to watch for are too many calories.

joejccva71 wrote: »

This is so true. Nobody ever wants to listen to me because I'm vegan but people really don't need as much protein as they think they do. Plus its naturally found in a lot more foods than people realize. I'm up to 51 grams of protein so far today without even trying, and without any animal products.

No the article is full of crap. Protein minimums are required, not optional not only for muscle building but to lose weight (burning fat instead of muscle). It's all part of hitting your macronutrient requirements.

Nobody (including the article) said there weren't minimum amounts of protein needed, just that the average person consumes way more than they need.

And actually the average person consumes way LESS protein than they need, and consume way MORE carbs than they need.

I have trouble believing that "the average person consumes way less protein than they need". If that were the case, people would be physically weak and unable to lift reasonably heavy objects, hearts would be atrophying, etc. I would love to be proven wrong though.