Protein amounts
Replies
-
Examine.com has a very detailed article about protein here: How much protein do you need per day?
They also have a calculator which is helpful!
Is it just me or does the calculator give the same number regardless of how you answer the questions? It gives me a pretty high goal which I actually do hit/exceed most days but from everything I have read it is overkill for a person in my only sort of active situation.
I changed "healthy weight" to overweight and it changed the numbers.0 -
Examine.com has a very detailed article about protein here: How much protein do you need per day?
They also have a calculator which is helpful!
Is it just me or does the calculator give the same number regardless of how you answer the questions? It gives me a pretty high goal which I actually do hit/exceed most days but from everything I have read it is overkill for a person in my only sort of active situation.
I also noticed that if you select "sedentary" the amounts don't change per the goal you select (in addition to what @mmapags mentions). I think this is in-line with the article which is a bit confusing.0 -
Examine.com has a very detailed article about protein here: How much protein do you need per day?
They also have a calculator which is helpful!
Is it just me or does the calculator give the same number regardless of how you answer the questions? It gives me a pretty high goal which I actually do hit/exceed most days but from everything I have read it is overkill for a person in my only sort of active situation.
I changed "healthy weight" to overweight and it changed the numbers.
It did for me this time. It didn't last time and I changed it back and forth a few times.0 -
KateCassie wrote: »I feeling very confused! How on earth do people eat a balanced diet without exceeding their protein daily amounts? Everything now-a-days seems to be protein enriched, but I eat quite low calories and only have eggs/chicken as protein sources and my protein count is way higher than what is recommended (.8/kg).... But people still drink protein shakes etc? Does protein increase with activity level, because everything I’m reading suggests that the average adult should only be consuming around 50-70g of protein daily.
Do you include protein from everything you consume? Or just from meat etc?
The suggested amount is a minimum to avoid protein deficiency...it is not a maximum. Increasing protein during weight loss is beneficial in helping to preserve muscle mass. And yes, the more active one is, the more protein they should consume to help rebuild broken down tissue from exercise.2 -
You've gotten a lot of good answers. .8g/kg is the minimum required. The RDA range is .8g - 1.6g/kg depending on your activity level. The more active you are -especially if it includes strength training - the higher you go.1
-
I wish MFP would either change minimums to start red and turn green once you reach them or allow users to 'select' which way that color code works. The color going red plus the low default suggestion gives a misleading impression.
Meh. I know what I'm aiming for, and why. If MFP chooses to give that a mix of red and green, I just pretend it's Christmas.
Your mileage obviously varies. :flowerforyou:5 -
I wish MFP would either change minimums to start red and turn green once you reach them or allow users to 'select' which way that color code works. The color going red plus the low default suggestion gives a misleading impression.
Yeah -- the user select is a great idea. Won't happen, but it would be better.0 -
Theoldguy1 wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »lynn_glenmont wrote: »If you adjust the percentages to achieve certain raw numbers of grams, what's the point in relying on the percentages? Just get straight to the point and look at the grams.
The OP was questioning the appropriate amount of protein to consume for health reasons. The percent range provides that amount for the vast majority of individuals.
And a range based on grams would provide that for pretty much everyone. I see no reason to prefer percentages when you can look at grams.
Do what you want. I'm pretty sure the experts at the USDA use percentages for a reason.
Oh? What is that reason? (I've read their reasoning for the percentages and it wasn't actually particularly scientific, and the DRI is based on grams.)4 -
Examine.com has a very detailed article about protein here: How much protein do you need per day?
They also have a calculator which is helpful!
Is it just me or does the calculator give the same number regardless of how you answer the questions? It gives me a pretty high goal which I actually do hit/exceed most days but from everything I have read it is overkill for a person in my only sort of active situation.
The calculator gave me 79 g, which is reasonable for maintenance at my weight. I said I was active.0 -
ExistingFish wrote: »lynn_glenmont wrote: »If you adjust the percentages to achieve certain raw numbers of grams, what's the point in relying on the percentages? Just get straight to the point and look at the grams.
In the context of MFP, because I don't pay for premium?
Percentages help me keep everything in the context of the other macros and my calories as a whole. Yes, I have a straight protein goal based on my body weight, but I also look at it in a percentage so I can make sure it is both reasonable for my calorie goals and reasonably proportional to my other macros. If I was trying to eat 1200 calories, and I had a protein goal what I do now around 115g, it would be around 38%, which is both outside the range set by the USDA (barely, though) and outside of what I'd consider "normal" as it skews the overall macros.
Whatever works for you is good.
I don't pay for premium, either. But for me, it just seems easier to look to hit a particular gram goal every day rather than go in and monkey with my MFP settings any time I need to change my calorie goal (or worry about missing a percentage goal if I end up having a few hundred calories more or less than my goal, and hit my protein grams but the percentage is off because the total calories are different). For myself, I don't see the point of MFP telling me my gram goal when the only way MFP would have that gram goal is because I've figured out what it should be and then calculated the percentage that will give me that result. And if I believed I needed 115 g of protein a day, I wouldn't start eating less protein just because it fell outside a "normal" range because I decided to start aiming for a deep calorie deficit.2 -
[quoteT="NovusDies;c-43919442"]Examine.com has a very detailed article about protein here: How much protein do you need per day?
They also have a calculator which is helpful!
Is it just me or does the calculator give the same number regardless of how you answer the questions? It gives me a pretty high goal which I actually do hit/exceed most days but from everything I have read it is overkill for a person in my only sort of active situation.[/quote]
I don't see the calculator actually doing any calculating. It asks you a lot of questions and then you scroll down to a chart that just gives protein grams per kilogram of body weight for various situations (sedentary vs. active, healthy weight vs. overweight/obese, etc.). I don't see what the point of the questions are, since you have to find yourself in the chart based on what your responses to the questions are. I don't see any button to click on to get a personalized recommendation after you answer the questions.
ETA: Whoops! I see the personalized recommendation now -- it's off in a box in the right column with the ads. The only thing that seems to make the recommendation change is to change my answers for what I weigh or whether I'm sedentary or active. Gender, goals, and whether one is a healthy weight or not all seem irrelevant.0 -
-
AlohaBeaches100 wrote: »
Nothing wrong with that strategy, but it's possible to get protein from food without eating meat. (I haven't eaten meat or fish since 1974, and routinely get 100g+ of protein daily without protein powder or bars, though only because I don't personally find them tasty or satisfying. I do eat dairy and a the occasional egg, but I think I could hit 100g purely plant-based.)
For anyone trying to get more protein from food, this is a great thread:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10247171/carbs-and-fats-are-cheap-heres-a-guide-to-getting-your-proteins-worth-fiber-also
Veggie folk will need to scroll down the linked spreadsheet past the mostly meaty/fishy stuff near the top, but the plant sources are in there.4 -
Theoldguy1 wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »lynn_glenmont wrote: »If you adjust the percentages to achieve certain raw numbers of grams, what's the point in relying on the percentages? Just get straight to the point and look at the grams.
The OP was questioning the appropriate amount of protein to consume for health reasons. The percent range provides that amount for the vast majority of individuals.
And a range based on grams would provide that for pretty much everyone. I see no reason to prefer percentages when you can look at grams.
Do what you want. I'm pretty sure the experts at the USDA use percentages for a reason.
Oh? What is that reason? (I've read their reasoning for the percentages and it wasn't actually particularly scientific, and the DRI is based on grams.)
Would be interesting what you found.0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.2K Introduce Yourself
- 43.4K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 387 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.4K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.2K MyFitnessPal Information
- 22 News and Announcements
- 895 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.2K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions