Is it really possible to eat 245g of protein a day at 245 pounds?

Sure, it's possible, depending on what your cals are and what else you are willing to sacrifice.

But why would you? Normal recommendation (even for those who are active and losing weight and wanting to retain muscle) is more like .8-1 g per lb of lean mass. You can roughly estimate that with a .6-.8 g per lb of your goal weight. If you have lots to lose, that will be a much lower number than you are trying to hit now. If you are close to goal, then your calories would presumably be reasonably high, as you wouldn't want a steep deficit.

Source is Examine.com and the sources linked on the articles about protein there, among others.

tonjunee wrote: »

lemurcat2 wrote: »

Sure, it's possible, depending on what your cals are and what else you are willing to sacrifice.But why would you? Normal recommendation (even for those who are active and losing weight and wanting to retain muscle) is more like .8-1 g per lb of lean mass.

Right, yeah. The 0.8-1 g per lb sounds like what I've heard from bodybuilders who recommended 1 g per lb. I am trying to lose fat and keep muscle.

I've worked out the macros and I can never hit 245 grams of protein without going over my caloric deficit limit.

Sure I could reach 245 grams of protein eating pure beef all day, but then that would just get me under the caloric deficit level with no carbs whatsoever.

Is this correct?

You haven't said what your calorie goal is, but you absolutely do not need to eat that much protein (1 g per lb with weight to lose) to keep muscle and lose fat.

I see 247 g protein for 1320 cal worth of chicken breast, which should leave you room for other foods too. I don't recommend, however.

I would start with evaluating if that protein goal is really necessary. What is your goal weight? .8g of that would likely be a better target. It will still be enough to help preserve muscle and will still give you enough room in your calories for other foods.

kimny72 wrote: »

tonjunee wrote: »

sijomial wrote: »

As that's only 980 cals makes me wonder what your calorie goal is?
It's clearly not impossible. So to answer your question yes it is possible to eat 245g of protein and not exceed a reasonable calorie goal.

How did you get 980 cal for 245 g of protein?

I see for ground beef it is 250 calories for 100 grams, but only 26 grams of protein in the 100 grams. My source is below:

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=beef+calories

So if I go 250 calories X 9 = 2250 calories ( my deficit is 2400 calories)
then 26 grams of protein X 9 = 234 grams of protein ( I'm close to 245 grams at 245 pounds)

Sure I reach my goal, but then there are no room for carbohydrates. Thus to take carbs I would only go over my caloric deficit.

Carbs and Protein are 4 calories per gram, Fat is 9 calories per gram. Many of those calories are from fat, not protein. Working in leaner sources of protein will make it easier to hit your goal.

Yes, depending on the cut, beef can be fairly fatty. Same with pork and fish. Leaner cuts of meats, chicken breast, egg whites, tuna are all leaner protein sources.

In the paraphrased words of Selena Gomez: "I mean you could, but why would you want to?" It is certainly possible. But for muscle maintenance you by no means need to eat that much. There is no one universal recommended protein intake amount, but 1g per pound of body weight is excessive to all of them. Different estimates I've heard range from 0.6g to 0.8g of your goal weight to 0.8g to 1g per pound of lean mass. Both methods should bring you to a protein goal of less than 200g.

tonjunee wrote: »

lemurcat2 wrote: »

You haven't said what your calorie goal is, but you absolutely do not need to eat that much protein (1 g per lb with weight to lose) to keep muscle and lose fat.

So can I take 0.8 grams of protein per pound instead?

The protein you need is based on your lean mass. If you know what that is (most don't), you could eat about 0.8-1 g per lb of that. A good way to estimate instead is 0.6-0.8 g per lb of a healthy goal weight. Take the higher end to be extra careful if you want.

So when I was 180 and had a goal weight of 120, I aimed for 0.8x120 or 96 g of protein.

tonjunee wrote: »

kimny72 wrote: »

You also seem to be conflating calories, food weight, and macro grams.

100g of ground beef = x grams of protein, y grams of fat, and z grams of water.

And I agree with everyone else - while you could eat 245g of protein, it isn't necessary. That 1g per pound recommendation is usually 1g per lb of lean mass, or per lb of goal weight if you don't know your lean mass.

Oh, so it's to measure protein against only my lean body mass?

Yes.