How can I possibly eat this much protein?

trvsfry9923
trvsfry9923 Posts: 3 Member
edited November 2023 in Health and Weight Loss
So I just entered my data at tdeecalculator.net, complete with stats from a recent DEXA scan. I work out pretty hard at least 3 days a week with lots of weights, occasional running, and quite a bit of HIIT, but I need to drop about 20lbs to be at what I consider a reasonable body fat percentage (15-17%). The results were a little surprising, but not out of line with other calculators and reading I've done.

In order to have a 500kCal/day deficit, I still need to consume 2446KCal per day. That's fine and feels about right--I've largely been doing that and have dropped 18lbs over about 20 months (while adding a lot of muscle). Here's the thing though: Since I lift a lot and work out pretty hard I'm supposed to eat 245g protein, 109g fats, and 122g carbs. The fat and carbs are easy, but how in the world am I supposed to consume that much protein without blowing out the other two macros? It doesn't seem possible.

Even more difficult because the medical literature suggests that you really can't absorb more than about 50g of protein per meal (not sure the spacing of that though).

How do y'all manage?

Replies

  • zebasschick
    zebasschick Posts: 1,067 Member
    how much do you weigh and how tall are you?

    many whey isolate protein powders have no carbs or fat, just protein. i only eat 1220 net calories per day and on workout days i eat 130 to 140 grams of protein. i do it like a lot of bodybuilders do it - i eat protein 6x per day, which can be egg whites, whey isolate protein powder, non-fat plain yogurt, protein bars, non-fat cottage cheese and so on. when i ate meat, i often went for low sodium canned tuna between meals.
  • trvsfry9923
    trvsfry9923 Posts: 3 Member
    edited November 2023
    I'm a little under 6' , 43yrs, male, and currently at 220lbs (started at 238!). I typically do a whey/casein blend for breakfast, 6oz of chicken at lunch with salad, nuts for snacks, dinner variable. Even eating very little sugar and focusing on lean, whole foods I seem to be unable to hit my protein goals without overshooting fat and carbs. Or put another way, despite relatively clean eating, I can't seem to fit enough protein into my caloric deficit plan.
  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 1,948 Member
    Who says you're supposed to eat 245g? You'd probably need to be a competing bodybuilder to need that much protein while only being 20 pounds above 15% bf.

    Male or female? If female, then a target of 15%-17% sounds quite low.

    I'm fairly sure you can absorb more than 50g per meal. The key is different foods have different absorption rates. Whey protein is very fast. Eggs e.g. are slower.

    If you're not that far from lean, at least 0.8g per pound should be plenty based on what you've said. You could go as high as 1g but that's probably not necessary.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,353 Member
    trvsfry9923 wrote: »

    Even more difficult because the medical literature suggests that you really can't absorb more than about 50g of protein per meal (not sure the spacing of that though).

    How do y'all manage?

    Which liturature would that be? While I have not looked into it for a while, the last time I did the the claim was 30 grams per meal, if I recall correctly, and from what I found at the time it seemed that was simply wrong. I am curious if you have newer information? If so, please share links.

    As has been said, protein powder is a helpful way to get in extra protein without a lot of fat and carbs. Lean meat can help as well especially if you don't add carbs to it in seasonings and sauces.

  • zebasschick
    zebasschick Posts: 1,067 Member
    trvsfry9923 wrote: »
    I'm a little under 6' , 43yrs, male, and currently at 220lbs (started at 238!). I typically do a whey/casein blend for breakfast, 6oz of chicken at lunch with salad, nuts for snacks, dinner variable. Even eating very little sugar and focusing on lean, whole foods I seem to be unable to hit my protein goals without overshooting fat and carbs. Or put another way, despite relatively clean eating, I can't seem to fit enough protein into my caloric deficit plan.

    have whey protein isolate, non-fat cottage cheese or yogurt or something like that between meals. you could add 30 or 40 grams of protein three times per day.

  • trvsfry9923
    trvsfry9923 Posts: 3 Member
    edited November 2023
    rileysowner wrote: »
    Which liturature would that be? While I have not looked into it for a while, the last time I did the the claim was 30 grams per meal, if I recall correctly, and from what I found at the time it seemed that was simply wrong. I am curious if you have newer information? If so, please share links.

    If you aren't familiar with Examine.com, it's excellent at making the latest scientific literature accessible.

    This is probably the best overall summary of the literature on protein intake amounts generally. Scroll down for details about how much you can absorb to promote muscle growth in a sitting by age and gender (to be fair, you can definitely use/absorb more protein than the amounts listed, but it goes to other uses). It's also true that converting protein to energy is less efficient than converting carbs or fats, so eating relatively more protein gives a bit of a boost to caloric restriction.
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 12,805 Member
    Doing the math, you have a macro breakdown of 40P/40F/20C, gunning for 245g protein / 220 bw = 1.1g per pound.

    I weigh not much less than you at 190, and I'm an avid lifter. I have been very pleased with my results eating on average .8g per pound of protein, or 150g on days I lift. I wager you would as well, and that would drop your protein requirement to 176g protein per day, a far easier number to reach.

    Where would you put the extra 280 calories from eating 70g less protein per day? Your call, but personally I would include a small treat of that size each day and enjoy my life a little more. That's about right for a candy bar, or two cookies with a small glass of milk, or a small dish of ice cream, for example.

    How, do you ask, can we get enough protein in our diets? Sure, you can eat a helping of protein a dozen times per day like some suggest, but I get all I need through my normal meals. For example, tonight is a steak stir-fry, with 6 oz of sirloin, rice and veggies, and a glass of non-fat milk. That's 77g protein for under 700 calories. Add a single protein shake for 32g/170c, and I only need 40g protein to reach my goal, and over a thousand calories to make it happen, more on days I work out.
  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 2,305 Member
    At your weight take in 1 G of protein based on your LEAN weight. 165G per day should suffice.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    245g of protein is overkill. I mean it's pretty trendy right now to have super high protein targets, but at some point you're just making expensive glucose and pee. Even stage bodybuilders and physique competitors I know keep it around 1 gram per Lb of LBM
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,385 Member
    Don't forget the kind of protein your consuming because there are bioavailable and quality differences between plant and animal protein. I would easily add 30% more protein for every gram of plant protein consumed, just to offset the differences, imo.

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