How much Protein ?

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mumzo12
mumzo12 Posts: 1 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
How much Protein do I need as a 67 year old woman weighing 58kg 157cm and needing to loose 1-2kg? I also need to have 1200 mg Calcium every day for Osteoporosis. Right now Im taking a Calcium tablet for half of that and trying to get the other half with greek youghurt, cottage cheese,porridge and 3 instant coffees with a small dollop of lactose free low fat milk. thanks for any advice

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  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,102 Member
    edited March 18
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    This is a reputable evidence-based calculator and guide (from a site that doesn't sell supplements ;) ):

    https://examine.com/protein-intake-calculator/
    https://examine.com/guides/protein-intake/

    . . . and here's a report from an expert international study group about protein needs and strategies for people in our demographic (65+):

    https://www.jamda.com/article/S1525-8610(13)00326-5/fulltext

    I'm female, 68, 165 cm (5'5") and 60 kg (133 pounds), also have osteoporosis. I shoot for minimum 100g protein daily, usually get more (around 120g) as a vegetarian. With apologies for thinking in pounds rather than kilos (I'm in the US), I figure 100g is just a bit above 1g for each pound of my estimated lean mass. (I figure I'm somewhere mid-20s percent body fat, so maybe 43-45 kg lean mass.)

    This is a higher amount of protein than some prefer, but it's in line with what the calculator linked above suggests, and similar to the study group recommendations. I figure I need a little extra protein because I'm aging, athletically active, and vegetarian.

    Best wishes!
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,899 Member
    edited March 18
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    I would suggest you get at least 100g's and considering age does effect many aspects of absorption 125 wouldn't be out of the question spread out fairly equal in 3 or 4 meals, which is crucial for optimal muscle anabolism.

    The first meal is very important considering we've been in a catabolic state from the overnight fast and our protein synthesis is down, basically down regulated and inhibited and I've recently become aware that leucine, which is found is very good quantities in ruminant muscle meat and is the crucial and specific amino acid that gets the ball rolling and we need about 3g's in a meal to activate muscle protein synthesis which represents around 30'g's to 50g's of quality protein for that to happen, so if a person is consuming 100-125g's a day that first meal and the last meal are probably the most important and fill the rest throughout the day in another meal and without these amounts it's unlikely that muscle protein synthesis is engaged or minimally at best and we continue as far as muscle is concerned still in mostly a catabolic state which is not what we want.

    IMO that's a good place to start, 100-125g's of quality protein eaten in at least 2 meals but 3 is better and grazing with smaller consumptions of protein multiple times a day is just not going to preserve muscle mass to the extent consuming it in these 30-50 g's parcels. good luck.

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