Is there such thing as "too much protein"

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nmj1988
nmj1988 Posts: 65 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Im just curious about too much protein... I seem to always eat over my protein level by at least 15-20 grams, how ever i work out 5 times a week, 2-3 time of strenght training. Is this soemthing I should really think about and try to cahnge.... or should i jsut continue:ohwell:

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  • gregpack
    gregpack Posts: 426 Member
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    This come up daily on the boards. We need a sticky........

    If you are normal from a metabolic standpoint you can eat a lot of protein and suffer no ill effects. Many here in the fitness community strive for 1 g per pound of lean body weight. My daily goal is at least 200gs
  • Starlage
    Starlage Posts: 1,709 Member
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    ^^^ what he said! I eat about 115g a day but often get closer to 150g/day
  • qwe3nz
    qwe3nz Posts: 29
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    If you eat to much protein your body will use what is needs then store it as fat
  • jourelemode
    jourelemode Posts: 15
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    If you eat to much protein your body will use what is needs then store it as fat

    not true...too much of anything will be stored as fat if exceeds your maintenance calories. Your body doesn't discriminate between protein, carbs and fats. Your body sees what you eat as calories, whether protein, carbs or fat. Calories in vs. out, that's it.
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
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    If you eat to much protein your body will use what is needs then store it as fat

    not true...too much of anything will be stored as fat if exceeds your maintenance calories. Your body doesn't discriminate between protein, carbs and fats. Your body sees what you eat as calories, whether protein, carbs or fat. Calories in vs. out, that's it.


    This!

    I eat 35% of my calories as protein.
    Most people on a fat loss/lean mass retention diet would prosper at Protein 20-30% Fat 20-30% CArbs 40-50%.
  • glenr79
    glenr79 Posts: 283 Member
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    yes there is, when you eat too much protein your body can not break all down.. so two things happen, one excess gets stored as fat, and like the guy said earlier too much of any macronutrient gets stored as fat, that is why you are supposed to eat a balanced meal, and # 2 since your body can't break down all of that protein your kidneys have to work very hard to get rid of all of the excess nitrogen... so you put a strain on your kidneys and then that nitrogen gets peed out... but you get protein stored as fat and a strain on your kidneys.... Probably the max amount of your calories for protein should be 35% if youare really strength training hard.... and if you didn't know 1g of protein is 4 calories... so take your grams and multiply that by 4... and then just make sure that you are eating less thatn 35% of your calories from protein....
  • brandimacleod
    brandimacleod Posts: 368 Member
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    If you are diabetic especially, but even with other health issues, too much protien is very hard on your kidneys. Consult a doctor.
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
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    If you eat to much protein your body will use what is needs then store it as fat

    not true...too much of anything will be stored as fat if exceeds your maintenance calories. Your body doesn't discriminate between protein, carbs and fats. Your body sees what you eat as calories, whether protein, carbs or fat. Calories in vs. out, that's it.

    This needs to be put into stone.

    Oh and Helloitsdan why are you using %'s? You're body doesn't say I need 50% of protein, carbs, fats! That is bro science to the max.
  • glenr79
    glenr79 Posts: 283 Member
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    Fitness Helloitsdan was actually right on the money..... you do use a percent and it is not broscience..... 45-60% of your diet should be carbs, 25-35 protein, and 20-30 good fats.... those are the amoutns that your body needs.... but a little less on the protein if you do not work out
    If you eat to much protein your body will use what is needs then store it as fat

    not true...too much of anything will be stored as fat if exceeds your maintenance calories. Your body doesn't discriminate between protein, carbs and fats. Your body sees what you eat as calories, whether protein, carbs or fat. Calories in vs. out, that's it.

    This needs to be put into stone.

    Oh and Helloitsdan why are you using %'s? You're body doesn't say I need 50% of protein, carbs, fats! That is bro science to the max.
  • dinosnopro
    dinosnopro Posts: 2,179 Member
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    http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=121703981




    It's kind of a long read but it makes everthing more clear on how to figure macronutrient distribution in your diet.
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
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    Fitness Helloitsdan was actually right on the money..... you do use a percent and it is not broscience..... 45-60% of your diet should be carbs, 25-35 protein, and 20-30 good fats.... those are the amoutns that your body needs.... but a little less on the protein if you do not work out
    If you eat to much protein your body will use what is needs then store it as fat

    not true...too much of anything will be stored as fat if exceeds your maintenance calories. Your body doesn't discriminate between protein, carbs and fats. Your body sees what you eat as calories, whether protein, carbs or fat. Calories in vs. out, that's it.

    This needs to be put into stone.

    Oh and Helloitsdan why are you using %'s? You're body doesn't say I need 50% of protein, carbs, fats! That is bro science to the max.

    http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=121703981

    "Macronutrient NeedsOnce you work out calorie needs, you then work out how much of each macronutrient you should aim for. This is one of the areas that is MOST often confused but This should NOT be based on a RATIO of macro intakes. (eg: '30:40:30 or 40:40:20') Your body doesn't CARE what % intake you have. It works based on SUFFICIENT QUANTITY per LEAN MASS or TOTAL MASS. So to try to make it as simple as possible:"
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
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    http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=121703981




    It's kind of a long read but it makes everthing more clear on how to figure macronutrient distribution in your diet.
    That thread changed my life. Seriously.
  • alex6971
    alex6971 Posts: 51 Member
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    I am the exact same I am always in the red in my protein. Not sure if this is a good or bad thing!!!!
  • ArroganceInStep
    ArroganceInStep Posts: 6,239 Member
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    There is such a thing as too much protein, but the amount you would have to eat is so high that you really don't need to worry about it. It's kind of the same as water intoxication, yes you can die from drinking too much water but how many people do you know that sit around and chug 30 gallons of it in a day?

    For all practical purposes, ESPECIALLY if you are limiting your calories, you cannot get too much protein. Figure out what your target minimum should be and strive to surpass that while staying in your calories and meeting your other macro targets. Minimum intake for proteins and fats is always better than a ratio.

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