Confused - Healthy Protein Intake

thuitema84
thuitema84 Posts: 27 Member
edited November 12 in Food and Nutrition
Hi there...I'm new to the site and have found over the last couple of days that I go through my daily protein pretty quickly.

I've always known that I crave/prefer protein over sweets or carbs (I have no problem with a meal made of veggies and protein alone), but it feels like the daily protein allotted is low compared to the calories and carbs. Why is this and how bad is it to go over in protein? I know that craving something is generally an indication that your body is deprived of some nutrient, but according to this website, I'm getting plenty of my daily protein.

Anyone out there able to shed some light for me? Thanks!

Replies

  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member
    MFPs default protein level is set really low - i think a good goal is 0.4 grams per lb of body weight. some also say 1 gram per pound of lean body mass, but i dont know my lbm so i just go with the first one.
    i shoot for about 100g of protein a day :) you can change your %s too - Home tab>Goals>Change Goals>Custom/Continue.. fiddle with the carb/protein/fat percentages until you get them where you want and then save :) i have mine set as 40protein/30fat/30carb - but im weight lifting and have pcos so my drs keep tellin me to keep my carbs low.
  • Nicola0000
    Nicola0000 Posts: 531 Member
    You should eat a max of 2.5g per kg of body weight of protein. Too high a protein diet is bad for your kidneys due to the protein making the blood more acidic in the digestion process. So work out what your max is, and as ling as you can come under that, youll be fine.
  • badmediakarma
    badmediakarma Posts: 33
    We are doing a weight loss / healthy eating challenge at work so they brought in a nutritionist to do some classes with us. She recommended .5g - 1g per lb of body weight, depending on how active you are. Based on this I noticed that MFP's recommendation was low.
  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member
    You should eat a max of 2.5g per kg of body weight of protein. Too high a protein diet is bad for your kidneys due to the protein making the blood more acidic in the digestion process. So work out what your max is, and as ling as you can come under that, youll be fine.
    thats good to know! thanks :) i knew too much was bad for the kidneys, but never knew how much "too much" was. i dont know that ill ever eat that much protein in one day lol
  • thuitema84
    thuitema84 Posts: 27 Member
    Thanks to all of you, this was extremely helpful!! I knew something was off. I'll calculate what it should be and then adjust it so that I'm not coming up as having gone overboard each day :)
  • tinaruby
    tinaruby Posts: 74 Member
    We are doing a weight loss / healthy eating challenge at work so they brought in a nutritionist to do some classes with us. She recommended .5g - 1g per lb of body weight, depending on how active you are. Based on this I noticed that MFP's recommendation was low.

    I try to do about 75 grams a day, I can be over or under by 20 grams and not worry about it. :-)
  • thuitema84
    thuitema84 Posts: 27 Member
    I might need to adjust it closer to the 75g since when I try to adjust it to where it should be, it changes the fat and carb percentages as well...which aren't even close to where they initially placed me :( It doesn't seem that you can manually update just one section without affecting the others.
  • jaquwa
    jaquwa Posts: 92 Member
    I've changed my percenages too, 40% protein, 40% carbs and 20% fat, it works for me, I do a lot of workouts though which is why I have a lot of protein.
  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member
    I might need to adjust it closer to the 75g since when I try to adjust it to where it should be, it changes the fat and carb percentages as well...which aren't even close to where they initially placed me :( It doesn't seem that you can manually update just one section without affecting the others.
    nope, since theyre all tied as percentages of your calorie goal. i have mixed feelings about it, but overall its best so that people get an idea about balancing it all.
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