Too Much Protein?

richelle_ross
richelle_ross Posts: 34 Member
edited December 18 in Food and Nutrition
I'm currently in the process of changing my eating habits. I'm not eating processed foods or at least very little. Kind of doing the south beach thing. Tracking my food so far today, I've consumed like 61 g of protein!!! I know too much protein can be bad. I need to lose alot of FAT. Per my body measurements and weight my body fat percentage is 54%!

Any insight into the subject?

Replies

  • ragazza67
    ragazza67 Posts: 4
    I'm actually having the same issue with protein...hopefully someone will answer your question.
  • lizard053
    lizard053 Posts: 2,344 Member
    No such thing as too much protein! Unless you have kidney issues or doctor's orders otherwise. It's all about finding what works for you. Some people need more protein than others. Some people cannot eat starchy foods. Some people can eat no fat. Everyone has different restrictions on their diets, but you have to figure out what works for you and follow that!
  • tryinghard71
    tryinghard71 Posts: 593
    Try this link. I looked this up as well. It has a chart based on weight and how active you are how much protein you should be eating. Hope that helps!

    http://www.fitsugar.com/How-Much-Protein-Should-I-Eat-165578
  • Sublog
    Sublog Posts: 1,296 Member
    I'm currently in the process of changing my eating habits. I'm not eating processed foods or at least very little. Kind of doing the south beach thing. Tracking my food so far today, I've consumed like 61 g of protein!!! I know too much protein can be bad. I need to lose alot of FAT. Per my body measurements and weight my body fat percentage is 54%!

    Any insight into the subject?

    Too much protein? Nonsense unless you eat absurd amounts and/or not healthy. I just ate 160g of protein in the past 2 hours. Not an issue.

    Aim for about 100g a day. It's a good goal for most women who are dieting.
  • allysabee
    allysabee Posts: 123
    It's actually a good thing! Right now my boyfriend is doing P90X so he has to incorporate A LOT of protein into his diet! He's been doing a lot of research and told me that having high amounts of protein as part of your diet is actually beneficial to weight loss! It helps keep you full longer and makes your body work to digest it, thus burning more calories!
  • Jacwhite22
    Jacwhite22 Posts: 7,010 Member
    Honestly IMHO the title should be "Too Little Protein". I would aim for one g / lb of LBM per day.
  • runfatmanrun
    runfatmanrun Posts: 1,090 Member
    I read recently that a good average for protein intake is .4-.5g per pound of body weight. The more active you are the more protein you should eat, maybe .6g. For me, I am pretty active but still use the generic .5g. I weigh 185 so my goal is 90-93g of protein per day. It is different for everyone and I have also read that, unless you have kidney issues, the body typically will dispose of the excess protein.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,265 Member
    Generally more protein is fine as long as it isn't interferring with adequate amounts of fat in your diet, which I'm sure it isn't.
  • tacticalhippie
    tacticalhippie Posts: 596 Member
    Make sure you're getting in extra fluids too :)
  • XXXMinnieXXX
    XXXMinnieXXX Posts: 3,459 Member
    You should probably be aiming for 100g per day. Mfp settings are very low x
  • rpguru
    rpguru Posts: 7 Member
    There can be such a thing as too much protien but you are not even close to that. Most people who are trying to build or maintain muscle take in 1 gram per pound of body weight a day. Fyi, the problem comes in when people eat double this number or more and start having liver problems.
  • dcgonz
    dcgonz Posts: 174 Member
    I average 125g-150g of protein a day depending on my workouts! If I were you, I would actually up your intake but like a previous poster mentioned each of us is different. I notice weight gain when I eat a lot of grains and dairy so I limit those things, protein and fats work for me.

    Diana
  • debbiestine
    debbiestine Posts: 265 Member
    I work out 4-5x's a week, so I'm happy with 90grams of protein per day.
    This is how you figure it out:
    112lbs times 22% bodyfat =24lbs of bodyfat. So we subtract 112lbs-24lbs bodyfat=88lbs lean muscle. That means I should be eating 88grams of protein. (Guess I better lower, a little.)
  • richelle_ross
    richelle_ross Posts: 34 Member
    Thanks everyone. I didn't think it was too much, but like above comment, mfp has me at a low 40ish grams. I"m not as active as I should be, but i'm getting there! You can look at todays food and IMO I'm doing pretty good. With what I'm understanding I should take in about 90-100g range. I weighed in this morning at 204 and i'm moderately active.
    I appreciate all the advice! :)
  • nikkijoshua
    nikkijoshua Posts: 85 Member
    I would strongly suggest you consult with a medical professional. Contrary to popular belief, there is a such thing as too much protein. Some side effects are ketosis, dehydration, stress on the kidneys, headaches, fatigue, and a few other problems. If you don't want to talk to a professional, then at least do an internet search on the side effects of too much protein. The body can only use so much protein at a time, so giving the body more than it needs is a waste and can possibly put your health at risk. Excess protein will not cause you to lose weight or build more muscle. Once the body uses the amount of amino acids needed from the protein to carry out it's necessary functions that require amino acids, the extra protein is actually converted to glucose (blood sugar) to be used for energy . If it's not needed for energy at that time, it's stored as glycogen (the storage for of glucose) in the liver and muscles. If the glycogen stores are full, it's stored as fat. So excess protein can also cause weight gain. The amount of protein you need is based on gender, weight, activity level, and other factors. It's best to just find out how much you need and stick with that amount.


    This is a link to a good protein calculator:

    http://www.kashi.com/our-foods/protein.html?utm_campaign=Kashi - Non Brand Protein&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=Protein_Calculator&utm_term=protein calculator
  • TheStickmanCometh
    TheStickmanCometh Posts: 7
    When I began to take in at least 1gm of Protein for each pound of body weight, I could see a difference in muscularity and definition...Up the protein and drink lots of water... you'll be glad you did !
  • Matt_Wild
    Matt_Wild Posts: 2,673 Member
    Could you show me where too much protein is bad please?

    I eat 550g a day as I cut and I'm fine....

    ps - I can show you tests that show you its fine ;)
  • Matt_Wild
    Matt_Wild Posts: 2,673 Member
    I would strongly suggest you consult with a medical professional. Contrary to popular belief, there is a such thing as too much protein. Some side effects are ketosis, dehydration, stress on the kidneys, headaches, fatigue, and a few other problems. If you don't want to talk to a professional, then at least do an internet search on the side effects of too much protein. The body can only use so much protein at a time, so giving the body more than it needs is a waste and can possibly put your health at risk. Excess protein will not cause you to lose weight or build more muscle. Once the body uses the amount of amino acids needed from the protein to carry out it's necessary functions that require amino acids, the extra protein is actually converted to glucose (blood sugar) to be used for energy . If it's not needed for energy at that time, it's stored as glycogen (the storage for of glucose) in the liver and muscles. If the glycogen stores are full, it's stored as fat. So excess protein can also cause weight gain. The amount of protein you need is based on gender, weight, activity level, and other factors. It's best to just find out how much you need and stick with that amount.


    This is a link to a good protein calculator:

    http://www.kashi.com/our-foods/protein.html?utm_campaign=Kashi - Non Brand Protein&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=Protein_Calculator&utm_term=protein calculator

    Really? Too much protein stresses the kidneys? Really? Care to show ONE source of info that shows this?

    I can show you completely the opposite, with blood levels showing NO stress on the kidneys and NO calcification issues as well.
    Do regular high protein diets have potential health risks on kidney function in athletes?


    Source


    Department of Physiological Chemistry, Institute of Physical Education and Kinesiotherapy, Free University of Brussels, Belgium.


    Abstract


    Excess protein and amino acid intake have been recognized as hazardous potential implications for kidney function, leading to progressive impairment of this organ. It has been suggested in the literature, without clear evidence, that high protein intake by athletes has no harmful consequences on renal function. This study investigated body-builders (BB) and other well-trained athletes (OA) with high and medium protein intake, respectively, in order to shed light on this issue. The athletes underwent a 7-day nutrition record analysis as well as blood sample and urine collection to determine the potential renal consequences of a high protein intake. The data revealed that despite higher plasma concentration of uric acid and calcium, Group BB had renal clearances of creatinine, urea, and albumin that were within the normal range. The nitrogen balance for both groups became positive when daily protein intake exceeded 1.26 g.kg but there were no correlations between protein intake and creatinine clearance, albumin excretion rate, and calcium excretion rate. To conclude, it appears that protein intake under 2. 8 g.kg does not impair renal function in well-trained athletes as indicated by the measures of renal function used in this study


    PMID: 10722779 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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