Protein?

glennaparks
glennaparks Posts: 18 Member
in Food and Nutrition
How much protein should I be aiming for? MFP sets me up with a goal of 56 grams, but from research (The Blood Type Diet, in particular -- I'm Type O / The Hunter), I'm pretty sure I need more, especially if I want to lose fat and gain muscle.

Thoughts? What are your protein goals?

Replies

  • bobbybdoe
    bobbybdoe Posts: 472 Member
    Gaining muscle = eat .8g-1g of protein per pound of bodyweight with a caloric surplus. So if you're 110 pounds and you want to gain muscle you'd be eating close to (or more than) 110g of protein per day.
  • jetabear10
    jetabear10 Posts: 375 Member
    I always aim to go as high as I can and over the MFP recommendations for protein esp. since I am trying to gain muscle (and lose fat)
  • kgprice11
    kgprice11 Posts: 749 Member
    Here is an article that might be of some help for you:

    http://exercise.about.com/cs/nutrition/a/protein.htm

    enjoy :happy:
  • katya143
    katya143 Posts: 313 Member
    RATIO is 1:10 SO FOR EVERY HUNDRED CALORIES AIM TO EAT 10g of protien!!!! SO IF 1000 calories, eat 100g of protien, but make sure u drink enough water...besides, if u stick to this rule, you wont be hungry at all and you probably wont be able to consume too many calories which equals to weigh loss!!!
  • glennaparks
    glennaparks Posts: 18 Member
    Gaining muscle = eat .8g-1g of protein per pound of bodyweight with a caloric surplus. So if you're 110 pounds and you want to gain muscle you'd be eating close to (or more than) 110g of protein per day.

    What do you mean by caloric surplus? As in, even if this puts me over my daily goal?
  • BAMFMeredith
    BAMFMeredith Posts: 2,810 Member
    I manually re-set my calorie/macro settings on here so that out of my 1400 calories per day, 40% come from protein, 30% from carbs, 30% fats. That has me at a pretty large amount of protein, but it's really working for me big time. My diary is public if you wanna take a look :smile:
  • BrionaLoree
    BrionaLoree Posts: 45
    im always over on the MFP protien amount, but apparently im ok lol. thanks, this was really helpfull
  • motherbetty
    motherbetty Posts: 170 Member
    I agree with the higher protein rules and suggestions but MFP sets mine much lower than that. Does anyone know why?
  • EvieNieves
    EvieNieves Posts: 31 Member
    I always go over my protein..everything else I try to meet or stay under. It's 1 gram of protein per pound. Which I've heard is what bodybuilders do. So if you weight 140 lbs you can aim to about 140grams of protein.....definitely go OVER your protein goal on MFP :)
  • chris1816
    chris1816 Posts: 715 Member
    http://www.reddit.com/help/faqs/Fitness
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    Gaining muscle = eat .8g-1g of protein per pound of bodyweight with a caloric surplus. So if you're 110 pounds and you want to gain muscle you'd be eating close to (or more than) 110g of protein per day.

    What do you mean by caloric surplus? As in, even if this puts me over my daily goal?
    Meaning to gain muscle you need a calorie surplus. You can't gain muscle on a calorie deficit. Physics and biology prevent it.
  • ishtar13
    ishtar13 Posts: 528 Member
    I agree with the higher protein rules and suggestions but MFP sets mine much lower than that. Does anyone know why?

    MFP's default is something like 55% carbs, 30% fat, and only 15% protein. I think that might be USDA recommendations, because it's similar to what I got from the USDA site.
  • MustBeTheRows
    MustBeTheRows Posts: 377 Member
    The daily recommend intake for a woman per the Institute of medicine is 50g. I personally feel like I have more energy when I eat 1g per pound of body weight.
  • BAMFMeredith
    BAMFMeredith Posts: 2,810 Member
    Gaining muscle = eat .8g-1g of protein per pound of bodyweight with a caloric surplus. So if you're 110 pounds and you want to gain muscle you'd be eating close to (or more than) 110g of protein per day.

    What do you mean by caloric surplus? As in, even if this puts me over my daily goal?
    Meaning to gain muscle you need a calorie surplus. You can't gain muscle on a calorie deficit. Physics and biology prevent it.

    While you are correct, I think the OP means more she wants to lose fat and get lean. You CAN maintain most of your muscle mass and strengthen your muscles while on a caloric deficit to lose fat, but you can't technically gain muscle unless you're eating at a surplus.

    OP- Keeping your deficit within reason and making sure you're getting plenty of protein/lifting weights is a good way to achieve what I think you're trying to.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Gaining muscle = eat .8g-1g of protein per pound of bodyweight with a caloric surplus. So if you're 110 pounds and you want to gain muscle you'd be eating close to (or more than) 110g of protein per day.

    Just eating a lot of protein will not cause you gain muscle. You'll have to work those muscles hard too. If you aren't going to put in the work, there is no need to eat all that protein.

    I'm not suggesting that the OP or anyone else isn't going to put in the work, just saying that it takes more than just a lot of protein to build muscle.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    I agree with the higher protein rules and suggestions but MFP sets mine much lower than that. Does anyone know why?
    It's because most people don't need higher protein amounts. Most research shows about 50-60 grams of protein a day is sufficient for most people. Only people doing constant high intensity exercise need higher amounts of protein.
  • MissMaryMac33
    MissMaryMac33 Posts: 1,433 Member
    I changed my macros to 40% protein, 30/30 carb fat -- so I easilly get 120-150g protein a day.

    I think MFP needs a little update.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I changed my macros to 40% protein, 30/30 carb fat -- so I easilly get 120-150g protein a day.

    I think MFP needs a little update.

    Actually, I'm pretty sure they're recommendations are from the Insitute of Medicine, which is based on the latest scientific evidence. But population based recommendations are never going to be exact for everyone on an individual basis.

    Just because there are a lot of bodybuilders on this site that like to eat high protien, does not make it a good, or even safe, recommendation for everyone.
  • bobbybdoe
    bobbybdoe Posts: 472 Member
    Gaining muscle = eat .8g-1g of protein per pound of bodyweight with a caloric surplus. So if you're 110 pounds and you want to gain muscle you'd be eating close to (or more than) 110g of protein per day.

    Just eating a lot of protein will not cause you gain muscle. You'll have to work those muscles hard too. If you aren't going to put in the work, there is no need to eat all that protein.

    I'm not suggesting that the OP or anyone else isn't going to put in the work, just saying that it takes more than just a lot of protein to build muscle.

    Sorry, I thought that was implied. xD
  • janet0513
    janet0513 Posts: 564 Member
    Gaining muscle = eat .8g-1g of protein per pound of bodyweight with a caloric surplus. So if you're 110 pounds and you want to gain muscle you'd be eating close to (or more than) 110g of protein per day.





    Don't you mean per Kg of weight not lbs? If you weigh 110 lbs (div by 2.2), you need about 50g of protein if you are active
  • km_jenn
    km_jenn Posts: 107
    I manually re-set my calorie/macro settings on here so that out of my 1400 calories per day, 40% come from protein, 30% from carbs, 30% fats. That has me at a pretty large amount of protein, but it's really working for me big time. My diary is public if you wanna take a look :smile:

    ^^^ This... and so did I! :)
  • rlmadrid
    rlmadrid Posts: 694 Member
    I changed my macros to 40% protein, 30/30 carb fat -- so I easilly get 120-150g protein a day.

    I think MFP needs a little update.

    Actually, I'm pretty sure they're recommendations are from the Insitute of Medicine, which is based on the latest scientific evidence. But population based recommendations are never going to be exact for everyone on an individual basis.

    Just because there are a lot of bodybuilders on this site that like to eat high protien, does not make it a good, or even safe, recommendation for everyone.

    I think MFP primarily targets people who want to lose weight. It doesn't seem at all directed at building, or even maintaining muscle mass. I don't necessarily think eating more protein could have any adverse effects to any of the members on this site. However, if eating more protein means going over your daily goal then you will likely slow your weight loss progress.

    To the OP, if you are trying to keep muscle, the 40% 30% 30% may be good. If you want to gain muscle you do need to eat more calories than you would if you were attempting to simply lose weight. Goal is AT LEAST 1g per pound body weight.

    All that said, I am assuming you are not intending to bulk up like a bodybuilder. You cannot both lose weight and gain weight at the same time. By this I mean, you are not going to grow muscle WHILE you lose fat. If you ensure that you are taking in more protein than carbs or fat in a day, you will force your body to use fat stores during cardio activity rather than breaking down as much muscle. This is how you can maintain muscle tone while you cut down fat. Again, the 40/30/30 may be best for you.

    I summed it all up pretty simply, but if you want to know more about what different macro intake percentages can do you should look at websites such as bodybuilding dot com. They have information on building muscle that may help explain what I said, it's where I learned it. None of this is a professional or medical opinion, it's just from my own research and experience. Good luck!
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I think MFP primarily targets people who want to lose weight. It doesn't seem at all directed at building, or even maintaining muscle mass. I don't necessarily think eating more protein could have any adverse effects to any of the members on this site. However, if eating more protein means going over your daily goal then you will likely slow your weight loss progress.

    You would be wrong about it not having adverse affects on any MFP members. I've read many posts from members with Diabetes or Insulin Resistance. Since both of these can affect your kidneys, eating a lot of protein could damage cause kidney damage for people with these diseases. Before eating outside medical recommendations everyone would be wise to consult a physician, but especially those with any type of medical disorder.
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
    There are many diets that are all over the place on the protein front. According to wikipedia and a few articles I've read that people can suffer from protein related deficiencies below (I think it was) 46, so I would try to eat at least that. Most people go by some ratio related to your lean body mass. I try to switch it up. I find if I have at least 80 grams of protein my nails stop cracking off. I find that if I have 140 grams of protein in one day I feel uncomfortable. I'm 120...not exactly sure where my lean body mass is but based on BIA and BMI and army defense circumference calculators my body fat is around 17%-25%.
  • Lennox497
    Lennox497 Posts: 242 Member
    I like the 1g per body weight method. You can adjust your settings on MFP to match your intended intake.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    Great info here from one of our members who is a Certified Personal Trainer and Sports Nutritionist with a Bachelors Degree in Excercise Physiology and Minor in Nutrition. Bottom line, Tonya knows her stuff!
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/TrainingWithTonya

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