how much protein should I be eating?

[wanderlusty]

Okay so I'm 5'6" and weigh 206 lbs. I have 125 lbs of lean body weight.

Right now my main goal is to burn fat and preserve the muscle that I've got (and gain strength as possible). I lift weights 3x a week do some cardio daily and long moderate intensity sessions 3x a week. I'm trying to eat 1,800 cals a day, which I hope will give me a 500 cal deficit.

About how much protein do you recommend?

 

[wanderlusty]

the stick thread for beginners says 1 g protein per pound of body weight.. well I'm having a tough time getting over 100 g of protein... is this gonna be a big problem?

 

[tripleV]

not really...

some egg whites, can of tuna, lean meat for dinner, maybe a shake or bar. It adds up.

there is a nutrition calculator hyperlink http://mastercook.sierrahome.com/tools/NutritionCalculator.jsp

 

[tripleV]

oh and btw, see how you answered your own question by reading the sticky post! You go girl!

 

[wanderlusty]

well i'm not bulking, so do I really need all that protein?

i'm kinda a carb junky.. not a huge fan of meat, not a fan at all of fish or eggs!! I've been eating chicken, turkey, lots of soy, and lots of legumes for my natural protein, and adding protein bars, shakes, and protein powder wherever possible.. but I'm ending up in the 125-140 g range. Is this enough to preserve the muscle I have?

 

[new@gettinbig]

Keep your protein sources clean along w/ your carb sources....stay away from processed foods and any kind of junk food Keep a journal of your diet.....can you post a sample of a daily diet for yourself??

 

[wilson6]

Bulking = getting fat

Eating carbs = Bulking

Therefore, carbs, not protein will bulk you up.

Protein is very difficult to turn into fat and increases metabolic rate when consumed. In addition, it helps to maintain muscle during times of dieting.

Eating lean food sources of protein is best as it takes energy to digest the food. If you just consume whey protein, it's in and out, raises insulin and has little thermic effect (calorie burning) associated with its consumption/digestion. There is no better source of protein and nutrients in my book than a 16 oz lean filet, although chicken and low-fat fish are also good.

W6

 

[SuperBug]

Hmm..I've got a question to tack on here...I've been trying to keep tabs on the amount of protien I am taking in and adjusting according to my weight. The sticky post for beginners says, "Eat at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight"...I'm fine with that, except I also read in a couple of different places (one might have been in a thread here?) that it should be 1 gram of protien per pound of lean body mass (muscle).....the difference in those two figures, in my case, is very large. What is the concensus?

P.S. I will go and try to find the pages/links to the sites/posts where I read that and post them here....

 

[wanderlusty]

my nutrition for one day:

Meal 1:
Small piece of cantaloupe 22 kcal
1.5 c Oatmeal 225 kcal
+ soy protein powder 39 kcal

Meal 2:
Apple banana 92 kcal
Carb Solutions Bar 230kcal
1 c. Red Beans & Rice Soup 170kcal

Meal 3:
2 c. Light soy milk 120 kcal
+Indian chai protein shake powder 120 kcal
1 Whole wheat Naan 220 kcal
1 c (or so) Jodhpur Lentils 190 kcal

Meal 4:
1.5 c Garden salad 33 kcal
3 oz Chicken Breast Strips 220 kcal
2 c Edamame 120 kcal

1803 kcal, 215 g carb, 141 g protein, 41 g fat

too much sodium, not enough veggies, and one less meal than I'm aiming for.

 

[poohbear]

Bulking = getting fat

Eating carbs = Bulking

Therefore, carbs, not protein will bulk you up.

Protein is very difficult to turn into fat and increases metabolic rate when consumed. In addition, it helps to maintain muscle during times of dieting.

BS! extra calories turn into fat.

 

[wanderlusty]

yeah I don't see how I could possibly gain weight on my diet because I'm only eating like 1,800 calories! I'm curious too about whether we ought to be eating 1g per bodyweight or 1g per lean mass weight.

 

[poohbear]

I'm probably going to get flamed for this, but there hasn't been scientific evidence to support that the body needs more than 2 gram of protein per kilo of body weight. That breaks down to .9g per pound, right. It's easier for me to use body weight to calculate protein needs than LBM. Frankly, I haven't stumbled into that research either. At your current weight you're going to need 206*.9=185g of protein. Adjust as you start losing weight.

Also, don't worry if you do gain a little weight with 1800. Remember that muscles weighs more than fat, considering that same amount of space is taken. I would increase the cardio to longer sessions at least 4x a week and up the intensity on your lifting. Can't get anywhere curling 2.5lbs.

... I have to go somewhere. I'll continue this later

 

[wanderlusty]

well i'm curling slightly more than 2.5 pounds. My upper body is pretty weak still, but I do as much weight as I can. No toning for this girl My lower body is not bad though.. maybe from having to deal all this extra weight for so long! I did 11 reps of 275 lbs on the leg press yesterday Not too bad for two months of lifting.. i think. Actually I have no idea if that's good or not.. but it *feels* good

I did 100 min of cardio today with my hr between 130 and 160 bpm. That enough?

185 g huh.. well that's gonna be a challenge.. but i'll do my best Thanks for the advice.

 

[poohbear]

I did 100 min of cardio today with my hr between 130 and 160 bpm. That enough?
185 g huh.. well that's gonna be a challenge.. but i'll do my best Thanks for the advice.

That's an excellent session. The 2.5lbs was just a figure of speech. Anyhow, you're doing a great job. The diet will come in time. Keep up the good work

 

[tripleV]

that's great wanderlusty, you are on your way girl!

 

[tripleV]

my nutrition for one day:

Meal 1:

1.5 c Oatmeal 225 kcal

Just occured to me, that's alot of oatmeal girl. I eat 1/2 cup and it fills my bowl and it's so filling.

ANd the nutrional value I have is 117 cal/490 kJ per 3/4 cup and you're eating half that. What's a kilocal comparatively?

 

[poohbear]

What's a kilocal comparatively?

the kilocal is also known as the Calorie, which we normally use as a measure of energy in foods. Ex: 1 gram of carbs = 4 Calories. The calorie with little see is mostly used, as you know, but instead of measure of heat it takes to raise 1 kg of water 1 degree celsius, it's only 1 gram of water.


So, your 117 cal is also 117 kcal or 117 Cal

 

[Phemomena]

i'm assuming that that oat meal is 1.5 cups cooked, probably about 1/2 to 2/3 cup dry... (i use 50 ml which is just under a third of a cup - which comes in at about 120 cals)

 

[wilson6]

Hey Pooh,

Add 200 grams of extra carbs a day to your diet for 4 weeks. Get in the UW weigh tank before and after. Then lose the fat. After you're back to baseline, add 200 grams of extra protein to your diet for 4 weeks. Check it again. Let me know if the results are the same. Bet they are not.

I'd adjust protein to LBM. Pooh is correct, any kcals above what is expended with be stored, although protein is the most labor intensive for the body to convert to fat. Thus, if you're bodyfat is high and you base your protein intake on total body mass, it may be too much, or comprise too high a percent of your total calories.


W6

 

[wanderlusty]

yeah it's 1.5 cups cooked, and .75 cups raw

I'm not sure why I use kcal sometimes... a weird habit I picked up I guess. In a sense it IS more correct than cal.. but everybody knows what you mean when you use cal, so that's probably a better word to use (can you tell I'm a linguistics major?)

 

[poohbear]

Hey Pooh,

Add 200 grams of extra carbs a day to your diet for 4 weeks. Get in the UW weigh tank before and after. Then lose the fat. After you're back to baseline, add 200 grams of extra protein to your diet for 4 weeks. Check it again. Let me know if the results are the same. Bet they are not.

I'd adjust protein to LBM. Pooh is correct, any kcals above what is expended with be stored, although protein is the most labor intensive for the body to convert to fat. Thus, if you're bodyfat is high and you base your protein intake on total body mass, it may be too much, or comprise too high a percent of your total calories.

W6

Currently, your proposal sounds absolutely ridiculous. There are just too many variables to consider: age, metablolism, type of carbs, type of protein, diet prior, activity level, etc. And who in their right mind would want to gain weight, lose, gain and lose to see if there is a difference.

Anyhow, we can argue back and forth and probably come up with citations to support both our claims, but the truth is I'm a carb pusher and you're a protein pusher.

WL, the best thing for you to do is experiment on yourself and see which macronutrient works best for you and at what percentage. 1800 calories may be too little. Figure out your maintenance intake before adjusting. Unfortunately, this takes time. Once you adjust your intake to a few hundred less than you need and add exercise you will lose weight regardless of whether you're taking in more carbs than protein or vice versa.