Get your Metabolism going

[FattyNatty29]

Ya'll are saying that people should eat 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight everyday. I get it but is that for severly overweight people too?? That would mean that I need 246 grams of protein a day. Ive taken out all white, refined carbs, alcohol, soda, breads, ect. walking moderate-fast for 1 hour every day and strength training 3 x week. If thats right about protein intake for me and my weight specifically and im trying to drop 100 lbs or so any suggestions on how to get that much protein in and still lose weight? also, i find it very interesting and that it makes a ton of sense of eating carb heavy in morning and reducing at night. thanks for that info!

[tandoorichicken]

I think the "rule" applies to lean body mass only... fat is metabolically inactive, relatively speaking. Muscle, on the other hand, is always breaking down and rebuilding itself, so needs a steady supply of protein on hand so it doesn't start cannibalizing the neighboring muscles. So for a 200lb guy who's 25%bf (50lbs), he could take 150g protein/day. (same goes for women, there's no gender differences here).

I find eggs and whole milk to be my favorite protein sources. I also use Trader Joe's vanilla whey in my morning oatmeal to boost my intake, plus it has a nice flavor so I don't have to add any sugar. I eat a fair bit of meat as well personally, the "problem" being that it's quite filling compared to the above.

[FattyNatty29]

okay thanks! one more question though: do you suggest eating protein equation for what weight Im aiming towards or for what my weight is now?

[tandoorichicken]

I'd say go for as much protein as you would have at your target weight, the reason being, your body will only use as much protein as it needs to function, build muscle, etc. and then as for the rest, most of it will be excreted through the urine. It won't kill your kidneys like some might claim unless you already have moderate to severe kidney dysfunction, but it will still essentially be a waste because it won't be absorbed. A little bit might get turned into glucose, but it's not a very efficient process so we can ignore that. For most people, 150-200g/day is probably plenty and in practice it's hard to get to that level because the food is just so darn filling. But for weight loss, that ain't a problem because you still end up eating less overall.

Good luck!

-Nik

[lrmmyers]

All excess protein which is broken down and absorbed is turned to glucose and stored as fat if not used. The protein excreted in the urine is the portion of proteins that cannot be broken down by your body (approximately 25%).

[tandoorichicken]

@lrmmyers,

Gluconeogenesis is not a very efficient process. If you load up on too much protein you're more likely to excrete it than store it as fat. It's much easier for the body to just pull it out of the bloodstream as ammonium salts and urea with some water than to go through the multi-step process of conversion to glucose and then from glucose through the liver into glycerol. Somewhere along that line you'll either excrete it or burn it up rather than store it as fat. Unless you're on a very low carb diet, I don't imagine that you'll be turning protein into carb by the quantity.

-Nik