I understand that excess protein can cause you to stop losing weight.. can too LITTLE of protein do the same?

currently on average,according to fitday.com, im getting 83.66 g..

acccording to my calculations I should be getting 118-135 g..

CALC:

.36 x body weight = 75.6 (repair protein)
<at start your brain needs 100 g of carbs, but after 3 wks on plan, my brain needs 45 g of carbs>
45 - 20 (carbs in my diet) = 25 carbs needed to be supplied by conversion from dietary protein
25 divided by .58 (only 58% of protein is converted to carbs) = 43.10 (carb protein)
add repair protein to carb protein
add to this 10-20 for margin of error

75.6 + 43.10 +15 = 133.7

so.. whats your opinion?

thanks!

what are you eating? Yes...if you don't get enough protien it can effect weight loss.

you could prob up it a bit.
I've been losing without problem and we're about the same size. These are my stats for the past month:

Average Calories
source grams cals %total
Total: 1360
Fat: 94 845 63%
Sat: 27 239 18%
Poly: 6 52 4%
Mono: 15 134 10%
Carbs: 20 47 4%
Fiber: 8 0 0%
Protein: 89 356 26%
Alcohol: 14 98 7%

If your protien intake is 20% to 25% of your total calories, you should be okay

All I know re: protein is that if your body does not get enough than not only will you lose weight but you will also lose muscle tone which is one thing you don't want to do. SIgns of this are muscle fatigue, strength and/or endurance lessening, feeling "weak". You should get at least 25% of your calories from Protein. I try to stay around 100 grams a day.

That number seems abit high. Protien Power has you take your lean body mass and then multiply that by .5-.9 depending on activity level to get your target amount of protien. Your lean weight looks around 147 at 210 and 30% body fat. That comes to 73.5 - 132.3 g of protien depending on activity level.

1. Sedentary = 0.5
2. Moderately Active (Physical activity 2-3 times a week for 20-30 mins) = 0.6
3. Active (Organized physical activity for more then 30 mins 3-5 times a week) = 0.7
4. Very Active (Vigorous physicla activity for an hour or more 5 or more times a week) = 0.8
5. Athlete (Athlete in training. hour or more of training 2 times a day) = 0.9

So for sedentry = 73.5
Moderately Active = 88.2
Active = 102.9
Very Active = 117.6
Athlete = 132.3

Yvonne, 100 grams is only 3 ounces.28grams in one ounce.That is obly enough for one meal??This can't be 25% of total calories cause 3 ounces of fish or chicken is like 100 150 calories.Am I missing something?

She is talking about 100 grams of Protein, not 100 grams of whatever meat you are eating. Each meat will be made up of so many grams of fat and so many grams of protein. So if you eat a 100 grams of fish, you don't count that as eating 100 grams of protein.......you have to figure out the protein content of that fish.

I'm with Yvonnne. I seem to do best at 70-100 g of protein. Anymore than that and I seem to gain. It's important to remember excess protein will be converted to glucose in the body.

Unless you are working out regularly and intensely, your protein needs may not be as high as you think. Just my opinion, but I think many people overestimate their activity level.

I'm working on becoming a regular exerciser, but on days I don't my life is very sendentary. I work from home and spend a lot of time sitting on my butt in front of the computer. So I can't go crazy on protein and still expect to lose.

K.

I know that you need about 75 grams for body maintenance which are good to be mostly animal protein (from meats, eggs or dairy) since this is the closest to our body's protein.

Concerning our brain's need for carbohydrate in addition to ketones, this nothing I ever heared of.

The brain doesn't need carbs in addition to ketones. What it needs is a small amount of glucose in addition to ketones. The body can make this glucose without any carbs being consumed at all. It breaks down either fat or protein to do this. (In cases of total starvation, it breaks down its own fat and muscle. What we are trying to do with the Atkins diet is to encourage our bodies to break down their own fat, but to use the protein we eat instead of breaking down our muscles.)

If someone consumed more protein than was needed for tissue repair, the body would break down the "extra" protein into glucose and the brain would prefer that glucose, instead of ketones, for fuel. If enough excess protein was eaten, the person would fall out of ketosis. But keep in mind that it has to be quite a bit of protein.

I assume our body can convert 10% of fat into glucose. Since we eat a large amount of fat rich food, there is no reason to add more protein for this purpose.

The source of the protein we take is more important than its amount. I noticed that If I eat enough lean meat in one day to supply me with 200 grams of protein, I don't get off ketosis, I get into deaper ketosis instead. At the same time if I get 4 glasses of Atkins shake I get off ketosis. If we take it by the label, 4 servings of shake give 8 net grams of carbohydrates, no sugar alcohol and about 80 grams of protein. So the cause of the problem must be the converted protein.

200 g of protein is a LOT! Much more than the recommended amount for even a very active person. Are you assuming high protein intake puts you in deeper ketosis, based on readings from the lipostix?

If so, remember the stick could be reading the fat you ingested - not necessarily level of ketones. 200 g of protein would come along with a substanial amount of fat, even lean sources. No?

K.

so, TOO much protein is as much a problem as too little? I have not lost anything in 3 months - just my initial 12 pounds. Could this be my problem?

Today (which is typical) I had one small flax-seed muffin (receipe from this board) with coffee, 3 eggs scrambled, 2 sausage patties, and two bratwurst for lunch. Lots of fat and about 25% protein so far today. Dinner will probably be meat or fish with a salad.

If we have to limit our protein as well as our carbs, what do I eat????

Don't worry, Mary. Even staying within the recommended daily intake, you still get plenty of protein.

I rarely go over 100 g and feel I still get plenty of protein. I usually have 3-4 strips bacon with my protein shake in the morning. Lunch, 3-4 oz chicken or tuna or similar, 6-8 oz meat at dinner (2 pork chops, nice size steak, 3-4 sausages, etc) along with incidental amounts in snacks.

It does vary depending on your activity level as stated. If you are very, very active, you may need more.

But I think some people overeat protein, thinking meat is a free food, especially on Atkins. If someone is sitting down and eating a 12 oz steak for dinner, after having half a pound of bacon and eggs at breakfast and 2 hamburger patties for lunch, portion control may be an issue.

I think the people most at risk for overdosing on protein are those that skimp on veggies and fat which help to fill you up.

There's my two cents.