Protein Intake for Weight Loss

chabutter · 05-05-2006, 07:23 PM

Hi everyone, I have heard many different numbers for the grams of protein needed to lose weight. Can someone tell me, per day- how many grams of protein are needed to lose the weight?

What is this ratio to calories? How many calories do banded people eat? I am quite troubled. I have been on a vegan diet (I eat protein, chickpeas, texturized vegetable protein), and I have been exercising getting plenty of calories but I have not lost one pound.

waterlily1072 · 05-06-2006, 09:30 PM

hmm, your doc should have given you some info on how much protien he wants you to have. I have even heard of the same doc giving different numbers to different people. I'm not sure there is one set answer on how much protien. Most docs seem to work in the range of 56-80. But you should consult your surgeon and dietician for what is best for you.

Jachut · 05-06-2006, 09:41 PM

Your body needs protein - how much depends on things like how much you weigh. But whether or not you need a high protein diet to lose weight is pretty debatable, I really believe eating normal proportions of carbs, protein and fat is good enough, there's no proven scientific evidence behind Atkins, South Beach, The Zone or any of those diets, it just sounds believable becuase of all the scientific mumbo jumbo. What you're eating is probably adequate. Personally I dont find I run well without some carbs and I choose not to follow a high protein way of eating and I'm losing weight just fine and all my blood chemistry is nice and healthy. I dont see the need to up my protein intake.

I reckon eat in a way that makes you feel well and that you find easy to maintain and that's good enough. Worrying about toting up grams of protein or anything else is not really necessary unless its something you like to do - plenty of people feel more in control dieting this way.

Dragonwillow · 05-06-2006, 09:47 PM

A good rule of thumb for most people is your ideal body weight divided by 5, then x that by 2. So 2 grams of protein for every 5lbs of ideal body weight.

So if your ideal body weight is 145 you divide that by 5 and get 29. 29x2= 58...so someone with a ideal body weight of 145 would need 58 grams of protein.

Now here is the problem....most of US are not at our ideal weight...so to maintain CURRENT muscle mass we might actually need more.

Unfortantly, the liver actually converst some of the protein to carbs. Damn bodies get so darn efficient. So eating low carb is essential because part of that protein is actually converting to carbs too.

The more I find out about nutrition...the more it amazes me that I'm not bigger than I am.

DonnaB · 05-06-2006, 10:06 PM

My doctor recommends 60g of protein per day. Protein isn't what makes you lose weight though. Protein keeps you feeling full and satisfied for a longer period of time so you'll eat less frequently - which is how you lose the weight.

Calories consumed vs. calories burned is how is works, no matter what any diet book says. You gotta burn more calories than you consume to lose weight. Period. www.FitDay.com is a great (and free) food log/journal that helps you to calculate your resting metabolic rate and tells you exactly how many calories you may consume on a daily basis and still lose weight. It will even allow you to set a date on which you wish to reach your goal weight and calculates how many calories you must restrict in order to reach your goal by that date. It's pretty cool. I've never been much of a calorie counter or food logger but I'm really seeing a difference since I started using FitDay. Give it look.

Good luck on your weight loss journey!

Telly · 05-06-2006, 10:23 PM

I love this forum. I learn something new everyday. Thank you all for sharing.

Banded Brenda · 05-06-2006, 10:57 PM

Donna is right, it still comes down to calories in versus calories burned.
My nurtionist says 60 grams of protein. But that is because protein helps to build muscle and that's what we want our fat bodies to become. If you add exercise to your day, you'll see a feel the difference. There is a machine that my nurtionist measured my breath with and got my resting metobolic rate to give out exactly how many calories I could consume.
Then I purchased a computer program from her called "Balance Log" that went right on my palm pilot. It records everything for me,and gives me the number of calories, carbs,etc for thousands of food. THAT WORKS.
However, folks I need some help from you. Like everything else it only works if you use it. I've been dealing with a cat dying with leukemia for a week and then my mom (76) fell and broke her hip. I've been literally on the road from 5am to 9pm all week. I hadn't been faithful to recording what I eat. I have tried to keep on exercising for the most part. How do I get myself back on track? I go to the doctor's for a second fill on Tuesday morning. Tomorrow night is the monthly support group meeting. I just can't let myself continue to slip back. Thanks

Banded Brenda · 05-06-2006, 10:58 PM

How do I get back to the Gone for Good Club?

Dragonwillow · 05-06-2006, 11:02 PM

Anyone bought the pc version of fitday? Whats better about it. I have a nutrion log I keep on paper...and sometimes I put it on my food diary online also. I haven't logged anything since my fill because I've been doing liquids....pretty boring...protein shake....protein shake, soup, protein shake...lol. Not sure how they figure the basel temp on fit day...but mine has got to be lower than that. Otherwise I should have dropped ALOT more weight!

DonnaB · 05-06-2006, 11:05 PM

Brenda,

I'm so sorry to hear about your mother and your cat. You're going through a rough time - give yourself permission to fall down on the diet journal for a few days - you'll get back on track. Keep going to your meetings and keep up with your water intake and your food consumption as best you can. You'll start logging again as soon as your life calms down a bit.

Tricia K. · 05-06-2006, 11:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Banded Brenda

How do I get back to the Gone for Good Club?

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f15/gone-good-club-may-2006-a-17793/

:)

DonnaB · 05-07-2006, 12:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dragonwillow

Anyone bought the pc version of fitday? Whats better about it. I have a nutrion log I keep on paper...and sometimes I put it on my food diary online also. I haven't logged anything since my fill because I've been doing liquids....pretty boring...protein shake....protein shake, soup, protein shake...lol. Not sure how they figure the basel temp on fit day...but mine has got to be lower than that. Otherwise I should have dropped ALOT more weight!

I bought the pc version of FitDay and it's a lot better than the freeby version. With the free version the food log doesn't keep the portions when you create custom foods - the downloadable does. The download version has A LOT MORE types of reports - it'll give you more ways to see your patterns. You can set a goal weight date peramiter and FitDay will tell you exactly how many calories you need to restrict to reach that goal by that date. It logs what you eat, who you eat with, what your moods are, food triggers, lots of stuff. It has a place to log your activities, which can also be customized to your daily routine. It's been a while since I used the free version so I'm having a hard time remembering all the differences. The main difference, besides all the different reports, is the custom foods section. You can put all the ingredients to your favorite dish and then click on that one dish instead of having to put each thing in. You can also change the portion size of a dish or food item and the download version will recalulate calories, fat, protein, carbs, nutrients. FitDay has made a big difference in how I eat. I actually plan my meals so I'll be within my caloric limits to maximize weight loss. I can 'cheat' at any given time and see exactly what I need to do to minimize that cheat. In short - I love it.

The downloadable version of FitDay was the best $20 I've ever invested in myself. Much more useful than the $2000 on hypnosis! What was I thinking?

Dragonwillow · 05-07-2006, 07:40 AM

Thanks Donna. Hubby told me to go ahead and download it last night but I wanted to hear that someone else used it and liked it first. I'll buy it today. The scale is finally moving again for me and I want to keep it going.

NJChick · 05-07-2006, 07:52 AM

Also remember, don't try to drink/eat all your protein in one sitting... the body can only absorb so much at a time.

A body builder can absorb more protein than some one like me who sits behind a desk all day.... so break it up. Try not to have more than 30 gms per meal/sitting.

Tamiko · 05-07-2006, 03:34 PM

My doctor just told me to intake 80 grams of protein a day and to drink 64 + oz. of water a day. I have found a place called vitamin shop that sells isopure at a cheaper price and a bottle of that is 40 grams of protein with no sugar and no carbs and I use that for my protein.