Protein how much is too much?

[Ojustaboo]

I was watching a few random youtube vids on Keto, and one site, they said that about 75% of the diet should be from fat and about 20% from Protein and about 5% from carbs.

That got me thinking, I presume that ideally I should be eating more fat than protein?

Does that seem a feasible goal to you folk or am I over thinking things?

If it does affect weight loss, then surely when I have a steak, even with a bit of fat around it, chances are I'm eating more protein than fat?

Which brings me onto the next question, sure most packed foods have protein as well as carbs on them. But what about meat?

20% fat beef mince for example, does that mean it's 80% protein?
Would lamb mince be much more fatty?

How do I tell how much protein is in one cut of meat compared to another?

Many thanks

 

[Brunneria]

Hi @Ojustaboo

Confusing, innit?

The thing to remember with all these % numbers that get thrown around, is that they are talking Energy from food.
Not the weight of the food.

So if you look up a typical steak
https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/300400621
And you look down to the nutrient bit, you will see that there is only 19g protein and 20g of fat per 100g. The rest of the steak is water, vits and minerals. No carbs.

So, if protein has approx 4 calories/g, and fat has approx 9 calories/g
Then you have approx 4x19=76 protein calories per 100g
And that means you have approx 9x20=180 fat calories per 100g
So in that steak, you have 2.5 times as much Energy from fat as Energy from protein.
This equates to approx 80%E from fat, and 20%E from protein.

In that 20% fat beef mince you mention there is 20% fat by weight. The other 80% by weight is lean muscle, but that is made up of protein (18g) and the rest is water.
https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/292291639
The actual Energy percentages are MUCH higher %E from fat than %E from protein.

Hope that made sense!

 

[bulkbiker]

I was watching a few random youtube vids on Keto, and one site, they said that about 75% of the diet should be from fat and about 20% from Protein and about 5% from carbs.

That got me thinking, I presume that ideally I should be eating more fat than protein?

Does that seem a feasible goal to you folk or am I over thinking things?

If it does affect weight loss, then surely when I have a steak, even with a bit of fat around it, chances are I'm eating more protein than fat?

Which brings me onto the next question, sure most packed foods have protein as well as carbs on them. But what about meat?

20% fat beef mince for example, does that mean it's 80% protein?
Would lamb mince be much more fatty?

How do I tell how much protein is in one cut of meat compared to another?

Many thanks

Just eat the steak and forget the macros.. just keep carbs to a minimum..fewer than 20 g per day and you should be fine.

 

[Ojustaboo]

Just eat the steak and forget the macros.. just keep carbs to a minimum..fewer than 20 g per day and you should be fine.

Thanks. The past 4 days I've eaten the following.
Fried mince, two or three fried eggs, cheese melted over the mince for lunch

For dinner, small shoulder of lamb (cheap at the moment in Morrisons) , I'm talking about £2.50 to £3.50 worth, plus my 3 dogs have some, and 100g of cauliflower and 50g of Marrow.

I put butter on the veg before I eat it.

I was 119.2 kg Wed morning (always get up, have a wee, weigh my self in my underpants)
119.7 kg Thu, Fri and today

The previous week it was the same except steak/porkbelly instead of lamb and the weight fell off

50g of Marrow is 0.8g carbs
100g Cauliflower is 2.3 grams
Meat is zero so a max of 4 carbs for my dinner

Mince, 0g,
cheese 0.1g per 100g, I don't weigh it but the block is 350g and it lasts 3 days
Eggs 0.8g per fried egg

In a day where I have 3 eggs and a load of cheese, I'm still not hitting 3g for my lunch.

Only drinking water. Not having breakfast or snacking.

I make that about 7g of carbs a day.

Cant work out why for the last 3 days weight hasn't budged.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Personally I eat whatever protein I want. It is very important for health and fitness. I have never restricted it. The only thing I restrict are carbs. It has worked for me.

 

[bulkbiker]

Thanks. The past 4 days I've eaten the following.
Fried mince, two or three fried eggs, cheese melted over the mince for lunch

For dinner, small shoulder of lamb (cheap at the moment in Morrisons) , I'm talking about £2.50 to £3.50 worth, plus my 3 dogs have some, and 100g of cauliflower and 50g of Marrow.

I put butter on the veg before I eat it.

I was 119.2 kg Wed morning (always get up, have a wee, weigh my self in my underpants)
119.7 kg Thu, Fri and today

The previous week it was the same except steak/porkbelly instead of lamb and the weight fell off

50g of Marrow is 0.8g carbs
100g Cauliflower is 2.3 grams
Meat is zero so a max of 4 carbs for my dinner

Mince, 0g,
cheese 0.1g per 100g, I don't weigh it but the block is 350g and it lasts 3 days
Eggs 0.8g per fried egg

In a day where I have 3 eggs and a load of cheese, I'm still not hitting 3g for my lunch.

Only drinking water. Not having breakfast or snacking.

I make that about 7g of carbs a day.

Cant work out why for the last 3 days weight hasn't budged.

Goes up and down over time.. I can gain or lose 3-4 pounds over a few days easily I’m guessing you didn’t gain consistently so you won’t lose in a straight line either.

 

[Caprock94]

Personally I eat whatever protein I want. It is very important for health and fitness. I have never restricted it. The only thing I restrict are carbs. It has worked for me.

I have done the same. Diagnosed in April with A1C of 8.5%. Just had follow up appointment and my A1C is down to 5.2% I eat a lot of protein. My lab tests showed slightly elevated creatinine. BUN was normal. Never had elevated creatinine before. It was normal at diagnosis and normal 3 months ago. What would cause the slightly elevated number? Could it be my switch in diet? By going low carb, protein became a large percentage of my diet.

 

[Bluetit1802]

I have done the same. Diagnosed in April with A1C of 8.5%. Just had follow up appointment and my A1C is down to 5.2% I eat a lot of protein. My lab tests showed slightly elevated creatinine. BUN was normal. Never had elevated creatinine before. It was normal at diagnosis and normal 3 months ago. What would cause the slightly elevated number? Could it be my switch in diet? By going low carb, protein became a large percentage of my diet.

I hope this question was directed at other posters because I have no idea! Personally mine has been in the middle of the normal range right through, although on my last test in July it had dropped to one point above the bottom of the range, which I am taking as a blip for now. (This was plasma only as I didn't have a urine test in July). I shall wait and see what the next test says.

 

[Member496333]

I'm a firm believer in not combusting too much protein as fuel. Mainly because it has to be converted into glucose in order for this to happen. For me, this means getting the majority of my energy from fat. How much is too much is an impossible question to answer. Not least because it will vary massively between individuals. I'd rather have too much than too little. But not too much...

 

[Mbaker]

Very interesting thread as you have differing views about protein content.

I cycle between LCHF and LCHP, biasing towards HP, as I have upped my resistance training (got another PB last week on the bench press).

My research indicates that the amount of protein recommended is on the low side, and that women in particular should up their amounts.

It is likely that as the Keto methodology was born out of therapeutic use for epilepsy, that higher fat is an underpinning value that has stuck. Dr Ted Naiman advocates LCHP and Dr Paul Salidino goes for LCHF - they are both "ripped" in a muscular sense, so both appear to be right. Like @bulkbiker says, best just to eat the whole food, as nature sets the ratios brilliantly.

Some people struggle on too much fat, so these just need to adjust or maybe try different proteins such as fish. The BUN, Creatine and other measures were set in the context of mixed carbivores so standard numbers most likely do not apply similarly to LDL in the context of low carbing.

 

[pdmjoker]

Cant work out why for the last 3 days weight hasn't budged.

Protein affects blood glucose about half (0.53 times) as much as carbs do. Excess protein will elevate blood-glucose (and consequently HbA1c) and prevent weight loss. Don't know if that helps...

 

[Divia]

Very interesting thread as you have differing views about protein content.

I cycle between LCHF and LCHP, biasing towards HP, as I have upped my resistance training (got another PB last week on the bench press).

My research indicates that the amount of protein recommended is on the low side, and that women in particular should up their amounts.

It is likely that as the Keto methodology was born out of therapeutic use for epilepsy, that higher fat is an underpinning value that has stuck. Dr Ted Naiman advocates LCHP and Dr Paul Salidino goes for LCHF - they are both "ripped" in a muscular sense, so both appear to be right. Like @bulkbiker says, best just to eat the whole food, as nature sets the ratios brilliantly.

Some people struggle on too much fat, so these just need to adjust or maybe try different proteins such as fish. The BUN, Creatine and other measures were set in the context of mixed carbivores so standard numbers most likely do not apply similarly to LDL in the context of low carbing.

Congrats on your PB and thank you for the post. It helped me.

 

[Ellenor2000]

I was watching a few random youtube vids on Keto, and one site, they said that about 75% of the diet should be from fat and about 20% from Protein and about 5% from carbs.

That got me thinking, I presume that ideally I should be eating more fat than protein?

Does that seem a feasible goal to you folk or am I over thinking things?

If it does affect weight loss, then surely when I have a steak, even with a bit of fat around it, chances are I'm eating more protein than fat?

Which brings me onto the next question, sure most packed foods have protein as well as carbs on them. But what about meat?

20% fat beef mince for example, does that mean it's 80% protein?
Would lamb mince be much more fatty?

How do I tell how much protein is in one cut of meat compared to another?

Many thanks

that beef mince would be 80% lean matter. lean meat matter is usually 20% protein.

Unless you have some neurological kaplowy, too much protein is only a concern if you have a rare liver disorder that makes it toxic, or you get to over 40% of your TDEE as protein.

 

[anthony113]

I have done the same. Diagnosed in April with A1C of 8.5%. Just had follow up appointment and my A1C is down to 5.2% I eat a lot of protein. My lab tests showed slightly elevated creatinine. BUN was normal. Never had elevated creatinine before. It was normal at diagnosis and normal 3 months ago. What would cause the slightly elevated number? Could it be my switch in diet? By going low carb, protein became a large percentage of my diet.

 

[Robbity]

I've seen (both here and on Google) figures recommending/suggesting we eat 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight.

But I'd agree with @Bluetit1802, and I've always eaten approximately the same amount of protein whatever my style of "diet". Protein is essentially for body maintenance and repair, and either carbs or fats for fuel/energy, and IMO it's balancing these two that really matters, so for me it's been more or less a case of reducing the carbs and upping the fats to compensate. I mainly rely on my body to confirm what I need, and my meter is a useful tool in this respect.