[alkali-feldspar]

I signed up with Fitday tonight and they told me to try to stick to around 37.5 grams of protein daily, but because I'm a vegetarian, I tend to eat a lot of beans, legumes and veggiemeats. Today, for example, I added up to 43.5 grams of protein, but I'm not sure if this is detrimental at all.

Is anyone more knowledgeable in this area than I am? I'm not worried so much about not getting enough protein as getting too much...will it hurt me in any way?

[Kelly_S]

I don't remember a lot of my nutritional classes on protein but here is some of what I have:

Protein does not build muscle! Excess protein is converted to fat, not muscle, and the by-product of broken-down protein -- urea --
must be excreted in the urine. hence too much protein can lead to increased urination and dehydration. Most proteins -- hamburger,
cheese, and eggs -- also tend to be high in fat and can (not always but can) increase the chance of long-term healthy problems like
heart disease and cancer.

Athletes require more protein than their sedentary counterparts because it is needed to repair war and tear the well-trained muscles
undergo during a workout.

The average person needs about .8 grams of protein per kilogram or .4 grams of protein per pound.

Protein powders do not give an extra edge in building muscles -- muscles grow by being used or trained with resistance exercises like
weight training.

Filling up to too much protein is easy to do when taking or using protein supplements and the excess will be converted to fat. Amino
acid supplements or enzyme pills are no better. The are broken down in the digestive tract and absorbed similarly to protein. Since
amino acids compete for carriers to be absorbed into the blood, overdoing one type of amino acids can lead to problems longer term by
causing a deficiency in absorption of other amino acids.

[blues4miles]

You'd have to eat a SERIOUS amount of protein for it to be a problem...it's not going to go turning into fat any more than every other kind of food you're eating. Recommended for me on Fitday is something like 50g a day. I know posters on here who aim for 100g a day. More important to me than the grams, is what percentage of my daily calories are protein. I began aiming for 20% (the recommended again I think). Now I am for 30%. Once again, I know some who usu. eat 50%!

[srmb60]

I was just reading at www.stumptuous.com You'll love her by the way. She recommends 105 -120 gms for women per day.
A lot depends on what you're after ... weightloss, fitness, nice toned eye catching muscles ???

[alkali-feldspar]

The link is brilliant! Thank you.