Too Much Protein?
 

I know calorie counting websites are just a guide, but I use the Live Strong/Daily Plate site and today (though I'm sure it's happened before but the new layout makes it more noticeable) it told me that I have eaten 124% of my recommended protein. I also have had 80% of my recommended fat and 60% of recommended carbs. They take what you're expected to have on a 2000 calorie diet and scale it down to suit your calorie goal - mine is 1532 per day and I eat closer to 2000-2200 on weekends.

Anyway, my question is - surely it is better to have too much protein than too little? Mine today came mostly from an egg, two white + fiber wraps (they didn't have any whole wheat at the store because they were on offer but I usually would be eating WW!), and about half a pint of skimmed milk. I'm surprised because I didn't even have any chicken or anything like I probably would on a regular day. How much is too much?

I'm not particularly concerned but I thought I ought to ask just in case I should be.

i follow:
40% carbs
30% protein
30% fat

now, how that gets further calculated i am not sure,

but from what you wrote i am not really sure if your numbers add up.. are you sure you typed in all the right amounts?

i once almost got a heart attack when i looked at the software i use and saw the total of calories it gave me for a day, until i realized i had typed in
"160 chicken breasts" instead of "160grams OF chicken breast"

:O

LOL that would give me a heart attack too!

The totals are the percentage from the recommended daily amount, so of the total they recommend in your diet per day. My percentages are 49.98% carbs (it was a carb-heavy day for me today), 32.7% fat, 17.32% protein. This confuses me because today's percentage of protein is quite low but the amount it says at the bottom is over 100% of the recommended for the day.

Does this make any sense?

TDP bases the percentages on a 46g of protein for a 2000 cal day for women. I almost always show as way over my protein goal.

I try for 40/30/30, but end up closer to 50-60/30-25/20-15 most days.

The numbers you are looking at aren't a total like that though, you are just looking at a percentage of your RDA consumed I think. In your example you have consumed 80% of the fat & 60% of the carbs recommended. If you look over to the right at the pie chart it will tell you what percentage each nutrient is of your total calories consumed - that is where the 40/30/30 or whatever ratio comes in.

There are arguments for and against too much protein. I tend to go higher because of my exercise level. I also feel sluggish if I eat too little.

Simulpost.

The pie chart shows what percentage protein was of your total calorie intake. The percentage at the bottom shows how much you have consumed of the daily RDA. Totally different stats. You are currently at 17.32% protein as a percentage of total calories, even though you have eaten more than RDA.

It's the difference in stats that confuses me, because obviously I have eaten what I would consider to be very little protein today compared to what I probably would have, and yet it's telling me I'm over. So my way of thinking is, surely if that percentage was higher, it would say I was waaay higher on a typical day. This is why I thought I'd ask to see what you guys thought.

Well our bodies don't actually need a lot of protein so it is easy to go over the RDA of protein. I'm vegan and go over the RDA of protein every day.

Okay, thanks for the input guys. :) I've always tracked WW points and am new to counting calories and using a website that keeps track of more than just points!

If you got in your good health guidelines when you were counting points, you would have 6 oz. of lean protein and 2-3 servings of dairy every day.

Okay, thanks Quilter. I tried with the guidelines, but I got 19 points a day and struggled to get them all in.

I always go way over on protein, even before I changed my diet to include more protein.

TDP uses the RDA for protein as people have indicated. However, from what I've gleaned from the internet (too lazy to look for references) is that highly active people need more protein. There are some stats floating around that suggest between 0.8gm and 1.2gm /pound protein in highly active people. Whether or not it is necessary to eat that much, I am for that range and it is comfortable for me, and generally get about 25% of my calories from protein in a normal day (between 1500 and 2000 cal).

Also, unless your calories intake is greater than your expenditure, and you aren't eating ONLY protein (which you are not) then there is no problem with extra protein. Increasing the percentage of protein and fat and reducing the percentage of carbs within their calorie range (points, whatever) is generally helpful for people to provide longer satiety from meals than carb heavy meals.

I tend to go by ~0.73g of protein per pound of lean body mass for women. Don't ask me to cite where I got that figure, because I sure can't remember. From a weight lifting site somewhere I think.