Hi all,
I read that if you eat too much protein and don't burn it off it is stored as fat. Is this true?

Yes, excess calories of any sort ... that are not used ... are stored as fat.

How do I know how much protein to consume?

Hi Sara - I agree with Susan...any excess calories will be stored as fat. However, here's one thing that's special about protein (and why it is not generally stored as fat). Protein is thermogenic. What that means is that it produces heat to digest. For instance, if you eat 100 grams of protein, it takes 30 grams just to digest itself. Also, protein is metabolized slowly and is used to feed muscles. So, if you are somewhat active (exercise 3-4 days per week for 20-30 min), you probably won't have a problem with protein storing as fat. To answer your question about how much...1 gram of protein per pound of body weight is what is recommended in the industry if your exercising regularly. Otherwise, you will not need that much. Hope this helps. Joyce

i am a lapbander and my dr said there is never too much protein. i am on a diet that is 80-90 protein a day. of course no carbs or sugar so that is why so much protein. i would ask you nut or dr.

Although nothing can substitute for a qualified doctor or nutritionist evaluation and prescription. In the absence of any medical conditions (i.e., people with certain kidney/liver problems may experience problems on a high-protein diet), there is much advice out there (written word) about nutrition. I've read many books (including Akins NDR) and I agree with another post by Jerseygyrl that since his passing, Atkins Nutritionals has become somewhat of a "supplement pimp" (i.e., pushing their shakes and bars more than whole foods). Here's a link to a very good book written by Tom Venuto (world renoun and 15+yr veteran all-natural bodybuilder) entitled "Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle". Is it an E-book that is rated #1 and worth every penny. It focuses more on 'real world experiences' and gives you simple explanations such as your OP...how much protein do I need. Here's an exerpt from the book on this:

"Out of twenty amino acids,the human body can make eleven of them. These are called non-essential amino acids (Also known as "dispensable amino acids). The other nine amino acids are called "essential amino acids: or "indispensable amino acids") Essential amino acids are those which can't be manufactured by your body and must be supplied from your food."

It goes on to list the 11 amino acids your body can produce and the 9 your body can't produce.

Then, it goes on to explain why you must eat "complete" proteins (all 20 amino acids) every three hours.

And...lastly, it goes on to answer the age-old question, What is the optimal protein intake for fat loss and muscle building:

"We will probably never have conclusive scientific proof of what the "optimal" protein intake is for gaining muscle and losing fat. That's why I believe the best place to look for answers in not necessarily at the research from the laboratory, but at the athletes "in the trenches" who have already achieved what you want to achieve. Bodybuilders and fitness models are among the leanest athletes on earth. Probably the only athletes who ever get as lean are those in ultra-endurance sports such as marathons and triathalons. The difference is that the bodybuilders reach the same low body fat levels while holding on to their muscle! A six-foot male marathoner could be a buck forty soaking wet! That's why it makes sense to find out what the bodybuilders are doing and use them as your role models...

He goes on to say:

"There are times when high protein intake is necessary. These include:

1) When you are trying to gain muscular body weight;
2) When you are using a low carbohydrate diet for fat loss;
3) When you are "carbohydrate sensitive"

Given researchers recent discovery of 0.8 grams per 1 lb of body weight as the recommended protein allowance, I'd say that's pretty close to the standard of 1 gram/1 lb of body weight that bodybuilders have been using for decades and with great results I might add.

Hope this information helps. If you are interested in reading more, you can find Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle at www.burnthefat.com. Good luck. Joyce

Even if you're low-carbing, a diet journal can be very helpful. By writing down everything you eat, when the scale doesn't show a loss, you can review the journal. You may not know what to look for at first, but over time you will see patterns emerging. Do certain carbs cause a bigger stall than others, even if you keep the total carbs within limit? Do you see a lot of salt (is it water retention)? Are you eating a lot more of a specific food or overall a bigger quantity than usual?

Ultimately, the scale is your judge. You can't always pinpoint gains or stalls to one day or even one week's eating, and it may take some trial and error to learn what you have to do about it.

I find that I do have to count calories as a backup. I can eat a lot more calories low carbing (my journal proved it to me, so that was kind of cool) and still lose weight. But, I don't consider myself a typical dieter either. I've been dieting most of my 42 years (since age 5), and much of that was crash dieting. I've also got health issues (perhaps because of abusing my body so badly when I was younger) and am on disability. My metabolism has pretty much shut down, and I am not yet able to do alot of exercise. It's rather frustrating, because what I'm eating just to maintain my weight, would have resulted in very rapid weight loss in college (I'm not sure I could have eaten as little as I'm eating now and have been able to function). Also, although I'm less hungry on low carb, I don't, and don't think I have ever had a functioning hunger-control center. "Satisfied" just doesn't compute to me.

I don't think most people have to count calories and low carb, so I'm not advocating that you do so. But there doesn't seem to be any way around "trial and error." You have to see what works for you by doing it. If you're following your low carb plan and losing weight and feeling good, you don't have to worry about it. If you're not losing, or not feeling well then you have to start tweaking. That's the biggest reason a journal helps, because you can go back and decide and test your chosen tweak.

Just don't tweak every week. Our weight loss isn't always dependent upon what we ate in the past 7 days, sometimes it takes longer for patterns to appear.

Thanks guys! All the info was very helpful. Tomorrow I'm starting a low carb plan with a nut. I think having somebody monitor my weekly efforts will give me motivation. I just got back from a cruise on Saturday. By then I was almost at 3 weeks with Atkins. I did pretty good on the cruise. Stayed away from the 24hour pizza, didn't eat hamburgers or fries. I ate all meat and salad but I did indulge in dessert at dinner every night. Then I get home last night and binged. lol Why was I so good on the cruise and ruined it last night??

Yeah but in doing Atkins I'm eating a lot more protein than normal.

Again I must say, it really depends on your goals. If you are looking to gain muscle, then depending upon the amount of cardio/weight training you are doing, YOU WILL NEED MORE PROTEIN! The RDA has within the past decade revamped their guidelines for daily recommended allowances of protein to .8 grams per 1 lb of bodyweight. I, myself, am looking to gain muscle like a fitness model, therefore it's at least 1 gram/1 lb for me. If your sedentary, then you won't need as much protein. Remember, protein is the building block of muscle. You biologically cannot gain metabolism increasing muscle eating FAT or CARBS...however, by eating sufficient amounts of PROTEIN (combined with a good exercise program), you WILL gain muscle. Protein is not stored like Carbs or Fat and needs to be replinished about every 3 hours...otherwise, depending upon your activity level, the body begins to feed on other things such as your own muscle, fats consumed or carbs consumed.

I've never been a fan of keeping a food journal (thought it was too time consuming and unnecessary), but I do know now that is absolutely the wrong attitude. I totally agree with Kaplods as far as keeping a journal...as sometimes you really don't realize how much and just the macros of what you are eating. This is important as many times during dieting, you hit stalls. Diet is generally the cause. If you don't know exactly what your eating and how much, it's hard to pinpoint the cause. Also, while Atkins does have higher fat macros than other diets, it is not a license to go all out with the FAT...remember, there are good and bad fats...and also remember that too much sodium is not good for you and will cause you to retain water (another quiet staller).

It would be great if all we had to worry about was Carbs...but unfortunately, it's just not so. Hope this helps. Joyce

Well, there are some vegan bodybuilders who eat 10% of their calories as protein who would disagree.

Perhaps they're one of the few gifted "mesomorphs' However, it still is a matter of biology...FAT cannot turn into muscle no more than MUSCLE can turn into fat. Carbohydrates are used as "fuel" and if not used will convert to FAT. I'm not familiar with the vegan lifestyle (other than the little my sis told me when she was practicing), so I won't speak on that. However, I do know that there are soooo many types of Vegans (there are Vegans who also eat fish/shellfish, tofu, high protein supplements all which are very high in protein). There are Vegetarians who bodybuild...it's not my point that you have to be a carnivore to gain muscle successfully, it is my point that you need to consume quality complete proteins to do so.