So the Phase 4 sheet says that we need to eat half of our Lean Body Mass in grams of protein. My lean body mass is 82 pounds, so that is 41 grams or 1.5 ounces!!!!!!!!????? How can that be right? I've been pounding back so much protein on Phase 1, 2 and 3, and for Phase 4 I only need let's say 2 ounces? Is my math way off??

Your math is correct, and 1.5 oz is right. But this is a minimum daily intake, not a maximum.

I have always interpreted that to mean 42g of protein, not 42g weight of protein.

Some examples: 6 oz steak is 42g, 3.5oz chicken breast is 30g, etc

So, it is a little more flexible than the 8oz of protein you have been having in Phase 1.

As Bella stated, the 42g is the minimum (not a maximum goal) for you.

You will be cutting back from the 8oz at Lunch & Dinner that is part of P2 & P3 if you want to add the fats at lunch and the carbs at dinner, but not all the way back to 1.5oz total.

AH! I was only looking at it from a mathematical point of view...I'm only in phase 1 so haven't had to figure any of that out yet. What you are saying makes a lot more sense, thanks for the clarification!

That would be 41 grams of protein. That still is probably not nearly enough (its a minimum and just a guide). You'll get about 39 grams of protein from 3 IP packets (they average 13 grams each)... your dinner of 8oz meat will give you another 40+ grams or so.

This was a very good point thanks! Boy does it add up fast though - I put a typical day of food in Fitday and got over 100 grams of protein! Chicken, Greek yogurt, cheese, etc. of course the carbs add up just as quickly!

I wouldn't worry too much at being at 100g of protein for the day, as long as that still leaves room for fat and carbs (which it should). You can cut portion sizes of protein if you need to, probably somewhere between 41 and 82g is where you should end up, unless you are exercising a lot. I keep reading about anywhere from 1/2 of LM to all of LM depending on your body composition goals.

Definitely the protein requirement is less than it is on Phase 1, but possibly more protein than you might of been eating prior to IP. (At least for me, I wasn't paying enough attention to get in the protein I needed which contributed to needing IP in the first place, along with the overabundance of carbs.)

The OP is talking about phase 4, or maintenance - when you no longer have the 3 packets per day

When you are in Phase 1, eating 3 packets per day plus 8oz meat protein will give you about 90-100g protein per day. Most IP packets are about 15g protein, and 8oz of dinner protein will give you about 30-40g protein.

There is a massive difference between the amount of protein requried to maintain muscle when you're dieting with a steep deficit vs a moderate deficit vs a minor deficit vs maintaining.

Phase four is maintaining and you don't need a lot of protein to maintain muscle in maintinence, depending on your lifestyle and activity level.

Hope this helps.

Always does!! I am back to the weights so I guess I need a bit more because of that, but it's good to know I don't have to pound it back like I have been!!