Protein

I exercise 5X a week at the gym. I do 45 minutes of cardio and about a 30 minutes of  strength training every day. I was told to take in a min of 68 grams of protein and NO MORE than 88 grams. Shouldn't I be increasing it because of how often I'm working out? I am trying to build muscle...not just tone up. Along with losing weight still. I am 7 months post op and down to 196 from 302 the day of surgery. I have been at a plateau for 3 weeks now but this week I am changing up the routine and trying to do more at home as well. So we'll see if that helps. Any ideas would be great!

I do 180 to 200 gms of protein a day.  Weight stable. I feel better. Your mileage may vary but I'd say an increase would help you too.  But I'm not a professional, so,.....

Finally...a woman that wants to build muscle and eat more protein.  I'm not sure what your lean weight is, but upping your protein increases your metabolism, just make sure to decrease your carbs to make up the calories. (you still have to watch the calories to lose fat). I've had people do nothing extra but eat more protein and kick start the fat loss again. I think most  hard working women need 120 to 150 grams of protein (that's only 480 to 600 calories from protein so don't tell me that's too much) if you're training hard. NUTS sometimes have this RDA thing, mine even told me I should not get more than 80 grams of protein. Bull**** If you're lying on a couch all day or weigh 85 pounds like most NUTS do maybe 80 grams is enough. RDA is a minimum to stay healthy btw...not for building muscle. If you're goal is building muscle I would cut the workouts down to 3 or 4 and lift heavier...increase the intensity and rest. You build muscle while you rest, not while you workout. Good luck Earl

Wow! Thanks for the tips. I'm going to up the protein for sure then. I have been lifting heavier with fewer reps at 3 sets so we'll see if all this together helps. THANKS SO MUCH!!!! )