Protien How Much?

In reading the Optimum Nutrition magazine that came with my samples, 1 article states that to maintain weight, a man should consume 1g of protien for every pound of weight.  So if a man weighs 200 lbs he should consume 200g of protien a day?  Is this the accepted formula?  So durring my pre-surgury liquid diet I should consume 200g of protien if that is my ultimate goal in weight? Please advise.

Hey, my nutritionist told me post surgery I should get between 80 and 100 grams of protein a day. She said that this is what she tells people for all guys. Women have to take in less since their food needs are different. I would double check with your docs office to be safe but I still have trouble getitng in 100 grams of protein a day without eatting a high protein bar or drinking it from like Unjury or something. Hope this helps!!!

Man U R on the ball!! My surgeon's program had men on 60+ gms a day, 60 being minimum.  I didn't get that at first.  I thought 60 was my goal.  At the three month mark and feeling weak and exhausted, I discovered what you have discovered.  60 gms is a minimum and 1 gm per 1 pound of DESIRED/GOAL weight is in fact recommended. So if your goal weight is 200 lbs, you should try to get in 200gms of protein.  But in the beginning, the first say,...4 weeks after surgery, your capacity is so little, 60 is a real good starting point.  Of course with the liquid vials of protein and the ever advancing protein technology, getting in more helps to maintain your muslce mass so the body doesn't cannabilize muscle tissue for protein consumption.  Excess protein can only be passed not stored by the body.  Danger,...excessive protein intake without minimum of 64 oz of water intake daily can lead to kidney stones.  Gotta keep that system flushed!  Kudos on the info.

I've heard about 20 different forumulas and opinions all with a good argument for why they are right.  I use 1 gram per desired weight, because I malabsorb protein and because work out.  If I didn't, I'd say 1 gram per lb of lean body mass (which means subtract out fat weight).   The best way to judge if your getting enough protein is your blood work done by your surgeon post op. Scott

Jack, Some "Protien Sales Sites" may say gm per pound, but that is typically considered overkill unless you are SERIOUSLY hitting the weights. 1gms protein per evry kilogram of body mass, is more typical. My own intake was 100gms minimum daily to 120gms. (per Docs orders) I tend to run on and digress into l-o-n-g drawnout descriptions, So, here's a "cut/paste" of a fairly complete yet succinct explanation from Ardbeg sometime back--- Sorry, it just saves a hell of a lot of typing.... _______________________________________________________________________ This aurthor (like many other informed sources), says that normal people need 0.8 g/kg body mass per day.  The author further suggests 1.0 to 1.2 g/kg for endurance athletes.  Am I an endurance athlete?  No, but I figure the traumas of surgery, rapid weight loss, and strength training plus significantly increased cardio (though not high in the abstract) add up to needing more than the standard RDA. I'd be tempted to use 1.0g/kg.  But there is also the fact that studies suggest RNY patients don't absorb as much as 20% of our protein.  So I use the upper end of that range, 1.2g/kg, as my target. Of course, the "body weight" figure is based on a normal body composition.  Having lots of fat doesn't change your protein needs much.  So one approach would be to use your idea body weight instead of your actual body weight.  That's probably close enough, but I prefer to calculate based on my current lean body mass, which may be higher than it will be when/if I reach an "ideal weight."  I want to "feed" all my muscle I have now, not just the part I hope to keep.  Using my body fat scale, for example, my last weight of 274 at 35% body fat means I have an LBM of 178 pounds.  I then multiply that my 1.235 (which estimates what I would weight with an LBM of 178 at 19% body fat) which gets me to 219.9 pounds.  I multiply that by .454 to convert to kilograms, and then multiply that by 1.2g/kg.  So right now my goal is about 120 g per day of protein. _______________________________________________________________________ all I could add is- "Yeh, what he said!" Best Wishes- Dx

OK I was just looking for a guideline as I want to try the liquid diet for a week just to see how it goes and shed some lbs. while I'm waiting for my surgury date.  I will apply your forumla to my lean body weight and see what happens. Thanks.

On the back of the protein powder bottle it will say for optimum effect 1g per pound of body mass is reccomended

Of course it does.  They are selling you the bottle.  They want you to consume as much as you can, thus having to buy more.  But we have to take into account that this is a sports nutrition company and all of their ads and magazines have bodybuilders on them.  So if you are pumping big time weights then maybe that formula is true.

Here's some reliable info, from a couple of doctors that aren't selling anything.  Keep in mind their recommendations are based on people who are relatively lean.  For the obese, your needs go up a bit because you also probably have extra muscle, but they don't follow the linear formulas because extra fat doesn't require much (if any) protein.  At 6'0" 253 (currently), I shoot for about 120 grams a day.  Anything 100-140 and I don't worry about it too much. How Much Protein Do You Need?

Great thanks.  Ok so at 6ft 7in and 335 I will probably need a little more then you right?  I'm gonna try different levels and see what the outcome is. Thanks.