too much protein?

hello,...this is probably a dumb question but is there such a thing as getting too much protein?  i am almost 6 mo out and have lost 85lbs (had rny) and i take in from 850-950 calories a day...with my protein shake i take in anywhere from 75-100 grams of protein a day...i read somewhere that too much protein will put weight on...is this true?  i also do circuit training for 45 min 5 days a week and i'm always active...thanks for any input... ' lizzie

Too much of anything will put on weight, however, 100gms of protein is not too much. Carla

Thanks Carla - right on! I find often that people get caught up in the fat vs. protein vs. carbohydrate as the cause for weight gain or loss.  The reality is that your wonderful body has the ability to digest and utilize all of these nutrients.  The thing that makes you gain/lose weight has to do with total calories (regardless of the source) and body metabolism (which is greatly affected by exercise). Carbohydrates have 4 calories per gram Protein has 4 calories per gram Fat has 9 calories per gram Fat gets picked on because it has more than twice the number of calories compared to protein and carbs.  We still need fat in our diet because your body depends upon specific fatty acids to build healthy cells. Carbs get picked on because they are the root of all evil (just kidding...).  There have been generations of diets that have promoted the notion that all carbs are bad and make you fat.  It is true that carb based foods are easy to overeat.  Consider that a serving of pasta is 1/2 cup - most people eat closer to two cups of pasta on spaghetti night (maybe not with your pouch - but bear with me here).  Americans eat tons of sugar, cake, ice cream, soda - these non-nutritive, high calorie sources of energy are completely over-consumed. So blame sugar, which is a type of carbohydrate, but leave out fruits vegetables and whole grains. Protein, ah protein!  Post-op everyone on the bariatric team sings the praises of protein.  If you are on an "atkins-type" diet, the more protein the better.  Most (fad)diets at present are protein based.  Now, I'm not going to say there's anything wrong with that.  Protein is extremely important post WLS - because your intake is reduced dramatically (with most surgeries) and you must get protein from outside sources in order to maintain healthy muscles and organs.  If you get enough protein - great!  If you don't get enough calories, you will burn some of your protein for energy.  If you get too much protein, your body will store it.   When most post-op people are taking in 1000 calories a day, it is unlikely that you are going to be getting too much of anything.  Weight loss will stall from time to time (plateaus).  It remains important to get adequate protein.  Too much protein would be in the range of 1.5-2 gram per kilo of body weight.  I doubt that your 100 gram is in that realm - unless you presently weigh 110 -145 lbs.