I've read here a couple of times (at least) that you shouldn't have more than 25g Protein at one sitting. What is the general consensus on this (or what has your doctor told you)? With the New-whey 42g protein "shots" I could get a lot of protein at once, but I don't want to damage my kidneys in the process..

I go to my first consult this coming Tuesday (10/14).

Thanks!

I went to the doctor today and he wants me to have 60 grams of Protein per day. I had to talk to the nutritionist, because I don't know how to get that much. I did find a drink at GNC called Isopure which has 40 grams of protein, 0 carbs, 0 sugar, 0 fat and only 160 calories. I like to drink this once in a while so I for sure get my 60 grams of protein per day.

25 grams of protein at one sitting doesn't sound too bad.

sndtee

I dont know if the 25 g of protein thing is accurate or not, but I do know that I don't drink my new whey protein test tube thingy all at once. I put it in my purse and take swigs of it throughout the day. This way, I get a continuous supply of protein and not just one big dose.

I have been wondering the same thing, so I've asked a couple of people at nutrition stores and looked it up online. It seems the body can only process about 30 grams of protein at one time. I dont think it will harm you to have more, one nutritionist told me that you will just "eliminate it". I take the New-Whey protein bullets and divide it in two, mixed with a little crystal light, twice a day. Then if I have meat with dinner, that makes up the *at least* 60 grams of protein in a day. Hope that helps, and if anyone has any other info on this, I'd love to hear.

Unfortunately I don't carry a purse. :-) But I've been thinking about mixing the bullets with water and drinking that throughout the day. That way I get my water and I also get the protein. I've only tried the 25g New-Whey and I hear that the 42g version is a little thick, so diluting it should work.

Everyone is different, some can process only 20g, people like bodybuilders may eat hundreds of grams per meal.

Good news is that excess Protein will not damage your kidneys, that's a myth. It also doesn't make you gain weight as it's low calorie and it takes almost half the calories for your body to process it. Excess protein is eliminated via your digestive tract and you know when you have way too much because, for lack of a better term, you have really stinky farts.

It's better to have a bit too much than too little.

It won't hurt you.

Best is to split it up over the course of a day, especially if your gas can clear the room.

Protein, more than anything else, will make you feel full longer and overall less hungry.

i was warned by my surgeon to stay away from bullets, especially those collagen based. i've never used/tried one - but my trainer did mention if i ever need one; go the whey / soy based route.

apparently there is a big difference in the 2 types of proteins...anyone else hear this??

It is not hard for me to get 60g of protien from food.

It is my understanding that those bullet protien shots are really meant for hardcore athletes when they are trying to build muscle for heavy duty competition.

I recently started training for a 30k race, and my trainer said they were not necessary for that level of training.

My guess is that too much of ANYTHING, cannot be a good thing.

I agree Michee.

Protein is calories, just like any other food. Protein has similar calories as carbs gram for gram and if you eat too much protein, and that leads to excess calories, it WILL make you fat just like any other food.

However you can play around a lot with how much of your daily calorie intake is made up of protein v carbs v fat of course.

The way protein damages the kidneys is not by taking 40 grams at a sitting.

overtime if you have a very high protein intake (like over 100 grams a day), your body doubles the rate at which it excretes Calcium and THAT can cause kidney stones and gall stones (the calcium based ones) and also if you take in your protein with a lot of animal products and saturated fats you can predispose yourself to gout (nitrates) and heart disease.

However, if you take in a lot of manufactured protein (as in soy products) this can have detrimental effects on the hormonal systems of the body, particularly males.

Body builders LOOK fantastically healthy. That doesnt mean they are. Big muscles does not equal cardiovascular fitness or health for example. Many body builders cant run around the block and they can have awful blood make-ups. It has to be done right and it doesnt transpose that because you're an average joe, working out four times a week you can go slogging three or four Protein shakes a day and the calories wont add up, or you wont be overdoing the protein. You need "adequate" protein to grow muscles, more doesnt equal bigger muscles necessarily.

Moderation is the key. 60 grams a day for a woman is fine, there's absolutely nothing dangerous about that, but it should come from a variety of sources, dont overdo any one food or rely totally on shakes. Protein shakes on top of a normal diet can easily cause weight gain if you're not burning it all off. And protein is not complete nutrition, you also have to remember all the other elements of a healthy diet.

But even staunch carb eater that I am, I do have to admit that a high protein Breakfast stops the mid afternoon cravings for sweet carbs So lately, I have been trying to do that.

For me, high protein breakfast and high protein lunch = awful awful gas. High protein breakfast and then my normal carb based lunch (like a sandwich including a small serve of protein like chicken or egg) = no naughty treats in the afternoon.

dinner for me is usually a protein and veges, I usually cant fit in the starch, but sometiems we do have Pasta.

Edited October 10, 200817 yr by Jachut

Here's a link to an article for those interested in digging a little bit deeper into all this. Keep in mind that it's written for people that do weight training, although my doctor told me yesterday during a fill that a bit too much Protein is way better than not enough.

Common Sense Protein FAQ - Get Answers To Your Most Frequently-Asked Questions About Protein

With all due respect, you really have to consider your sources with internet information. That's not a particularly credible source, certainly wouldnt stand up in an academic sense.

I'm not arguing with it or saying anything is untrue, just that I'd be very careful about believing everything you read about nutrition on the internet.

With all due respect, you really have to consider your sources with internet information. That's not a particularly credible source, certainly wouldnt stand up in an academic sense.

I'm not arguing with it or saying anything is untrue, just that I'd be very careful about believing everything you read about nutrition on the internet.

I appreciate your concern and know you want the best for all of us. But just so that you have a bit more information, I am also extremely cynical about internet stuff (I'm the person that always sends the snopes link to derail forwarded email stuff, lol). While I'm not a doctor, I'm an engineer by education and profession so I am used to picking through data. Most of the content of the link I provided has been verified by my current bariatric surgeon as of last week, my GP a few months ago, and also by my trainer back years ago when I was an amateur athlete and also did weight training. I used that link in particular because it's in plain English so it's easy to understand for most people.

If you are truly interested in Protein metabolism we can take this offline and I can provide a lot of more technical sources. Here's one in particular that is also pretty easy to read, I have several more.

http://www.humankinetics.com/eJournalMedia/pdfs/5642.pdf

So I stand by my comments that:

In general protein is good for you.

There is very little if any downside to consuming a bit more than your body needs, while there is a downside to consuming too little.

A little too much protein will not damage your kidneys.

Yes, there is an upper limit above which too much protein is unhealthy, but that limit is up around 285 grams per day for a average 170lb male.

There is no magic number for how much protein you can absorb. Everyone absorbs protein at different rates depending on size, activity level, rate of consumption, protein source and so on.

Protein, more than anything else, will make you feel full longer and overall less hungry.

Feel free to provide links to any data that disputes any of my statements. I have an interest in how metabolism works and am willing to learn from you.

In general Protein is good for you.

There is very little if any downside to consuming a bit more than your body needs, while there is a downside to consuming too little.

A little too much protein will not damage your kidneys.

Who's disagreeing with that? That's moderate advice. I dont disagree we need protein, I feel more that it shouldnt be the ONLY focus in our diet. Just because you get enough protein you cant necessarily relax and call your diet healthy. We need our two fruit and five veg, and our dairy, etc. Having a lapband makes that difficult and I really believe that this focus on must get my protein makes people forget about other aspects of their diet. You're better to go slightly short on a range of nutrients rather than load up on one macronutrient and fall VERY short on alot of others.

Overall though, I happen to hold a different opinion to you on how MUCH protein we need, shaped by the fact that in Australia, in general, bariatric surgeons dont advocate lots of protein and the fact that we did all this back in the 70's, and it didnt solve obesity then and it isnt solving it now (just as high carb/low fat hasnt worked). Less calories and more exercise is the answer there.

Also shaped by the fact that there's loads of Aussies read this board and find the protein advice offputting and alarming and I think its important that we share the fact that we've lost weight on ALL sorts of diets, not alarm people with psuedoscientific evidence that we all believe just because its on the internet. Most Aussies dont like to read a board and be told that unless they eat like an American they wont lose weight. There are quite significant differences in our eating cultures!

I dont need to "take this offline" and be forced into accepting your opinion thanks all the same. I dont need to prove my own to you. I am entitled to share what I think for the benefit of other readers who may agree and generally on this board, people know my opinion on this and I know theirs and we manage to get on pretty well anyway. However, I do think that quoting a dodgy internet article is not really a good way of backing up your own quite relevant, perfectly feasible opinion which is certainly shared by many people here.

We all feel passionate about things we believe really help us, and people certainly feel that way about high protein diets. I'm not saying that its wrong. But its certainly not universally "right" either. The thing you've got to remember is that you have an opinion based on medical advice from your surgeon, information you've read from various sources and personal experience of how that's worked for you. So do I. I've found my information from the same sorts of sources - medical opinion, wider reading and personal experience about what works for me. We're both equally as likely to be right, and both equally as likely to be flawed in our reasoning.

Edited October 15, 200817 yr by Jachut

Here is a link to a video by a nutritionist talking about Protein call Protein 101

and she said we divide our weight in half and take away 10 and that is how much protein we need.

Protein 101: How much do you need? - Health - MSNBC.com

the thing is, if you search, you'll find 100 different formulae for that. Which one is right? Althought that puts me squarely at about 65grams a day which is reasonable. Not like the 100+ grams that some formulae tell me I need, which is patently ridiculous since I get nowhere near that amount and I'm perfectly healthy.

Its the same as the calorie thing - I*should* be able to eat about 2500 a day at my height, weight and activity level, yet I cant. I have normal build, normal amount of muscle, I'm toned and fit yet I maintain on about 1800.

You have to read your own body I think and go with what makes YOU feel good.

Edited October 15, 200817 yr by Jachut

Jacqui, I read what you posted and I think it's pretty clear we're in agreement, so I don't understand why you seem angry about it. You said people get alarmed when they read stuff on forums, which is exactly what I'm trying to help with. The first post in this thread expressed concern about Protein damaging kidneys and another that no person can process more than 25g at one sitting. Those are the 2 myths I was addressing. I don't know where you got the stuff about only protein matters and that everyone should gorge on protein to the exclusion of anything else or even that I am American for that matter, as I wrote none of those things. You also stated you disagree with me about quantity of protein yet the only thing I wrote is that everyone is different, which I think you agree with.

If you are referring to other posts from other people, please do me the courtesy of not lumping me in with them. My goal is simply to squash clearly false internet rumors about the few topics I happen to be knowledgeable about. Sounds like we're on the same team, so can we play nice together? :wink2: