Protein - grams or % of calories

[Adi80adi]

I am extremely active, running 6-10 mile a day and lifting weights in the evenings. I am wondering if I should stick to the recommended grams per day of 60-100 or a certain % of my calories. The reason I ask is that if I set protein as 25%, sometimes I eat more than 200 grams of protein because I eat so many calories to fuel my activity. If I shift to grams, though, this means I would be eating a great deal more carbs and/or fat, and I try to stay balanced at 40% carb, 35% fat and 25% protein.

I am a 5' 4" 130 pound female.

Thanks!

[Baltoscott · Accepted solution]

I would go for a specific amount rather than a percentage.

You need protein to maintain and build muscle, but that's it, and you can only use so much at a time.  You should generally try to eat your protein with other foods throughout the day, and your body cannot process more than about 30 or 40 grams per feeding.  And it cannot store it, though some proteins such as casein in milk or cottage cheese, or as a supplement, take time to digest and are good to eat toward the end of the day.  Body builders tend to shoot for 1 to 1.2 grams/lbs of body weight as an upper limit.  And you can probably get away with significantly less.  But anything over that amount is mostly wasted from a muscle building perspective and will just push out other foods that should be in your diet such as healthy fats, and a large variety of vegetables, whole grains, etc.

Because I am trying to build muscle, I go for the 1 gram/lb of body weight.  For you that would be 130 grams as an upper limit.  100 grams is probably fine.  60 might be a little low given your exercise level, though you can probably even get away with that if you make sure you get some of it at every meal so none is wasted.  The Nutrition Diva has a good podcast on making sure you utilize all the protein you eat.

Hope that helps.  

[Adi80adi]

This does help...so lets say I set 130 as my upper limit. How would you split up carbs and fat?

[Dominique]

I agree with @Baltoscott that it makes more sense to determine your protein intake in relation to your body weight (and therefore as grams) rather than as a percentage of your total calories.  Given your activity level, and the type of activities you’re performing, I would allocate the majority of the remaining calories to carbs, but it’s really a matter of personal preferences.

[Baltoscott]

I don't aim for a particular fat/carb breakdown, but looking at my last full week on MFP, it looks like the daily breakdown was 180 grams/protein, 228 gram/carb and 113 grams/fat.  (My protein target is 160g, so I was a little over). 

The way that plays out is that I try to get some protein and veggies in at every meal, including breakfast, and I avoid processed food.  A lot of the fat I get lately seems to come from dairy -- full fat unflavored yogurt, which I like as a base for adding berries, protein powder, and whole milk added to coffee in the morning.  I also recently bought and ground up a pound of flax seed and add a couple tablespoons of that each day (mix it in with yogurt or eggs, or sprinkle it into salads) to get some inexpensive omega 3 fat in my diet.  (Fatty fish would be a better, but it is not as convenient on a daily basis).

[rommana]

hey, i struggled with the same issue and discovered it is best to stick to 1.5 to 1.8g protein per kg bodyweight that u have. When u really gym 5 times a week u need 2g protein  per kg bodyweight in order to grow muscle or at least not loose it. U can download My Workout Plan which synchorizes what u enter in the fitbit app to concrete total grams of protein carbs fat and fibers. GL;)

[Adi80adi]

Thank you!

[Adi80adi]

This sounds like a very practical way to manage macros. I was a little afraid to increase carbs because it would push me over 40-45% of calories some days, but it seems to make more sense if I can't use the extra protein anyway. Thank you.

[Dominique]

Remember that energy balance (calories) prevails over macronutrients: as long as total calories match your weight goal (whether it’s to lose, maintain or gain), you will be fine with a high intake of carbs. It makes sense that very active people consume a higher share of their total intake as carbs.

[rommana]

Yes, that is very important tot remember indeed