protein PROTEIN: How much is too much in a day?

[SassySenior 111]

Protein - Can you eat too much in a day? I'm on the pre-op diet and my Dr. says max of 5 shakes a day. Is that just because of calories ... or is protein a factor also? Is there any danger in eating a lot of protein?

I've been doing a lot of research online where bodybuilders say 300-600g a day. One doctor, a urologist, said too much protein can cause kidney stones, but didn't say how much. So what's your opinion?

[Daydra 345]

Protein - Can you eat too much in a day? I'm on the pre-op diet and my Dr. says max of 5 shakes a day. Is that just because of calories ... or is Protein a factor also? Is there any danger in eating a lot of protein?

I've been doing a lot of research online where bodybuilders say 300-600g a day. One doctor, a urologist, said too much protein can cause kidney stones, but didn't say how much. So what's your opinion?

Those bodybuilders are nuts! (it's okay, they think we're nuts too!) That's crazy high. I think their philosophy must be "More is always better!" The average (probably sedentary) person needs about 0.8g/kg of body weight. Athletes need more like between 1.2 and 1.7g/kg of body weight. I pulled info from About.com just to make sure I recalled my numbers correctly. Their example is a male athlete that weighs 154lbs needs about 105g/day (using 1.5g/kg). Other recommendations you see all over the place (NIH, CDC, USDA) are 25-30g per meal, so around 75-90 for the average person.

Here's an abstract on the NIH website:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16779921

This paper suggests approximately 2 - 2.5 g/kg as the maximum consumption per day and lists dangers of excessive protein. States that .8g/kg only really compensates for structural requirements, so it's probably a little on the low side. The abstract states that the theoretical max consumption for someone weighing 80kg is between 285 and 365g/day. Your bodybuilders that are consuming 600g could be asking for trouble.

For me, once I get out of the post-op healing phase and into the living life phase, I'm going to aim for the middle to upper end of the athlete range from my first paragraph.

[Daydra 345]

Oops, I totally geeked out and forgot the primary question...

Probably both. Using the Premier Protein shakes as an example: They are 160 cal and 30g of Protein. 5 shakes would get you... math... 800 cal and 150g of protein. My pre-op diet had an 870 cal max but no protein cap. (Mine recommended 3-4 shakes a day plus a Healthy Choice or similar tv dinner, so pretty low calorie solid food meal. So, pretty much equivalent other than the kindness of my surgeon to allow me to chew once a day :-)

[SassySenior 111]

I never got the chance to say thank you for all the Protein info. You know how we can be at times: so self-consumed that we don't think of anyone else.

You definitely answered my question, and I appreciate it. Sounds like you're doing great. As I recall you're an athlete but I forgot what sport.

[Daydra 345]

No worries, whatsoever! Triathlon. I did have a bit of a rough patch and needed to get some nausea dealt with, but no major problems, thanks! Best of luck to you!