How many grams of protein per day?

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Hi all,

Just curious to know roughly how many grams of Protein I should be aiming for daily?

My dietician never mentioned an amount? I was just told to eat very little & healthily? Not really the advice I needed for my critical stage of weight-loss.. So I never returned to see the bimbo!

[Ginger6367 14]

I am 6.5 months out and I try to get in 65-75g /daily. I seen on Unjury site that the more you want to lose, the more Protein you should take in daily.

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Does it matter if the Protein is dense Proteins such as meats or in liquid form?

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And is there a max to how much Protein a day to have?

[Schmincke 118]

My nutritional team, who were really helpful, say that animal-source is better than plant source Protein with the exception of tofu, which is really high quality. Animal-source does include dairy products, especially Greek yogurt.

In a Protein powder for mixing drinks, I'm instructed to look for whey as the #1 product, no more than 5 gm of fat or sugar, and at least 20 gm of Protein per scoop. I am aiming for a total of 80 gm of protein a day, but 60 minimum. Not only does it help prevent hair loss, but it helps maintain lean muscle mass, and it really does help with hunger. We're not supposed to go more than 4 hours without eating or drinking some protein. I cannot get that much protein without at least one Protein Drink a day, at this stage (3 ½ weeks post-op).

There are some high-quality resources online from major bariatric centers. They do not agree on everything, but are helpful. Here is an example:

http://www.ucsfhealth.org/education/dietary_guidelines_after_gastric_bypass/

[NMJG 1,266]

There are some differences and it changes depending on where you are in your journey, but this is a pretty good way to go for most people. You may have different needs if you are a big guy or a tiny woman.

Protein: 80 g/day

Carbs: 40-60g/day

Fats: 30-50g/day

Most people are in the 800 calorie/day range for the first six months. If you start weight training you may need more. If you start running you may need more carbs. Some people are able to lose at 1000-1200 calories a day, but that is the exception, and usually people build up to that after 6 months.

While there is not a max on Protein, if you eat too much you will not lose weight. Each gram of Protein is 4 calories, so if you eat 200 grams a day along with your other foods, you aren't going to be losing any weight.

You can calculate how much protein you should get at http://www.healthcalculators.org/calculators/protein.asp There are a number of calculators online, and they do vary a bit.

The source of protein matters in terms of your hunger and where you are in your journey. Early on you just can't get firm protein down and it will hurt you. At 3-4+ months it is a good choice because it staves off hunger. That doesn't mean you can't have soft protein later on, it just means you should be aware of hunger creeping up in later months. If it's a problem, go back to firm protein and make sure you eat it first at every meal and don't drink liquids for an hour afterwards.

Edited February 6, 2014 by NMJG

[Carlotta1 401]

Nmjg. Thanks for the link to calc how many grams of Protein I should target., based on my age, height, activity level, étc. I should be at 70 grams per day. I need to up it just a bit.