Can protein turn into fat?

[triton69]

I am on a low carb diet...but I am still working out. To get my protein levels up to where they need to be, I am doing low carb/high protein drinks. I do eat carbs on my work out days, but try to limit them on my rest days.

So, as I mentioned I am trying to keep my protein grams up there (200+) per day, and though I think I know the answer to my question...can too much protein turn into fat (or does protein turn into fat)?

[cursor]

There is some information in this post and whole thread that should answer your question.

[GetNLean03]

Triton69

It is physiologically possible for protein to be converted into fatty acids and stored in fat cells but it rarely happens. If you are on a low carb diet, depending on your carb grams per day, you will actually want to eat 40 - 70% of your calories as fat to keep the fat coming off. Ironically it really does work. I have a friend who lost 70 lbs in 6 months on the ketogenic phase of Atkins diet plus taking a specific thermogenic aide.

Best in Health,

[Jock]

Protein promotes thermogenesis during it's conversion so a high protein diet is sensible when cutting.

Make sure you never take on more than 30g of protein in one sitting, any more will either be excreted or stored.

As you are on a low-carb diet ypu shouldn't gain fat as long as the carbs you do eat are quality, complex ones.

Best of Luck, Jock.

peace.

[cursor]

The 30g protein per meal restriction is lore.

The amount of protein that your body can process in a single feeding is a function of metabolism and physical body size. Rest assured that NBA (Utah Jazz) players Karl Malone (6'-9" and 256 lbs @ 2.9% body fat, 39 years old) and John Stockton (6'-0" and 185 lbs @ 4.0% body fat, 40 years old) have drastically different protein (and other macronutrient) requirements. As a matter of fact, I would be willing to bet a chunk of money that both of them consume more than 30 grams of protein per meal. Here's a pic of John and Karl (white uniforms) together.

Dave Draper (6'-0" and 225 lbs @ 8% body fat, 58 years old) consumes as much as 73g of protein in a single meal (ref: Brother Iron, Sister Steel). During the day, he eats as much as 278g of the stuff.

Dr. A. Scott Connelly (6'-5" and 235 lbs @ 5% body fat, 50 years old) pumps down as much as 59g of protein per meal (6 meals @ 59g per meal = 354g per day). In case you don't know Connelly founded MET-Rx.

Bodybuilding resources are replete with myths. Sometimes it's tough to sift through the crap in search of the truth.

[Jock]

I appreciate your thoughts cursor but I believe that tritron wants to lose fat. Assuming he is of average bodyweight lets say 170lbs then his diet needs to contain 50% protein.

That means that he needs to consume approximately 230g of protein a day or between 33g -38g of protein per meal (based on a basic concept of 6-7 meals per day).

50% Protein is alot & should only really be consumed when cutting. As long as an individual is consuming 1g of protein per lb of bodyweight then that is fine.

There is no point exceeding more than around 1.8g-2g of protein per lb of bodyweight even when bulking, carbs & calories should be the main concern when trying to gain weight and and individual's diet should only really be 30% protein.

Your diet should be proprotional to your bodyweight, but unless your are a 300lb meat-monster then excess amounts of protein in your diet is useless.

[cursor]

Jock said:
Your diet should be proprotional to your bodyweight

That is exactly what I'm saying... I'm certainly no 300 lb meat-monster (here I am) but I'm eating more than 40g of protein per meal (and it only represents 33% of my total caloric intake). My wife intakes more than 30g.

Your nutritional intake (including protein, of course) is also a function of activity level and metabolic efficiency (as I'm sure you'll agree). An arbitrary ceiling of 30g protein can't really be taken seriously. Sure, each individual has a limitation on how much they can efficiently process at a time, but my point is that it varies so greatly between people.

triton69: What kind of body size are we talkin' about here? We might as well get down to some actual numbers.

[Jock]

I agree with everything you say, and I'll admit that it probably was wrong to put a limit of 30g per meal.

What you'll find is that beginners find it very difficult to consume 30g of protein in a day let alone in a single meal. I find that advising a figure such as 30g gives people a target to aim for.

What is your weight? (great achievement on the evidence of your pics by the way). I'm assuming that you consume between 240g-280g of protein PER DAY, don't you find that is alot?

Can you post your daily diet along with your supplements?

[cursor]

I'm at 180 lbs right now (and have been for the last 20 years). As you can see by my three photos, my body fat percentage has recently been lassoed and hog-tied.

my 2800 calorie meal split
meal 1 -- 667 calories [ 47p - 94c - 12f ]
[____workout____]
meal 2 -- 667 calories [ 47p - 94c - 12f ]
meal 3 -- 533 calories [ 47p - 43c - 19f ]
meal 4 -- 533 calories [ 47p - 43c - 19f ]
meal 5 -- 400 calories [ 47p - 18c - 16f ]
33% protein : 42% carbs : 25% fat

As you can see, my daily protein = 235g. I take a daily vitamin.

For an example of how I build my meal plan you might want to check out a couple of posts:
2000 calorie meal plan
3000 calorie meal plan
For an idea of the food types that I prepare and eat, check out the cursor's recipes thread.
I've also posted some nutritional data for vegetables, fruits and meats.
For information on fiber peek at this post.

For a critique of someone else's eating habits and exercise recommendations, check out Gaffer's Food Experiment, Slimming Down (TallShadow), and the thread entitled Attn:Cursor.

[Jock]

Cursor, I see you only eat 5 meals a day, do you manage to eat every 3 hours?.

[cursor]

Usually not. It's more like 4 hours in between each meal. I get up about 4:00 AM and hit the pillow at about 9:00 PM. That's about 14 waking hours. Since I eat extremely slowly (unlike many others, I chew my food). The time that actually lapses from the time I finish one meal until I start the next is about 3-1/2 hours (give or take a few minutes).

[Skinny GUy]

I just came across this thread and I learned a lot from this. Thanks for the post Cursor!

((S(t(e(p)h)e)n))

[cursor]

I've modified my eating schedule since this thread died. I'm now eating 6 meals (one every 2.75 hours). I think I enjoy the more modified and gradual intake.

Oh ... any time Skinny ...

[fengalon]

Cursor, do you add cardio to your workout or do you just lift? The reason I'm asking is because you said your protein intake was 33% of your daily diet. My new diet program consists of 45% protein daily, but I do a generous amount of cardio. Do you think this distribution (45% protein, 40% carbohydrate, 15% fat) is adequate for my lifestyle?