Please explain macros

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So daily protein needs range from .8 to 2 grams per kg of body weight, depending on goals and current fitness?
I still am confused about how anyone concerts these numbers into actual food, and keeps trsck if it. Apologies if I am clueless… this is all new to me!

One caution -- I think those numbers assume:

1. That you are a strength or serious endurance athlete. Like an Olympic or Powerlifter or running 70+ miles per week.
2. That your body composition is that of an athlete. A person with 40% body fat doesn't need to eat more protein than a similar size person with the same lean muscle mass and only 20% body fat.

I disagree. If someone is trying to lose weight while maintaining lean muscle mass, protein is key. Losing muscle will help slow metabolism.

Two things can be true. Yes, eating more protein is important both for satiety and to maintain muscle mass when eating at a deficit. Also, for people who lift, as we age, our bodies get less sensitive to the chemical messages that kick of muscle protein synthesis in younger people, so most people recommend slightly more protein for older adults. Likewise, people who eat plant based protein may need slightly more because plant based protein often has a worse amino acid profile.

None of which means that a sedentary person with 40% body fat needs 40 grams more of protein a day than a person with similar muscle mass and 20% bodyfat. The overwhelming majority of the studies that I’ve seen on protein dosing are related to muscle protein synthesis and have samples made up of athletes. The studies that use normal people tend to be things like “does adding a whey shake increase muscle retention in older men when losing weight”. They do not tend to be studies comparing, e.g. 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 g/kg of bodyweight in obese, non athlete populations. Maybe you’ve seen different studies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So daily protein needs range from .8 to 2 grams per kg of body weight, depending on goals and current fitness?
I still am confused about how anyone concerts these numbers into actual food, and keeps trsck if it. Apologies if I am clueless… this is all new to me!

One caution -- I think those numbers assume:

1. That you are a strength or serious endurance athlete. Like an Olympic or Powerlifter or running 70+ miles per week.
2. That your body composition is that of an athlete. A person with 40% body fat doesn't need to eat more protein than a similar size person with the same lean muscle mass and only 20% body fat.

I disagree. If someone is trying to lose weight while maintaining lean muscle mass, protein is key. Losing muscle will help slow metabolism.

Two things can be true. Yes, eating more protein is important both for satiety and to maintain muscle mass when eating at a deficit. Also, for people who lift, as we age, our bodies get less sensitive to the chemical messages that kick of muscle protein synthesis in younger people, so most people recommend slightly more protein for older adults. Likewise, people who eat plant based protein may need slightly more because plant based protein often has a worse amino acid profile.

None of which means that a sedentary person with 40% body fat needs 40 grams more of protein a day than a person with similar muscle mass and 20% bodyfat. The overwhelming majority of the studies that I’ve seen on protein dosing are related to muscle protein synthesis and have samples made up of athletes. The studies that use normal people tend to be things like “does adding a whey shake increase muscle retention in older men when losing weight”. They do not tend to be studies comparing, e.g. 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 g/kg of bodyweight in obese, non athlete populations. Maybe you’ve seen different studies.

Makes sense to me. So someone with a high level of body fat just needs a caloric deficit to start losing the fat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So daily protein needs range from .8 to 2 grams per kg of body weight, depending on goals and current fitness?
I still am confused about how anyone concerts these numbers into actual food, and keeps trsck if it. Apologies if I am clueless… this is all new to me!

One caution -- I think those numbers assume:

1. That you are a strength or serious endurance athlete. Like an Olympic or Powerlifter or running 70+ miles per week.
2. That your body composition is that of an athlete. A person with 40% body fat doesn't need to eat more protein than a similar size person with the same lean muscle mass and only 20% body fat.

I disagree. If someone is trying to lose weight while maintaining lean muscle mass, protein is key. Losing muscle will help slow metabolism.

Two things can be true. Yes, eating more protein is important both for satiety and to maintain muscle mass when eating at a deficit. Also, for people who lift, as we age, our bodies get less sensitive to the chemical messages that kick of muscle protein synthesis in younger people, so most people recommend slightly more protein for older adults. Likewise, people who eat plant based protein may need slightly more because plant based protein often has a worse amino acid profile.

None of which means that a sedentary person with 40% body fat needs 40 grams more of protein a day than a person with similar muscle mass and 20% bodyfat. The overwhelming majority of the studies that I’ve seen on protein dosing are related to muscle protein synthesis and have samples made up of athletes. The studies that use normal people tend to be things like “does adding a whey shake increase muscle retention in older men when losing weight”. They do not tend to be studies comparing, e.g. 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 g/kg of bodyweight in obese, non athlete populations. Maybe you’ve seen different studies.

Makes sense to me. So someone with a high level of body fat just needs a caloric deficit to start losing the fat.

Well, eating a decent amount of protein helps with weight loss, I was just trying to say that it doesn’t have to be 2 grams per kilo of body weight. Maybe 2 grams per kilo of lean body mass.