Eating disordered posts

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Protein gives me good energy to do a demanding job and handle life at home. Carbs do not.

Of course. They're necessary at every meal, in fact. But it's not recommended, or necessary, to eat more protein than typical. What's important is not eating too much in general. People usually eat too many refined carbs for their own good. This means that if they try to reduce calories, they can't just reduce everything proportionally - they have to reduce refined carbs significantly, eat whole grains, keep the whole fruits and veggies and not reduce lean protein (but ditch animal fat as much as they can, so they often can't eat the same meats they're used to).

Maybe that's where the confusion lies?

How do you know it is "not recommended"? By who?
What is "typical"?

I am a 50yo female who has a low muscle mass who previously consumed approximately 40 grams of protein per day. I also had a BMI of 30. I have a 20 year history of struggling with multiple attempts to lose fat through a calorie restriction diet. You don't think that it would be a solid plan to recommend increased protein intake AS PART OF a comprehensive plan to improve my metabolic and overall health?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Protein gives me good energy to do a demanding job and handle life at home. Carbs do not.

Of course. They're necessary at every meal, in fact. But it's not recommended, or necessary, to eat more protein than typical. What's important is not eating too much in general. People usually eat too many refined carbs for their own good. This means that if they try to reduce calories, they can't just reduce everything proportionally - they have to reduce refined carbs significantly, eat whole grains, keep the whole fruits and veggies and not reduce lean protein (but ditch animal fat as much as they can, so they often can't eat the same meats they're used to).

Maybe that's where the confusion lies?

How do you know it is "not recommended"? By who?
What is "typical"?

I am a 50yo female who has a low muscle mass who previously consumed approximately 40 grams of protein per day. I also had a BMI of 30. I have a 20 year history of struggling with multiple attempts to lose fat through a calorie restriction diet. You don't think that it would be a solid plan to recommend increased protein intake AS PART OF a comprehensive plan to improve my metabolic and overall health?

80-120g of protein is pretty healthy, when come from real food.
Maybe 200g of protein per day is bad for your kidney but it’s so hard to eat like that long term.

[Anonymous]

There's a difference between consuming the bare minimum amount of protein to avoid nutritional deficiencies and getting the optimal amount to prevent age-related muscle loss. 1g protein per kilo of bodyweight, strength training 2-3x per week, and enough calories to allow for muscle growth will lead to a better body composition and allow you to maintain an active lifestyle as you age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Protein gives me good energy to do a demanding job and handle life at home. Carbs do not.

That makes no sense. Your brain runs on carbs.

[Anonymous]

The real eating disorder in America is eating too much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Protein gives me good energy to do a demanding job and handle life at home. Carbs do not.

That makes no sense. Your brain runs on carbs.

Eating 100g of protein (weight loss mode) is 400 calories, if daily budget is 1500, the rest of 1100 will come from carbs and fat.
No one eats chicken breast for life. Have you tried?

[Anonymous]

Excess protein in the diet is actually stored as fat, after processing through the liver and conversion to glucose. True fact, look it up. Americans are obsessed with protein yet very, very few Americans are actually deficient- most are consuming way too much and way too much fat and way too much sugar. Too much all around.

Know what you can’t get too much of? Vegetables, legumes, whole fresh fruits (you can definitely get too much dried fruit, keep that to a minimum).

Like a previous poster I am mid 50s significantly overweight and working to lose plus to restore muscle mass that was substantially diminished by a more than half decade suffering with an undetected deficiency in B1, a vitamin fundamental to muscle repair and growth. I eat a high fiber diet of whole mostly fresh vegetables and fruits with occasional tuna and chicken but only a couple of days a week. There is plenty of protein in a plant based diet or mostly plant based diet. I lift weights daily and my muscle mass is steadily increasing. I have never had supplemental protein powder in my life.

Just the last month or so since transitioning to WFPB diet with emphasis on high fiber consumption I have experienced exactly what folks on the semaglutide drugs describe - substantial reduction in appetite and ‘food noise’.

This last week my employers, who have a huge organic garden, sent me home almost every day with a bag of produce from their over abundance. I went home each night and figured out how to eat whatever I was given so that my whole week I ate nothing but fresh harvested vegetables for dinner.

I lost 5 lbs this week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why does every dietician/doctor tell me I need more protein then? Why are all
My girlfriends in their 40s/50s obsessed with protein, macros and lifting??!

It's a fad, and not an evidence-based one at that. I doubt real doctors are telling you to eat more protein, OP.

My husband is a doctor - neither he nor his colleagues are on the "more protein, more lifting" bandwagon. Excessive protein is bad for your kidneys. Exercise should be encouraged, but not to extremes, because it can also hurt you - you need to exercise intelligently, vary the type of work, include stretching and not stress joints too much.

The most important problem facing most Americans is obesity. Two thirds of adults here are overweight, making it very difficult for people to see what a healthy figure looks like, since everywhere they go, they see overweight figures. Most people eat way too much processed crap and too many calories.

So no. I understand DCUM, and the US in general, is fixated on pushing back against anorexia. But from a medical perspective, the US is suffering under the financial and life quality burdens of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular issues due to excessive consumption of sugar and fat. Anorexia is not a public health concern, in that very few people actually suffer from a clinical diagnosis.

Oh boy here’s another “my husband is a doctor” post.

For those of us who lift and want to nourish our muscles, we need a lot of protein.

You realize many doctors don’t know much about nutrition and exercise beyond the very basics/some outdated info and that’s why there’s a whole field of medicine and science dedicated to exercise and nutrition?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Excess protein in the diet is actually stored as fat, after processing through the liver and conversion to glucose. True fact, look it up. Americans are obsessed with protein yet very, very few Americans are actually deficient- most are consuming way too much and way too much fat and way too much sugar. Too much all around.

Know what you can’t get too much of? Vegetables, legumes, whole fresh fruits (you can definitely get too much dried fruit, keep that to a minimum).

Like a previous poster I am mid 50s significantly overweight and working to lose plus to restore muscle mass that was substantially diminished by a more than half decade suffering with an undetected deficiency in B1, a vitamin fundamental to muscle repair and growth. I eat a high fiber diet of whole mostly fresh vegetables and fruits with occasional tuna and chicken but only a couple of days a week. There is plenty of protein in a plant based diet or mostly plant based diet. I lift weights daily and my muscle mass is steadily increasing. I have never had supplemental protein powder in my life.

Just the last month or so since transitioning to WFPB diet with emphasis on high fiber consumption I have experienced exactly what folks on the semaglutide drugs describe - substantial reduction in appetite and ‘food noise’.

This last week my employers, who have a huge organic garden, sent me home almost every day with a bag of produce from their over abundance. I went home each night and figured out how to eat whatever I was given so that my whole week I ate nothing but fresh harvested vegetables for dinner.

I lost 5 lbs this week.

-You lost water weight. That wasn’t 5 pounds of fat or “excess stored protein” in one week.
-So your diet was bad and you cleaned no it up.
-Protein itself isn’t the problem.
-And obviously any excess food will be stored as fat, including simple and complex carbohydrates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why does every dietician/doctor tell me I need more protein then? Why are all
My girlfriends in their 40s/50s obsessed with protein, macros and lifting??!

It's a fad, and not an evidence-based one at that. I doubt real doctors are telling you to eat more protein, OP.

My husband is a doctor - neither he nor his colleagues are on the "more protein, more lifting" bandwagon. Excessive protein is bad for your kidneys. Exercise should be encouraged, but not to extremes, because it can also hurt you - you need to exercise intelligently, vary the type of work, include stretching and not stress joints too much.

The most important problem facing most Americans is obesity. Two thirds of adults here are overweight, making it very difficult for people to see what a healthy figure looks like, since everywhere they go, they see overweight figures. Most people eat way too much processed crap and too many calories.

So no. I understand DCUM, and the US in general, is fixated on pushing back against anorexia. But from a medical perspective, the US is suffering under the financial and life quality burdens of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular issues due to excessive consumption of sugar and fat. Anorexia is not a public health concern, in that very few people actually suffer from a clinical diagnosis.

There's nothing worse than someone who cites to their spouse's job to make a claim. You're not a physician. You don't know what is or is not the current standard of care. You didn't go to med school. You didn't do residency. You aren't licensed. So why don't you shut the hell up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why does every dietician/doctor tell me I need more protein then? Why are all
My girlfriends in their 40s/50s obsessed with protein, macros and lifting??!

It's a fad, and not an evidence-based one at that. I doubt real doctors are telling you to eat more protein, OP.

My husband is a doctor - neither he nor his colleagues are on the "more protein, more lifting" bandwagon. Excessive protein is bad for your kidneys. Exercise should be encouraged, but not to extremes, because it can also hurt you - you need to exercise intelligently, vary the type of work, include stretching and not stress joints too much.

The most important problem facing most Americans is obesity. Two thirds of adults here are overweight, making it very difficult for people to see what a healthy figure looks like, since everywhere they go, they see overweight figures. Most people eat way too much processed crap and too many calories.

So no. I understand DCUM, and the US in general, is fixated on pushing back against anorexia. But from a medical perspective, the US is suffering under the financial and life quality burdens of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular issues due to excessive consumption of sugar and fat. Anorexia is not a public health concern, in that very few people actually suffer from a clinical diagnosis.

1. My GP physician is indeed telling me to focus on getting more protein in my diet. Do you think I'm lying?

2. A way to do exactly what you said: encourage (effective) exercise and reduce consumption of sugar and fat is precisely to up protein intake.

Nobody is arguing for extremes here- "excessive exercise" or an "all beef and eggs" diet. But it is weird to me that of all the things to cast shade on getting more protein makes your list.

One. Yes I think you’re lying.

It is your belief that there is not a physician out there who would evaluate a person's overall health and their goals and advise them to up their protein intake?

Just want to be clear.

Not the poster you were replying to, but any physician who recommends increasing protein intake is stupid, unless you're vegetarian or vegan, or deliberately tell the physician you're not eating a lot of meat, for some reason best known to yourself.

And no physician worth their salt would ever recommend protein powders except in very specific cases of malnutrition.

Oh shut up. You people are ridiculous. You're uninformed. You spread misinformation. Get a life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The real eating disorder in America is eating too much.

Yes, and it isn't said enough. I see a lot more thin-shaming and accusations of disordered eating targeted against people who want to maintain a healthy weight, than I see the reverse. And sadly, this is because most adults in the US are overweight or obese. So now when people see a healthy figure, they think that person is too thin.

Mind-boggling.

[Anonymous]

My diabetic nurse told me just last week to make sure I get enough protein.

Strength training isn't just about weight loss. As women approach menopause strength training is important. Not lifting to be muscle bound, but enough to maintain muscle, protect joints and maintain mobility.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Protein gives me good energy to do a demanding job and handle life at home. Carbs do not.

Of course. They're necessary at every meal, in fact. But it's not recommended, or necessary, to eat more protein than typical. What's important is not eating too much in general. People usually eat too many refined carbs for their own good. This means that if they try to reduce calories, they can't just reduce everything proportionally - they have to reduce refined carbs significantly, eat whole grains, keep the whole fruits and veggies and not reduce lean protein (but ditch animal fat as much as they can, so they often can't eat the same meats they're used to).

Maybe that's where the confusion lies?

How do you know it is "not recommended"? By who?
What is "typical"?

I am a 50yo female who has a low muscle mass who previously consumed approximately 40 grams of protein per day. I also had a BMI of 30. I have a 20 year history of struggling with multiple attempts to lose fat through a calorie restriction diet. You don't think that it would be a solid plan to recommend increased protein intake AS PART OF a comprehensive plan to improve my metabolic and overall health?

NP—my dd, who has kidney disease, was told by her nephrologist to avoid protein powders, protein shakes, and other protein supplements. She’s encouraged to eat a normal diet as long as it’s low in sodium (so avoiding highly processed foods). Her kidney disease was caused by a birth defect and not related to diet.

[Anonymous]

My OBGYN, who specializes in menopause, advised me to increase my protein intake. I’m a vegetarian. I guess PP’s husband would disagree but he’s not my doctor thank goodness! I bet he would be embarrassed that his wife is out here giving generalized advice on an Internet forum without any idea of the individual needs of each person.