How much protein does this guy need?

[jakesnake771]

I'm 6'0"/6'1" and about 350. I was participating in CrossFit from around last September to a month ago. I'm looking to get back into a regular gym (LA Fitness) to do lifting and cardio and I am looking to increase my protein intake. I'm looking at getting ON Whey for Post Workout and ON Casein for Nighttime. That's 48 (call it 50) grams of protein. But I've read that a healthy intake is 1g per pound of body weight...am I really expected to consume 350g's of protein in a day? Even if I'm chugging multiple shakes and eating chicken at every meal, that seems rather unreachable.

Is there a better goal I should be shooting for?

 

[wyrd1]

I suggest logging your food intake for a week. 350g of protien is definitely doable. If that is too high for you to consider go 1.7g/kg

 

[JudoJosh]

I'm 6'0"/6'1" and about 350. I was participating in CrossFit from around last September to a month ago. I'm looking to get back into a regular gym (LA Fitness) to do lifting and cardio and I am looking to increase my protein intake. I'm looking at getting ON Whey for Post Workout and ON Casein for Nighttime. That's 48 (call it 50) grams of protein. But I've read that a healthy intake is 1g per pound of body weight...am I really expected to consume 350g's of protein in a day? Even if I'm chugging multiple shakes and eating chicken at every meal, that seems rather unreachable.

Is there a better goal I should be shooting for?

What are the resr of your macros? What are your training goals?

1g/lb is doable but isnt necessarily necessary.

 

[OnionKnight]

I'm gona take a shot here and say youre pretty chunky dude. 6'1 350lbs is pretty frikkin big, and you don't need that much protein

 

[jakesnake771]

What are the resr of your macros? What are your training goals?

1g/lb is doable but isnt necessarily necessary.

I had a rather lengthy reply written out on my work computer but I must have forgotten to submit it. I will do so tomorrow.

I'm gona take a shot here and say youre pretty chunky dude. 6'1 350lbs is pretty frikkin big, and you don't need that much protein

While I appreciate your supremely wise "fatty don't need too much protein" advice, do you have anything tangible or remotely useful to offer?

 

[jakesnake771]

Gregg1494, thank you for that. Is there any way to determine that with so much fat on my frame? Should I guess around 200-225?

And here's the post for JudoJosh:

Aww man, Judo, now you're gonna make me look like an idiot. Macros? I come from a software development background so macros to me probably means something farrrr different than you lol. What exactly do you mean?

I've already come down about 45 pounds from where i started (395) and want to keep the weight loss going. I started losing motivation with CrossFit due to the price, the distance it was from my apartment (30 mins) and the flakiness of my workout buddies. I just joined LA Fitness because I have some work friends who go there regularly and it's 5 minutes down the street.

I know I need to work in cardio as well, but I very much enjoy lifting too and have read that muscle burns more fat at a resting state.

My main goal is obviously fat loss, but with increased muscle mass and overall healthy gains. I'm thinking I'd probably want to lift MWF and then do Cardio Tues/Thurs. I just noticed, though, that my gym offers Zumba classes Monday/Friday at a very convenient time. I know it's typically a "girly" activity, but I enjoy dancing and latin music and I figure it would be a fun way to get cardio in...and maybe meeting a few ladies So if that's the case (I've never tried Zumba, so I don't know if I'd be able to keep up), then I'd probably do Zumba Monday/Friday and lift Tues-Thurs.

Diet-wise, I've been doing Weight Watchers and finding moderate success, as long as I don't let my friends get the best of me. When I'm being good and bringing my breakfast/lunch, I've typically been eating:

Breakfast: Either eggs and turkey sausage or sometimes I make a homemade "mcmuffin" from a whole wheat english muffin, a poached egg, some turkey bacon and a slice of fat free cheese
Lunch: Usually a turkey sandwich on Healthy Life bread (35 cals a slice)
Note: I list a sandwich as my lunch, but I usually pack carrots/celery, a banana, grapes, cheese sticks, fiber one bar and maybe a sugar-free pudding in my lunch bag to snack on before/after lunch or if I'm hungry
Dinner: Varies between pasta, chicken, sometimes fish
Bedtime snack: "Grogurt" (Greek yogurt and granola)

 

[BLaQz]

You can get away with approx 250g protein per day at a bodyweight of 350lbs... Just aim to hit between 250g-350g & you should be fine... Since I don't know how much of the 350lbs is LBM, I based it on 0.7g per pound of bodyweight instead of LBM...

 

[tjbruno]

I say to aim for 1g/lb for whatever weight you would like to end up at when it's all said and done. Easy as that.

 

[BLaQz]

I say to aim for 1g/lb for whatever weight you would like to end up at when it's all said and done. Easy as that.

I agree... This can work also...

 

[jakesnake771]

Thank you all for your advice! I'll be shooting for between 225 and 250g's per day.

 

[wyrd1]

That will definitely work. Best wishes!

I say to aim for 1g/lb for whatever weight you would like to end up at when it's all said and done. Easy as that.

^sounds like that came out of "Power Eating" by Dr. Kleiner

 

[JudoJosh]

And here's the post for JudoJosh:

Aww man, Judo, now you're gonna make me look like an idiot.

no worries I am here to help. We were all new at some point.

Macros? I come from a software development background so macros to me probably means something farrrr different than you lol. What exactly do you mean?

Macros = macronutrients= Protein/Carbs/Fat

I've already come down about 45 pounds from where i started (395) and want to keep the weight loss going. I started losing motivation with CrossFit due to the price, the distance it was from my apartment (30 mins) and the flakiness of my workout buddies. I just joined LA Fitness because I have some work friends who go there regularly and it's 5 minutes down the street.

Congrats on the progress thus far already and crossfit is over rated. Wise move leaving

I know I need to work in cardio as well, but I very much enjoy lifting too and have read that muscle burns more fat at a resting state.

Coming from crossfit I am sure you are familiar with metcon work. You can do barbell complexes or kettlebell work for your cardio. Also look into HIIT work. Both options are great for cardio

My main goal is obviously fat loss, but with increased muscle mass and overall healthy gains. I'm thinking I'd probably want to lift MWF and then do Cardio Tues/Thurs. I just noticed, though, that my gym offers Zumba classes Monday/Friday at a very convenient time. I know it's typically a "girly" activity, but I enjoy dancing and latin music and I figure it would be a fun way to get cardio in...and maybe meeting a few ladies So if that's the case (I've never tried Zumba, so I don't know if I'd be able to keep up), then I'd probably do Zumba Monday/Friday and lift Tues-Thurs.

Give Zumba a try if you want. Nothing wrong with having fun while getting some conditioning in if that is what you enjoy.

Diet-wise, I've been doing Weight Watchers and finding moderate success, as long as I don't let my friends get the best of me. When I'm being good and bringing my breakfast/lunch, I've typically been eating:

Breakfast: Either eggs and turkey sausage or sometimes I make a homemade "mcmuffin" from a whole wheat english muffin, a poached egg, some turkey bacon and a slice of fat free cheese
Lunch: Usually a turkey sandwich on Healthy Life bread (35 cals a slice)
Note: I list a sandwich as my lunch, but I usually pack carrots/celery, a banana, grapes, cheese sticks, fiber one bar and maybe a sugar-free pudding in my lunch bag to snack on before/after lunch or if I'm hungry
Dinner: Varies between pasta, chicken, sometimes fish
Bedtime snack: "Grogurt" (Greek yogurt and granola)

Start slow. Focus on protein intake and start to track your food. Get a app for your phone like fitday or loseit and track your food for a couple days. Report back what your average calories, protein, fat and carb intake is and we can help tweak it

 

[inmylife34]

If he natty about .7 per lbs

 

[Wafflestomped]

Pretty much it was all covered here, but I like 1g/lb of lean body mass. Depending on how drastically you cut calories your protein intake should go up.

If you are cutting drastically bump your protein intake to 1.5g/lb of LBM.

 

[Upscale]

I just wrote a research paper on this, not saying I am a scientist or anything but this comes from what I found in actual books. I'm keeping my response basic and based upon my experience and personal research.

First, since your carrying all that extra body mass your metabolism should be higher than the average person. So your burning more calories a day than most people here just standing still. As you lose the extra body mass your metabolism will slow down. Just good to know for starters.

The Casein at night is a good idea if you want that slow protein release while you sleep, but at this point I would focus on trying to get 80% of your protein from the food you eat. And make sure you getting plenty of Omega 3's. Olive oil, salmon and such are good natural sources of these.

I was 6'2 225lbs and that was very fat for me. It was mostly do to alcohol and fast food. I quit alcohol and I very rarely eat any fast food. A Wendy's spicy chicken sandwich every now and then doesn't hurt. But with dropping just those two things from my diet and doing nothing else. No exercise or anything I started to shred water weight and because my metabolism was higher to deal with my ****ty eating I burnt fat off as well. Eating whole natural foods and abstaining from alcohol I dropped 15lbs in a few months. I also dropped soda pops for soda water, took some getting used to but now I don't even notice the difference. I liked carbonated drinks so this was a big one. Should be noted, I am an active person, but I looked like a circus bear on my bmx bike.

At your weight I think I would really just try to dial in your daily diet. You have to get your nutrition right before your going to see improvement. I am just basing this off a few friends and myself that work in the computer field and frankly we eat like **** and sit in front of a computer all day and then expect supplements to help us out of the hole.

I recommend checking out Ultra Metabolism by Mark Hyman and Mike Moreno's 17 day diet. Both books have good information on nutrition and how it works. Your going to get all sorts of answers, like this one, on the internet and in forums. Learning how different types of food breakdown in your body is really key. Good protein will burn more calories to digest, starches turn to fat easier, etc.

So work out at the gym for fitness and focus on getting your nutrition down. If you need a number aim for 200g of protein a day, and don't do it by chugging supplements. Your body is like the code you write, there are sloppy ways to achieve things and there is the right way.

After 4 months I went from 225 to 193 without worrying about calorie deficits, how much protein I was intaking, or any of that stuff. Turned out I had quit a bit of muscle hiding underneath to maintain my extra weight. I'm not hating on crossfit but my friend herniated 2 discs doing it. Just hearing that turned me off to it. Building good form in the gym just working out with your friends will be more beneficial I think. I have been doing Tai Chi for a little while now and it's great as well. Really helped open up my awareness and breathing. Has helped me with my workouts more than you would believe.

Hopefully I didn't miss the point. Good luck man!

 

[EWolfe08]

Layne Norton has some great videos and info specifically on protein (what area he got his PhD in)...with that being said 1g per lb of lean body weight is more then sufficient. Example. Individual weights 350 and is 20% bf. I would suggest 280 grams.

 

[Wafflestomped]

I say that supplementing with 1 gram per lbs. of body weight, plus whatever you get from whole foods is best.

That is an absurd amount of protein for someone with that much body fat. I agree with Ewolfe's recommendation at a maximum