How much protein should I be eating on average per day?

In My Humble Opinion
1

While this may, initially, look like a question with a factual answer I actually suspect there is more opinion involved than hard and fast facts.

As I am on a very limited budget, and protein is one of the more expensive components of my diet, I have some incentive to eat enough but not too much of the stuff.

Some relevant facts here:

  1. I am 5 foot 3 (160 cm) tall female and currently weigh 158 pounds (72 kg), between 45 and 50.

  2. Back on July 8 I was the same height (of course) but weighed 165 pounds (75 kg). Yes, I have lost some weight. This was intentional. I’d like to get down to 150 pounds (68 kg) but I’m not in a hurry. I’m more interested in losing it slowly and keeping it off than crash dieting.

  3. I am pretty active at work, which may (depending on the job) consist of hanging drywall 8 hours a day, repairing a roof, or cleaning literally a ton of garbage out of garage (weight confirmed by the scales at the dump), or digging post-holes and setting posts in concrete. A light day at work is mowing four lawns with a non-self-propelled push mower as well as lifting said mower in and out of my pick up truck to transport it between job sites. On top of that, I try to ride my bike 30-40 minutes a couple times a week, and work a garden that supplies most of the vegetables we eat from about June onwards, which involves a fair amount of physical effort. I wouldn’t describe myself as sedentary, although I’m not on the level of people doing Ironman competitions, either.

  4. I’m not interested in suggestions for where to get my protein from, I’m curious as to how much protein I should consume, not what form it takes. I’ll figure out how I want to eat it. (Please do not suggest beans - due to food allergies many legumes are out of the question for me. Those I can eat I do eat, but the choice is extremely limited in my case)

Why am I asking this? Well, I am trying to lose weight, but most of my protein sources are either dairy or animal flesh, both of which can be a little heavy on calories. I can cut down on those, as I can happily eat entirely vegetarian meals, which helps a lot if you want to lose weight. On the other hand, since I do perform some physical labor for living it’s rather important I get sufficient protein to maintain (or even build up) my muscles. Weight loss is fine, muscle loss is not.

Yes, yes, I realize that my end goal of 150 lbs still puts me into the “overweight” category according to BMI. I will also point out that I really do carry more muscle mass than the average woman my size and age. That’s why I can climb up and down a ladder hauling stuff up to the roofing crew for 8 hours a day for multiple days in a row, or load/unload 80 pound bags of cement from a truck, and so on. Most height/weight sites put my “ideal” body weight at around 130-135 but the last time I was that light I had two medical doctors advising me to gain some weight back. 145 is really where I feel my best, but I want to maintain 150 for awhile before trying to take off another 5.

2

Have you tried using the calculator on one of those nutrition sites? When I put my age, height, and target weight in the SparkPeople thing, it told me how much I’m supposed to be eating.

I’m 5 feet, six inches tall. I weigh 136 pounds now (180 last September). I’m 51 years old. The site tells me I should have between 60 and 120 grams of protein a day.

I believe you can put in your activity level as well.

3

Considering the facts that you are trying to lose weight and you do carry more muscle than the average woman, I would say between .75/1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight should be ideal. Now of course this is generally speaking, without knowing anything more other than what is contained in the OP. And a true gauge of health and fitness levels is body fat percentage, not BMI. I wouldn’t even worry about what the BMI chart says. I would put your protein needs at about 90 grams a day.

4

*At least 90 grams; I should have said.

5

Yes, but the answers produced show quite a range so I thought I’d seek some human input.

^ Like this. 60-120 grams is quite a spread, don’t you think? I mean, how do you decide “60” or “120”?

Understood, but it’s harder to get an accurate body fat percentage, and with me giving my height and weight I was anticipating someone coming back with the BMI, which I think is over-rated as a measure. There are too many things it doesn’t take into account, and there’s something wrong with a yardstick that winds up saying a lot of elite athletes are either overweight or even obese when you just have to look at them to see they’re not.

Thanks. I will, of course, consider that with any other answers I get, and I assumed you meant “at least” although the clarification was appreciated. :smiley:

6

Within that spread I’d aim for 90 each day and use the range as outside limits for each day.

ie, for the week I should have eaten 630g (90x7) but if an individual day dropped to 60 and one rose to 120 there would be no need for concern.

So your range supports Jamiemcgarry’s recommendation.

7

Lean meats actually don’t have a lot of calories. For example, a 4 oz serving of Eye of Round steak, a steak on the cheaper side that is almost always very lean, is 170 calories. That’s also about the same as 4oz of chicken breast, or a 4 oz loin pork chop with the fatty edge cut off.

Now, it may be that the only meats you like are the rich fatty ones. However it’s not wholly true that “meat has a lot of calories.”

8

I really think it’s a large range because humans are incredibly adaptive omnivores and we typically do well on a variety of diets. It’s one of the reasons we’ve successfully covered the earth.

9

I don’t eat pork. I don’t buy chicken breast because it costs half again what legs/thighs cost. I don’t buy eye of round because it costs twice as much as the lower grade meat. Yes, my budget is that strict, which meat I buy depends almost wholly on what’s on sale and what’s cheapest. (Also, I think chicken breast tastes like cardboard, I much much prefer the dark meat because it actually has flavor).

I’m wondering how you leapt to the conclusion that I only like “rich fatty ones” when I did not, in fact, detail which meats I am eating.

Really, it’s the dairy that’s the higher calories protein source for me, as I won’t eat crappy reduced or no fat cheese because it tastes like… well… plastic crap. I’d rather eat a smaller amount of something that tastes good than a greater amount of an off-tasting imitation. I have sufficient self-control to do that, as demonstrated by the fact I actually have lost some weight. However, the calorie content of dairy is a concern as most days I’m eating a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet and meat is about 2-3 times a week for me.

I think you’re confusing “want to lose weight in a slow, controlled manner” with a “no fat diet”, which, by the way, isn’t healthy. You do need some fats. Given my level of physical activity, I actually do need some calories to burn for energy. Right now I’m losing weight on approximately 2500 calories per day, which is high enough that a sedentary woman my age would be gaining weight on it easily. My strategy is largely portion control, not total elimination of anything.

10

I’m sorry I offended you, it was not my intention. However, you in turn jumped to many wrong conclusions about my post. I absolutely do not believe in low fat diets. Quite the opposite. I don’t eat low-fat or no-fat ANYTHING, it’s disgusting. Plastic food is not a lifestyle choice for me.

It was because you said “meat has a lot of calories” when, broadly speaking, it doesn’t. Even chicken thigh, minus the skin, only has 210 calories in a 4oz serving.

11

Well, compared to the vegetables that compose most of my diet, yes, meat actually is more calorie dense. I’m the type of person that can eat a meal composed of beets, cucumbers, and carrots with no sort of sauce or condiment, then have a bowl of cherries for dessert.

Not that I’m opposed to eating a 12 oz slab of grilled steak every so often, with buttered mashed potatoes and salad with creamy dressing on the side, but that’s a once in awhile occasion, maybe every six months. It’s not how I eat every day.

12

How do you possibly eat 2500 calories that way? A whole beet has 35 calories. A whole cucumber has 45 calories. Do you eat about 50-90 in a day?

Eggs are usually a good value in terms of getting protein. It seems to be somewhat regional, but in some places eggs are really cheap. I used to sometimes get 18 for $1.10 in rural VA.

13

You decide whose science you like better this week. (The USDA recommendation is 0.8g/kg/day, which comes out to about 57g for you. But IMHO, they like carbohydrates way too much and fats not enough, so I don’t know what to think about their protein recommendations.)

Then you decide by taking both your activity level and the kind of activity into account, and then you begin the trial and error process, adjusting up or down as you see how your body reacts to your intake.

I would suggest that you begin on the high end, especially if you’re cutting calories to use weight. You not only have a fairly active lifestyle, but it’s active in the kinds of activities that push your muscles to their limit, break some muscle fibers, and encourage your body to make more muscle fiber - which is a pretty protein intensive process.

This is different than a person who walks a lot, who’s getting their heartrate up and burning calories and losing fat, but not going to do a lot that builds muscle, so they’re not going to need as much protein as you, even if they’re the same size and burning the same number of calories in a day.

So pick a number on the range and then see what happens. Are you exhausted? Do your arms and legs ache more than usual? Do you get the shakes when you’re doing hard labor? Then you may need a bit more. Feeling fine and losing weight at a slow, steady rate? Then try cutting back a bit more and see how it goes.

Hello Again, a 5’3" 158lb woman who is trying to lose weight doesn’t need nearly 2500 calories a day. By rough estimate, 1500 calories a day should see weight loss of about 1-2 pounds a week. Trust me, it’s not hard to get 1500 calories a day from vegetable sources.

14

Meat, fish and eggs, besides not being very calorie dense unless they are fatty cuts, are also the most pure sources of protein (well, except protein powders). Most vegetarian protein sources have a majority of calories per ounce coming from fat (cheese, nuts) or carbohydrate (tofu, beans, grains, yogurt). I’d stick with plenty of animal protein if you want to lose weight and maintain and build muscle.

There’s lots of contention about how much protein is necessary to live in reasonable health (not much), how much is optimal for humans (who knows?), how much might be harmful (if you get it from whole foods, your body tends to self-limit), and how much helps people achieve lean, muscular bodies and have good athletic performance. I only concern myself with the last two really.

I am poor and eggs are an inexpensive and nutrient dense source of protein, so I have 3-4 every day. I also eat about 1/2 lb of meat or seafood daily. I get 95-120g of protein most days (when I count. I used to track my intake daily but haven’t in many months). 1 gram per pound of total bodyweight is a good rule of thumb if you’re trying to build muscle; I am (I weigh about 105 lbs). Another rule of thumb you often hear is 1 gram per pound of lean bodyweight, which, unless you have recently had your body fat percentage measured by an accurate method, is more complicated to figure out…

At 160 lbs with lots of muscle and a high activity level, my opinion is that you should be aiming for at least 100g protein every day (more, even much more, if you have the appetite for it), while cutting down on carbs and keeping an eye on your total calories. With how active you are, you probably have to eat a lot more food than most women around your size, so be careful not to reduce your intake too much. Sounds like you already have a handle on that though. I agree that slow and steady weight loss is best.

15

Broomstick stated she consumes 2500 calories a day, and is losing weight on it due to a very physical job. It’s in post 9.

16

I didn’t say vegetables were ALL of my diet. Add in some full-fat dairy, some olive oil, some butter… it adds up. If I have toast (2 slices) with my usual amount of butter that’s over 300 calories right there. It only takes a few relatively high-fat items to boost the total. I never have just one serving of Cheerios, for me, a bowl of them is 3 servings worth, or around 300 calories. Nothing wrong with that, as long as I’m aware of that and take it into account, which many people do not. They assume their bowl is 1 serving but the information on the box defines it differently. My usual breakfast is around 450 calories. That leaves an “allowance” of 1,025 each for lunch and dinner, neither of which is particularly hard to achieve via the addition of either dairy or meat or some sort of oil or butter to a meal along with a sweetened beverage. And I have no problem eating fats or oils because I need them because of the amount of manual labor I do, the energy has to come from somewhere, and it’s either carbs, sugar, or fats. Fats taste good, and I can get away with quite a bit so long as I’m burning the calories off.

The really low count lunches (all vegees) compensate for the occasional lunch I get from my boss, which is McDonald’s - not at all low fat or low calorie. He bought me McDonald’s for lunch today, that meal clocked in around 1500 calories (yep, I actually calculated it it just now, 1450) - wow, that upped the total, didn’t it? I might hit 3,000 before today is over, and likely tomorrow I’ll have homemade vegetable soup for lunch and a light dinner. Had a chocolate ice cream cone last Saturday, I’m sure that upped my total. It’s not that I’m meticulously weighing out each morsel and eating exactly 2500 calories per day, that’s the average over a week. Some days I may be hitting considerably more than that, some days less. If I have a high-calorie day I try to have a low-calorie one the next. (Yes, I do keep a food diary from time to time. It helps me keep track. Very important for various dietary goals.) If I have a high fat meal I try to balance it with the next one being low fat. It’s the average values that are important.

Yep, eggs are cheap, but I get tired of them.

17

In my opinion, protein is a highly overrated nutrient. If you look at diet advice from prior to the WWII era, you’ll see that it was mentioned relatively little compared to today. Then, starting the in the 40’s and 50’s, food producers wanted to see American’s more meat and dairy, so there was a major push to convince the public that a large amount of daily protein was a necessity.

Personally I eat a vegetarian diet with cereal and milk for breakfast, a sandwich with either peanut butter or veggies for lunch, and an ordinary dinner. I doubt it gets me more than 30 to 40 grams of protein per day, but it’s enough for me and I am very physically active.

18

WhyNot, I don’t have an average job. Yesterday, for instance, I was trimming trees, then cutting up the limbs (or, in couple of cases, entire trees) and loading them into a pickup. For 6 hours. Today I was helping repair a garage at a site with no electrical service. Some nitwit (not me, I’m glad to say) forgot to charge the batteries on the cordless tools, but the job still had to be done. So we all got to pound nails by hand for a few hours in addition to everything else we were doing on site. This is not a lightweight job. You burn a lot of energy doing it. People usually have to spend money on a gym membership to get this kind of workout, I get paid to do it. :smiley:

Back when I was a deskjockey, yes, 1500 calories a day could suffice. I’m a lot more physical now, which makes these sort of calculations a little more tricky. Most calorie/nutrient calculators don’t account for a woman in her late 40’s doing this kind of manual labor. That’s why I asked here, because we have some other outliers in regards to physical activity and I appreciate their input, experiences, and opinion.

(The job does lack cardio training, but I do like riding my bike, which is probably a good thing)

{quote]So pick a number on the range and then see what happens. Are you exhausted? Do your arms and legs ache more than usual? Do you get the shakes when you’re doing hard labor? Then you may need a bit more. Feeling fine and losing weight at a slow, steady rate? Then try cutting back a bit more and see how it goes.
[/quote]

Those are really good points. I’m often physically quite tired by the end of the day, and by the end of the week some muscle soreness isn’t usual upon waking although usually it’s gone by the time I’m going out the door on the way to work, it’s pretty minor stiffness. Almost never get the shakes while working, though. Hmm… by that yardstick I seem to be doing OK.

The 90-100 gram consensus we’re talking about here works out to what, between 3 and 4 ounces of protein a day? Not a huge amount really. That’s essentially one dietary serving of chicken or beef. Of course, anything beyond what my body needs for muscle building or repair is likely converted to energy or fat, but that might be a good minimum to consider.

19

Oh, I get that. I missed it the first time, but I get it now. Yes, that’s a very good indication that you’re in the “very active” category of people - if you’re eating 2500 calories a day at your weight and height and losing weight, you’re not “moderately active” as these charts normally go.

So that’s additional evidence that your protein requirements are probably a bit higher than the USDA recommendation.

100g really does sound like a good starting point for you.

More like 12 ounces, or 3 dietary servings, of beef, or almost a dozen chicken thighs. Meat isn’t pure protein, so 3-4 ounces of protein isn’t the same as 3-4 ounces of meat.

1 chicken thigh has about 10g of protein, while a 4 oz. hamburger patty has about 28g. An egg has about 6g of protein. A slice of whole wheat bread between 2 and 3g. Cottage cheese, about 15g in half a cup. Peanut butter, 8g in 2T.

20

Oooo - good catch!

So… a dietary serving of “protein food” every meal might be a better benchmark for me. Looks like my breakfast clocks in at 20 grams of protein (I eat the same thing for breakfast almost every day), so I should try to get 80 grams the rest of the day. Which might be split between lunch and dinner, or doubled up on one or the other meal. On average. And occasional day with extra probably doesn’t hurt now and again.

Now that I think about it (and consult the food diary) I actually might be short-changing myself a bit. I think I might try increasing the protein slightly for a couple weeks and see how that works. Don’t think I’m getting quite 100 grams a day, more like 70-80.