Too much of a good thing?

[xSkotx]

Hello to everyone. Just having a doubt: I am following a 2400 cal diet, and since I just started out, I was following a classic 50c-30p-20f. Still, when I get around my 2400 calories, I always manage the percentual, but I get about 130 plus proteins a day, today even 150. When reading around the forum I found out most stay at 100 when in a cutting phase - am I either counting wrong, or hurting my organs badly?

Should I just go on "empty" calories at some point at the day to manage to get to 2400 and getting the right percentual without getting double as much protein as most say I should?

 

Edit: corrected a typo, it was 150, not 170 (luckily)

[xveganjoshx]

I've never cut but for bulking I typically eat 200-250 g protein per day. That is on about 4000 cal. It works. 200 is fine for me, it is probably excessive after that (200+), but I gotta do what I gotta do to get what I wanna get, ya dig?

[Zack]

but I gotta do what I gotta do to get what I wanna get, ya dig?

 

If you always do what you always done, you always get what you always got.- RONNIE

[Guest]

It largely depegnds on what your trying to do...how you react to food and how much training you do. Either way I think that much protein is useless for mostly anyone that isn't really big.

[DV]

I think that if you were eating EXACTLY the amino acid profile your body needs in order to gain or maintain lean body mass then you might not need to eat much protein. However, we can't look at just total protein intake.

 

If you need to eat 150 gms of protein in order to get the specific amino acids you need (and eat more than enough of some other amino acids) then so be it. Your body won't use those other amino acids and they most likely aren't the sulfur containing amino acids (found in animal products) that tend to cause negative health problems.

 

Just my two cents.

[Guest]

I don't think anybody here is eating the exact amino acid profile they need and many here(not myself) gain muscle on much less. Dave in particular is gaining mass on under 50 grams while not doing anything to do anything to gain muscle...does that mean he has the perfect profile...I doubt it. Nobody here does...its more about using what you get and not wasting energy processing stuff you don't need.

[DV]

Well I don't know who Dave is or how much lean body mass he is gaining on his particular intake. I do know that the majority of vegans and omnis who are trying to gain muscle or hold onto muscle while cutting do not do so by decreasing protein.

 

Some people, especially young men who are thin, will make gains when they start eating more (carbs, fats, whatever) and/or working out because they've been under-muscled and under-weight. That's the beauty of youth and testosterone. But once we get into actual bodybuilding then the game plan changes because you are pushing your body past it's normal muscle zone.

 

But don't take my word for it. There are many bodybuilding websites out there where the importance of protein intake is discussed. Being vegan doesn't change this even though there are a few members of this forum who believe in low protein intakes for building mass. This may work for them but it doesn't work for many - me included.

[Guest]

How many vegans do you know that have tried gaining mass through the lower protein/higher carb route??? Pretty much none. Nobody thinks it works. And instead of having enough juice to break down their muscles enough for them to grow quickly the fill their bodies up with protein and can't work quite as hard. Sure maybe it make it more likely that you repair your muscles and they grow a bit but how much repair do you need relative to someone thats broken down their muscles more. If you can't put enough energy into your lifting to really destroy your muscles...you'll never really know how big and strong you can get.

[robert]

I'm bumping my carbs way up these days. Jay Cutler (Mr. Olympia) swears by huge amounts of carbs for muscle growth and I'm listening. He still eats quite a bit of meat but talks in his book and DVD about the importance of lots of carbs, and it's great to see him eating tons of grains and veggies in his videos

 

I'm gaining weight at the moment but I think it has more to do with my consistency and focus and scientific approach (thanks to DV and xvjx) than the increase in carbs, but I think they are a factor too.

[xSkotx]

Thanks for the replies, just needed to know I wasnt going to need new kidneys anytime soon

[Guest]

I'm bumping my carbs way up these days. Jay Cutler (Mr. Olympia) swears by huge amounts of carbs for muscle growth and I'm listening. He still eats quite a bit of meat but talks in his book and DVD about the importance of lots of carbs, and it's great to see him eating tons of grains and veggies in his videos

 

I'm gaining weight at the moment but I think it has more to do with my consistency and focus and scientific approach (thanks to DV and xvjx) than the increase in carbs, but I think they are a factor too.

 

All those guys do eat tons of protein but they are also getting double or triple the carbs of what a lot of people here eat during their bulking phase. Granted they all take the suace but people like that really are the only types of people that can use 300g of protein a day. Just think how much muscle a 180lb person can break down with lifting weights isn't their job...now look at someone thats 260lbs that is paid to destroy himself...and most likely has near daily massages/therapy to make training more bearable the next day. I think this'll really help you Robert...I look forward to higher carb Cheeke.

[beforewisdom]

xSkotx;

 

Experiment with different protein levels. If you feel better, perform better, and get better desired results at a higher/lower level of protein then run with it. Nutrition is far from an exact science and different people have different needs.