Too much protein ?

[ocean_soul]

Female 42 5'1" 121-122
So I'm old. I'm up from my ideal weight of 117-118 since late January.

I use the lose it app synced w my Apple Watch. I feel the stats are accurate since I have averages over a year. Accurate as in could be off by 100-200ish calories burned one way or another.

My at rest calorie burn averages 1300-1400. Not tdee... just my at-rest burn.

With activity & exercise I burn an average of around 2100 cals a day. This can be more or less. I have an active job & active life on top of lifting 4-5 days a week, running outside 2-3 days a week. Started seriously lifting about 3 years ago. I do Caroline girvan, Chris & Edi and just picked up Sydney (summer Time fine 2.0)

I started logging on Lose It 3 weeks ago and notice I'm at about a 200-300 deficit a day. I'm fine with that.

I eat about 1700-1800 a day, around 2000 1-2 days a week but I do a double workout on those days (weekends). If I eat less than 1700, I'm starving to the point I can't sleep.

I've been on the protein train but haven't counted grams until I started the lose it app. Many days I'm getting 130-150 grams!

Could this be causing weight gain? Even tho I maintain a modest deficit?

Sample day:
(Lift day)
Syntha 6 shake - 24 grams
Lunch- 6 oz tuna w 1 tb light mayo, low fat cheese stick, orange
Snack, portioned chips, 2 cups grapes, 2 pieces black licorice
Dinner- 8 -10 oz chicken/fish/lean beef w some marinade , 1/2 sweet potato, garden salad , 1 tb light dressing
Snack- 1/2 Barebells protein bar, 10 small crackers , hard boiled egg....

I've been considering making my lunch more complex carb laden if it will help.

yes, I measure/weigh. I've been managing my weight since i was 17....i used to follow ww, but I'm too old to have any food be 0....though I've internalized the concept... mostly healthy whole food-some treats, watch portions....move.

any insight will help. I was able to maintain my ideal weight for years this way. being small and old and a woman-ughhhh

 

[bluebird29]

@ocean_soul Too much protein won’t make you gain fat if you’re still in a calorie deficit. The weight gain you’re experiencing could be muscle mass or it could be water weight. It’s only been 3 weeks of you logging so just keep at it and reassess in a few weeks.

There’s posts on here about the same thing like once a day where someone comes on saying they’re being consistent but aren’t seeing any progress and then they say it’s only been a few days/weeks and the response to all of those posts are the same: you just have to be patient.

 

[forwhatitsworth]

@ocean_soul Women need more protein as we age simply to retain existing muscle. I’m older than you. I aim for a minimum of 100g a day but hit more most days.

You aren’t going to gain weight by eating too much protein. Your body uses more energy to digest protein than fat or carbs. You gain fat by consuming more calories than you are burning. Gaining fat is totally different from gaining scale weight. Scale weight can be all kinds of things. If anything you should probably be eating more calories to get in more nutrients.

Your diet doesn’t seem to have much fruit or veggies. Those Barbell protein bars are delicious but they’re not that great nutritionally.

Have you changed up your workout routine? This can cause temporary water retention. Do you take supplements?

As we age our NEAT activity generally goes down. This has a bigger impact on weight than the time at the gym as it’s the entire rest of your day and evening. Have you had any lifestyle change? Lifting doesn’t burn a ton of calories. The benefits come outside the gym. Activity trackers are not accurate and food labels are allowed to be off by 20% so even if you are weighing and measuring you may still be off by a lot.

What do you mean you’re “too old” for 0 point food? Our metabolism doesn’t slow down until well in to our 60s. Middle age weight gain is down to diet and lifestyle changes. You say you’re “mostly healthy, whole foods “ but your example day contains a lot of processed foods - chips, shakes, mayonnaise, marinade, crackers, protein bar. Your diet doesn’t have much fiber. I track fiber and protein, but I prioritize fiber over everything.

I’d add more fresh whole foods to your diet to get in some fiber and nutrients. I’d also look at your non exercise activity.

There’s nothing that jumps out in your diet or routine. In these cases it’s usually a case of underestimating calories and overestimating activity.

 

[dawn16]

@ocean_soul High protein is great but a lot of people tend to not increase their fiber intake. I would increase your veggie intake and add some whole grains. I don’t know if this is necessarily making you gain weight but would be good in general. I also think you could afford to drop the protein bar and eat your calories in real food. That would keep you fuller for longer.

 

[christalbot]

@ocean_soul I drastically increased my protein intake this past month and I dealt with the worst bloating ever which made me feel like i gained weight. Make sure you’re getting in your fiber and drinking water, maybe even take a probiotic every now and then.
Protein doesn’t cause weight gain if you’re in a deficit it just builds muscle.

 

[grimkinggrim]

@christalbot Did you notice that the bloating eventually went down? I had to greatly up my protein and overall calorie intake from about 900-1000 to about 1600 and protein from around 70 to 120 a day and I literally cannot button any of my pants. It’s been 6 weeks and I feel like I’m waddling!

 

[christalbot]

@grimkinggrim The only thing that helped my bloating was drastically increasing my cardio along with my increased fiber. I was dealing with horrible bloating where I also couldn’t zip my pants and now my stomach is totally flat. I literally have to end the day with atleast 1 mile of walking but I aim for 5. Of course if you’re trying to bulk or gain muscle mass, walking more than 1 mile could get in the way of that.

 

[grimkinggrim]

@christalbot Thank you! I’ve just started speed walking and will increase the cardio a little more to see if that helps me drop this crazy bloating. I’m miserable

 

[chaotik31]

@ocean_soul High protein does cause weight gain, insomnia, dehydration, inflammation. 1g per kg of body weight is more than enough

 

[dmhanson511]

@ocean_soul Not sure about weight gain but I’ve heard petite women should do 1G of protein per lb of body weight up to 135g.