Can too much protein lead to fat?

[rsjagtia]

Hey everybody,

I've been working out really hard over the last 9 months and i've dropped about 50 lbs and i'm @ 165 @ 17% BF. Now i need to maintain that weight and drop the BF to 10% or so so i've upped the protein to about 160 g a day from about 40 g a day what i used to before. Over the last 3 months i've upped the weight training to real high intensity and i see some definition as well which is good. I've kept the cardio the same (Medium-High intensity..45 minutes 6 days a week). However, i've also noticed that i may be putting on some fat as my face is not as lean as when i switched over to this new diet with high protein. I'm wondering, is there any evidence to suggest that excess protein can cause BF% to go up? i'm going to give this new work out another month or so before i do my BF % test but i was thinking is my mind playing games with me?

My sources of daily protein are:
- Grilled Chicken Breast (About 0.5 lbs - so about 40 g here)
- Lots of 2% Milk (about 20 g of Protein here)
- Protein Shake (48 g ..ON Whey 100% Gold Star)
- Yoghurt (another 10 g)
- Hard boiled eggs(3-4 , no Yolk)
- Optimum Diet Protein Bar (20 g of Protein)

Do you guys think i should drop the Protein quantity perhaps like i had before and continue hitting the weights hard? My goal is to get cut, not hugely ripped. I'd like to be at about 10% with some serious definition, but not ripped like body builder style . Any thoughts or suggestions people?

The other thing is i've kinda been on this new protein diet for about 3 months now.

[Squat2Grow]

Excess calories beyond what your body burns for the day = weight gain, whether it be muscle, fat or a mixture of both

[Hotmoltenlava]

Excess calories beyond what your body burns for the day = weight gain, whether it be muscle, fat or a mixture of both

X2

Yep

[jcosley]

Its all about Calories dude! Excess will make you gain the weight.

[ahllun]

you shouldnt be worried about protein, if anything you dont even have enough

[goodfella0729]

have you checked what your bmr should be at this new weight?

but like everyone said excess calories not excess protein would make you gain weight.

maybe keep a log for a week on the exact macros you are taking in to get a better idea.

i take in 250-300 g of protein a day at 180lb. but my carb intake is pretty low unless its a refeed day.

[icery]

excess protein can certain being converted to glucose. biochemical pathway for protein to fat does exist but the odds of it ever being brought into functioning are somewhere between zero and zero

[rsjagtia]

Hey guys, thanks for the great response. I think the problem was that I added a whopping 1000 calories from eating the excess protein:

- Grill Chicken Breast (300 Cals)
- Portein Shake (250 Cals (Powder) + 250 for Milk))
- Protein Bars ( 220 Cals)
- Eggs (100 Cals)
- Fat Free Cheddar Cheese Slice (80 Cals)

So it appears that clearly, if i was eating normally before when i was reducing my BF% like crazy, that was probably the range of calories i should have been in. After stepping up the Anti on the protein from all the above sources, clearly, i must have tipped over the "ideal" point of calorie intake which would lead to an increase in fat.

So for now, i'm cutting out all the stuff above and just keeping the Protein Shake. I'm cool with getting 80 g of Protein a day because my main aim is to get Cut, not ripped. I believe with intense weight lifting and a reasonable calorie deficit, my BF% should continue to go down while at the same time, i should start seeing some definition. When i'm at say 10%, then i'll hit the Protein really hard to get bulk. What do you guys think??

[techraven]

Why drop the chicken breast (Lean solid protein?)? Whats your daily intake look like? Why mix with milk, water works?

[Mighty Kev]

Too many calories can lead to fat, protein or carbs or fat cals, doesn't matter which

[rsjagtia]

Well i hate the Protein Shake taste with water. IT tastes SO much better with milk so i dont want to loose that. The reason i'm dropping the chicken is that I want to get back to my original diet I had (When i was dropping the BF%) and just add the Protein shake to supplement my work outs. Here are my daily meals NOW:

Meal 1 Breakfast (10 am)
- Kellogg's Special K cereal (Vanilla Almond) with half cup 2% milk

Meal 2 Lunch (1 pm)
- Spinach Salad with Olives and Chick Peas + Fat Free Dressing + Grilled Chicken Breast (currently catolina) (Will Cut Chicken Breast)

Meal 3 Snack (3 pm)
- Turkey and Whole wheat bread sandwich with slice of Fat Free Cheese and Fat Free dijon mustard (Will now Cut Cheese)

Meal 4 Protein (4:30 pm)
- Optimum Diet Protein Bar

Meal 4.5 Proten Shake (Between 6:30 pm - 8 pm)
- Protein Shake (2 Scoops) + 2 Cups 2% Milk

Meal 5 (Dinner) (8 - 9 pm)
- 2 Pita Breads + Cooked Chicken or Vegetables
- Quarter Cup yoghurt (Fat Free, Plain)

Meal 6 (Eggs) (10:30 pm)
- 3 Hard boiled eggs, No Yolk
- Carrots

Bed Time (2 - 2:30 am)


Thats my daily intake of food. I added the Cheese, Chicken, Protein Bars and Protein shake and eggs. I'm not sure what to remove now since i'm clearly consuming too many calories which is leading to perhaps a BF% increase. As i said, my goal is to drop the BF% and get some definition, not too much Bulk. Next year i can look to add some massive muscle, but for now, i just want to be lean so i dont have a belly and man boobs .

[mpipes]

Sounds to me like it might just be water making you look puffy.

If you increased milk intake that much, remember there's some carbs in that too, and the extra carbs will make your body hold more water.

Along with your increased protein intake, maybe you added significant salt too for flavoring the stuff you're eating? This will make you hold water too and make your face look puffy. Just something to think about keeping an eye on.

I know when I make an attempt to reduce salt and carb intake, the first place it's noticed is my face, it starts looking thinner. Then if I end up eating too many carbs at once, the face puffs right up the next morning.

[rsjagtia]

Yeah! Totally. I notice that as well. When i wake up in the morning, i've got a puffy face (LOL i thought it was just my morning face). I use store marinades to flavour my Chicken Breast. But i think i'll just get back to my old Diet. For the next 6-8 weeks to get some "lean-ness" back in my face . Do you guys think thats a bad idea. Any other suggestions?

- I don't eat that much salt at all really. Whatever Salt i'm consuming comes from the Dressings for salads and some general cooking I do at home but i don't but that much salt in it (1-2 Spoons for a 2 meal portion) which is not that bad.

As far as puffiness goes, i didn't realize that water could be it! Thanks! I'll keep that in mind.

- So Should i consider switching to Skim Milk instead or just Water (Yuck!). I hate the taste of my protein shake with Water!

[illpunches]

Just be smart about your protein sources. I assume you're aiming for about 2500 calories a day and that can easily be under that amount when consuming 160 grams a day. Your sources are very similar to mine, you should be fine.

[rsjagtia]

Well i tried to keep the sources as "Natural" as possible. However, it seems that i might have cranked up the calorie count too much. What do you guys think is better:

Option 1) Cut out the Milk from the equation and drink protein shake with water
Cut out the cheese

Option 2) Cut out the Chicken Breast from the equation
Cut out the cheese

I believe option 1 may be a lot better right? Since i can get way more protein from Chicken breast than milk. What about skim milk? Does that have less carbs or is water the safest? I hate this puffiness!

A hybrid option might be just do the chicken on my lifting days and on cardio days skip the chicken. I'm more focused on getting my BF% down than my weight. Any thoughts?

[rl15120x]

You could just eat less carbs and fats besides your protein sources. That's the option I would recommend.

[goodfella0729]

Well i tried to keep the sources as "Natural" as possible. However, it seems that i might have cranked up the calorie count too much. What do you guys think is better:

Option 1) Cut out the Milk from the equation and drink protein shake with water
Cut out the cheese

Option 2) Cut out the Chicken Breast from the equation
Cut out the cheese

I believe option 1 may be a lot better right? Since i can get way more protein from Chicken breast than milk. What about skim milk? Does that have less carbs or is water the safest? I hate this puffiness!

A hybrid option might be just do the chicken on my lifting days and on cardio days skip the chicken. I'm more focused on getting my BF% down than my weight. Any thoughts?

definetly cut out option one. use water trust me it ist bad at all with water. chicken is loaded with protein and healthy just dont eat it fried.

[rsjagtia]

Yeah thats what i thought. Damn, it was too good to be true! LOL Whatever tastes good is usually bad for you is the theory i'm going with here . Alright so i'll drop the Milk Intake.

I use a George Foreman Grill to grill the Chicken breast and I apply the Meat Marinades you get in safeway for some flavor. Any recommendations for low Sodium ones ?

So for now, i'll drop the Cheese, Milk and Any extra other/carbs i have (I have some fruit at night like apples and stuff once in a while) and stick with the Chicken. Then go from there.

[goodfella0729]

i use marinades too for flavor. usually a fat free italian or something alike. or i just use spices like a chicken rub. i count those in my macro counts though too, but it really isnt much at all. and other flavors that are good are the jamacian jerk or i also like just a little hot sauce. you just have to read the contents on the back of the bottle and pick the best one. and teryaki is probably one of the worst from what i remember but maybe not.

but chesse and milk arent a bad thing on a bulk lol

[rsjagtia]

Haha yeah you're right. Cheese and milk are technically good, but i guess i dove into the "bulk" phase too early and WAY to hard. I need to focus on getting my BF% to say 13-14 before i can do stuff like this . Once i'm in the "Lean" zone then i can work to bulk and drop BF at the same time.

[adoniscomplex]

Hey guys, thanks for the great response. I think the problem was that I added a whopping 1000 calories from eating the excess protein:

- Grill Chicken Breast (300 Cals)
- Portein Shake (250 Cals (Powder) + 250 for Milk))
- Protein Bars ( 220 Cals)
- Eggs (100 Cals)
- Fat Free Cheddar Cheese Slice (80 Cals)

So it appears that clearly, if i was eating normally before when i was reducing my BF% like crazy, that was probably the range of calories i should have been in. After stepping up the Anti on the protein from all the above sources, clearly, i must have tipped over the "ideal" point of calorie intake which would lead to an increase in fat.

So for now, i'm cutting out all the stuff above and just keeping the Protein Shake. I'm cool with getting 80 g of Protein a day because my main aim is to get Cut, not ripped. I believe with intense weight lifting and a reasonable calorie deficit, my BF% should continue to go down while at the same time, i should start seeing some definition. When i'm at say 10%, then i'll hit the Protein really hard to get bulk. What do you guys think??

wait wait wait
your only going to take in 80 gs of protien a day
thats insane !!!
first off
are you aware eating protien increases your metabolism through thermic effect ( much higher then fat or carbs )

if you have a problem with your diet its too many carbs not too much protien

you need more then 80 g a day if you are strength training

whats your whole diet like
whats your bf at ???