Why does protein help you cut? Is extra protein worth extra calories while cutting?

[Sprockethead]

I am on like day 3 of Leangains, intermittent fasting. I have been meticulously logging my food and nutrient intake. Turns out that I'm not really eating very many grams of protein in a day, which is worrisome.

I weigh 186, work out all week (cardio x6, lifting x3), and have reduced my caloric intake to about 1400/day.

Anyway, Leangains recommends eating 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. That's WAY more than I'm eating.

My question is this. I could down a couple protein shakes on top of what I'm currently eating in order to meet my protein requirements. But that's extra food and calories. How is that going to help my cut weight?

Does extra protein trump the extra calories?

Thanks for any input.

[MagnumPeanut82]

I look at it this way.

Its the QUALITY of cals that you are eating.

Say I get 2000 cals (just a round number to work with)
If I need 200 g of protein that would be 33 eggs which is 2300 cals

I cant eat that much volume OK. Doesn't leave any room for anything else either.

So what I do is eat light foods like Tuna and a shake for protein.
1 can of tuna is 30g protein and only 120 cals. I scoop of whey is 24g~ protein and 120 cals. I just did 1/4 of my protein needs in 240 cals. Thats only 10% of my daily cals allowance.

See what I mean. Look for foods like this that are low volume but high protein.

Tuna is dirt cheap too BTW. Whey can be priced well too depending on what and where you buy it.

Now chances are if I was eating under my protein amounts its because I am eating foods that are high in sugar, fat or carbs which do not help bodybuilders as much (this is a BB site still right?) or athletes other than for energy. All the energy in the world without enough protein will not help you maintain or build muscle (the goal is to build muscle still right?).


inb4 tl;dr

[vrundmc]

I am on like day 3 of Leangains, intermittent fasting. I have been meticulously logging my food and nutrient intake. Turns out that I'm not really eating very many grams of protein in a day, which is worrisome.

I weigh 186, work out all week (cardio x6, lifting x3), and have reduced my caloric intake to about 1400/day.

Anyway, Leangains recommends eating 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. That's WAY more than I'm eating.

My question is this. I could down a couple protein shakes on top of what I'm currently eating in order to meet my protein requirements. But that's extra food and calories. How is that going to help my cut weight?

Does extra protein trump the extra calories?

Thanks for any input.

I eat 1400 cals a day on a cut and i weight like 135. You are eating too little especially since you are working out so much. First, increase cals. Then, protein should not be an issue. List your diet.

[JavaT]

I am on like day 3 of Leangains, intermittent fasting. I have been meticulously logging my food and nutrient intake. Turns out that I'm not really eating very many grams of protein in a day, which is worrisome.

I weigh 186, work out all week (cardio x6, lifting x3), and have reduced my caloric intake to about 1400/day.

Anyway, Leangains recommends eating 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. That's WAY more than I'm eating.

My question is this. I could down a couple protein shakes on top of what I'm currently eating in order to meet my protein requirements. But that's extra food and calories. How is that going to help my cut weight?

Does extra protein trump the extra calories?

Thanks for any input.

"Protein has the highest "thermic effect" of any food. That means that protein foods speed up your metabolism because your body has to work harder to digest, process and utilize this nutrient compared to fat or carbohydrate. The "thermic" effect of protein is one of the reasons that a higher protein diet is more effective for fat loss than a high fat diet or a high carbohydrate diet. Too much of any food type can be stored as body fat, but protein is less likely to be converted to fat than any other nutrient."

[Sprockethead]

List your diet.

Yesterday was a typical day for me.

Wake at 6am.

First meal at 12:30pm
Half club sandwich (6" sub) on wheat
Pickle
Veggies

Second meal at 4:30pm
A big turkey wrap with cream cheese (from costco)
Rice snacks

Work out at 5:30pm

Third meal at 7:30pm
Soup and crackers
A lot of grapes

Snack at 8:30pm
Bag of popcorn

[Sprockethead]

"Protein has the highest "thermic effect" of any food. That means that protein foods speed up your metabolism because your body has to work harder to digest, process and utilize this nutrient compared to fat or carbohydrate. The "thermic" effect of protein is one of the reasons that a higher protein diet is more effective for fat loss than a high fat diet or a high carbohydrate diet. Too much of any food type can be stored as body fat, but protein is less likely to be converted to fat than any other nutrient."

Cool! This is what I was looking for. I appreciate it.

So.... back to the question. Is it worth adding calories to your day in order to have more grams of protein? Meaning, everybody should be drinking whey protein shakes regardless of their diet?

[JavaT]

Cool! This is what I was looking for. I appreciate it.

So.... back to the question. Is it worth adding calories to your day in order to have more grams of protein? Meaning, everybody should be drinking whey protein shakes regardless of their diet?

Yes, it's worth adding more cals. However, caveat: Even though whey protein is a fast-absorbing protein (best taken post workout), it's best to incorporate whole proteins as often as possible.

[sharpieblet]

nothing of what you posted is very specific...it doesn't list how many cals are in each sandwich or the grams of protein/carbs/etc. do you actually know the precise amounts in each meal? or are you ballparking? b/c if you don't know precisely, then you're hurting your progress.

looks like you're taking in too many cals but i dunno...you're definitely getting your sodium in with the soup crackers and pickle though lol. but as long as you're staying under your cal limit for the day it shouldn't be that big of a deal...but like i said, you didn't put numbers

[JavaT]

Yesterday was a typical day for me.

Wake at 6am.

First meal at 12:30pm
Half club sandwich (6" sub) on wheat
Pickle
Veggies

Second meal at 4:30pm
A big turkey wrap with cream cheese (from costco)
Rice snacks

Work out at 5:30pm

Third meal at 7:30pm
Soup and crackers
A lot of grapes

Snack at 8:30pm
Bag of popcorn

Your third meal is MOST DEFINITELY deficient of both protein and overall cals. This is a post-workout meal, the time when you need a better balance of macronutrients for recovery and while the furnace is stoked.

Fix that third meal.

[MagnumPeanut82]

Yesterday was a typical day for me.

Wake at 6am.

First meal at 12:30pm
Half club sandwich (6" sub) on wheat
Pickle
Veggies

Second meal at 4:30pm
A big turkey wrap with cream cheese (from costco)
Rice snacks

Work out at 5:30pm

Third meal at 7:30pm
Soup and crackers
A lot of grapes

Snack at 8:30pm
Bag of popcorn

BRB, dying.

Read the sticky in this section and the nutririon section and learn a bit about eating properly first.

[Stefnic]

BRB, dying.

Read the sticky in this section and the nutririon section and learn a bit about eating properly first.

What he said ^

Your diet is nowhere near good enough to see desired results.

Fix it

[Sprockethead]

My diet's not good cause it needs more protein?

I'll go read the sticky.

[J_Dieter]

Your third meal is MOST DEFINITELY deficient of both protein and overall cals. This is a post-workout meal, the time when you need a better balance of macronutrients for recovery and while the furnace is stoked.

Fix that third meal.

What she said. +Rep JavaT.

Also, if you're worried about the extra calories and feel that they'll hurt your defecit in a cut, you could add a little more time in the gym or some extra cardio. But as others have said, it looks like you can get that protein by tweaking your diet.

At the end of the day, it's your body and you know it best. You don't have to follow the diet word for word, everyone will have different results. If you want to make a change, ^^ is where it's at. If you're comfortable, keep at it and GJ.

[ejthomp]

This website isn't dedicated to losing weight fast.

Losing weight fast is not important. Looking good when you get there is what we are after.

Eat your protein! Even if that slows down your weight loss a little bit.

Eat those grapes at 6AM...instead of 7:30PM. Give your body a morning shot of simple carbs.

Drop the crackers and popcorn in the evening...add some protein.

[RTW2]

BRB, dying.

Read the sticky in this section and the nutririon section and learn a bit about eating properly first.

lol

AGREE

[TelusLob]

I am on like day 3 of Leangains, intermittent fasting. I have been meticulously logging my food and nutrient intake. Turns out that I'm not really eating very many grams of protein in a day, which is worrisome.

I weigh 186, work out all week (cardio x6, lifting x3), and have reduced my caloric intake to about 1400/day.

Anyway, Leangains recommends eating 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. That's WAY more than I'm eating.

My question is this. I could down a couple protein shakes on top of what I'm currently eating in order to meet my protein requirements. But that's extra food and calories. How is that going to help my cut weight?

Does extra protein trump the extra calories?

Thanks for any input.

Didnt read any replies, but extra protein is muscle sparing while in a calorie deficit. Don't eat enough protein and risk losing extra muscle mass.

[Electricheadd]

Have a good read, protein is one part of an equation that allows you to change the composition of your body rather than simply losing weight. As EJ pointed out... we don't care how fast it comes off, we care that you look good when its done.


http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat...levels-qa.html

[AvsFreak]

Protein is important because it supports lean muscle (which burns more calories) and it is better than Carbs or Fat at satisfying hunger.

I am doing the Leangains as well and doing 2500 calories on workout days and 2200 on non workout days. This is what I had yesterday.

12pm - 10oz chicken breast 280 cal 60g protein
1 cup brown rice 200 cal 4g protein
2 cups mixed veggies 150 cal

Workout 3-4:30

Dinner - Two 7oz grilled chicken breasts 420 cal 74g protein
10oz yam 320 cal
1 bag steamed broccoli 120 cal 8g protein

Desert - 1 cup cottage cheese w/splenda 180 cal 30g protein
3/4 cup Kellogs protein plus cereal 100 cal 10g protein (soy)
1 scoop ON casein 120 cal 25g protein
1.5 cups low fat ice cream 300 cal 9 grams protein (Love leangains, I can eat ice cream again!)
2 tbsp natural peanut butter (melted on the ice cream) 200 cal 9g protein

Sooooo.. 2390 calories and 229g of protein. I don't really count macros on carbs and fat, I just keep carbs lower on non workout days (maybe only 1 meal with carbs) and the fat higher, (have whole eggs maybe some bacon and more nuts for desert, etc) per the Leangains approach.


Make sure you are eating enough calories, 1400 is pretty low for someone of your size (find a good BMR calculator online) and keep around 40 percent of those calories from Protein, lift heavy and you'll be good.

[SherOfPunjab]

In simple terms:

- Protein builds muscle
- Muscle is more active than body tissue or fat (i.e. it burns more fat)
- Therefore it makes sense to increase muscle and preserve it to burn more fat
- Best way to do that is to increase protein intake.

[legends159]

from a purely cutting perspective, protein keeps you full longer than fats and carbs. See http://www.ajcn.org/content/87/5/1558S.full.

from a long term body composition, protein helps you retain lean muscle so you're not going to become skinny fat.

don't eat more calories, eat less other macros and up your protein. For a simple formula, 40% protein/40% carbs/20% fat seems to work for most people and you can customize from there.