How much protein should I consume?

[Mr Rayon]

How much protein should you consume from one sitting to take the maximum benefits of the protein available? I've been told that if you eat too much protein some of it will be converted to fat...so how much protein should you consume in one sitting to not convert any to fat?

[vordhosbn]

It depends on your total caloric intake, whether some of the protein will be converted to fat.

 

I suspect that you are interested in straight training and muscle gain.

 

I have read on the topic, being interested myself, and to summarize - eat a lot of food at smaller portions, but often, do enough exercise (this can be tricky - generally if you don't feel pumped up and almost totally exhausted at the same time, you are doing it wrong) and finally about the protein - studies have shown increased protein intake to aid muscle growth and recovery up to 2 gr. of protein per kg. body weight.

More than that is shown to be ineffective and potentially dangerous to people with preexisting kidney conditions.

 

Don't be afraid to put on some fat while gaining muscle. It's not so hard to get rid from, later.

[dttom]

Well, the protein consumption should be approximate to the body composition, that if 25% of the body is made up of protein, just take the approximate amount of your total calory intake, in this way the protein could be better utilized to prevent excess or deficiency, after all they are broken down and assimilated eventually. Whether or not excess protein gives fat depends on the amino acid, but on average a protein molecule should contain most of the twenty amino acids in the body so usually it is true that excess protein could put more fat. But I don't think it is significant if you compare this effect with that of excess carbohydrate consumption. And not all excess amino acids end up in fat but to depend on whether it is a ketogenic (finally to fat) or glucogenic (to glucose) or both.

[Marat]

It is also interesting to note that national average protein consumption correlates with national rates of renal disease. Those with mild renal impairment can slow the progress of their disease to total renal failure by restricting protein intake, but most people aren't aware of their renal status unless they have their glomerular filtration rate tested. The bottom line is that if you are going to go on a protein eating binge to bulk up on muscle, have your renal function checked first to be safe.

 

Also, the fastest route to muscle building is to ensure that your testosterone level is normal, so testing that and correcting any deficiencies is useful.