How much protein is too much?

Hey healthy veggie!

When I first went vegetarian (which failed by the way) I also put on weight. I cut out meat and either ate cheese, or more bread and pasta to fill the hole.

While I enjoyed the food, I didn’t enjoy the body feeling. I felt a bit embarrassed, and if I think back to it now, a bit ashamed as well.

I then successfully lost weight with the Atkins diet (a kind of forerunner to keto) but that was just mostly water weight and wasn’t sustainable anyway.

As soon as I ate carbs again the weight came back on it. Ridiculous really.

It wasn’t until years later that I truly understood the importance of protein. It’s the key to both building muscle AND losing fat.

Most vegetarians don’t get enough protein to begin with.

It’s what we call The Protein Gap.

However, when we add extra protein sources like cheese (or have extra bread or pasta) we get more protein, but also take on more calories.

Have you noticed weight gain since you became a vegetarian? You’re not alone.

It’s what we call The Calorie Trap.

How much protein do women need to be healthy?

By the way - there’s a full podcast here on protein, and how needs change as we age.

First up, we need to look at the bare minimum someone needs to stop protein deficiency.

That number is accepted as 0.8g per kilogram of bodyweight (or 0.36g per pound).

We'll use a bodyweight of 60kg (132lbs)¹

So 60 x 0.8 = 48.

48 grams

That’s an absolute minimum of 48g protein to stop protein deficiency and stop any negative effects from a lack of protein.

¹60kg (132lbs) is used as the weight of an average woman when any excess fat is discounted. Excess fat does not require extra protein and as such is not included in the calculations.

So how much protein do women need to lose weight?

Ok, so let’s take that same woman and put her on a 1500 calorie diet. That should be about right for her to lose weight safely and consistently for as long as she needs.

Now, we know she needs a bare minimum of 48g protein every day.

But what about going above 48g? What happens then?

This is where the miracle of protein really occurs. There are two effects I’m particularly interested in when it comes to weight loss and protein.

1- the more protein you eat, the more full you feel (the satiety effect).

That means you’re less likely to eat more of other stuff throughout the day.

That’s mostly by reducing a hunger hormone called grehlin, and increasing appetite-reducing hormones like cholecystokinin.

2- the more protein you eat, the better the ratio of body fat you lose compared to body muscle.

And, wonderfully, in turn - the more muscle you can keep, the more calories you will burn in your regular day to day activities.

This is because muscle burns more calories than fat!

It’s an amazing virtuous circle.

So how many grams of protein should you aim for?

Every gram above 48g helps your ratio of fat to muscle loss. If you can get up to 60g a day, you are doing great!

It can be tricky as a vegetarian however - no lean meats, no fish. It’s especially tricky to get there at only 1500 calories. Typical protein sources (like dairy) are often high in fat.

It’s why we focus on high protein recipes. The protein to calorie ratio is so much better!

We know it simply works the best for weight loss, and as it becomes a lifestyle it stops the dreaded yo-yo effect.

How to get this much protein every day

If weight loss is a goal of yours, we highly recommend making protein an extreme priority. I went over 5 keys in my last email on how to do this easily.

We also have many, many recipes on our site that fit this criteria.

There is also another fix - The Vegetarian Protein Fix, to be precise.

It’s a 12 week programme and series of ready-made meal plans (and a whole lot more, see below) designed to help you lose weight by increasing your protein intake.

These meal plans don’t stop at 60g protein either.

They go all the way up to 85g a day!

Remember every gram above 48 works in your favour.

But I know from my own experience, as well working with hundreds of clients, that it’s rarely that simple.

Shopping made easy

Even the thought of going shopping for the right ingredients can be exhausting.

That’s we include all shoppings lists (which update automatically too) or - you can even buy everything online with a click if you’d prefer!

Meal prepping is usually at least two servings at once so you Cook Once, Eat Twice. This frees up a lot of ‘kitchen’ time for something more fun or relaxing.

Beating cravings and triggers

We’ve also devoted a lot of time to understanding cravings and triggers, in both ourselves and clients, and we’ll help you set up safety nets to catch you if you fall.

You can join The Vegetarian Protein Fix Summer Special right now and Hauke, James and myself will be right there to support you personally.

That’s one of the joys of being a small, independent company - we can help you individually!

Dave, James & Hauke

PS. btw, based on current evidence - around 3g protein (or higher) per kilogram of bodyweight would be considered too high.

No need to go to those levels, and our meal plans don’t either!

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