Why Eating Too Much Protein Is Bad

Why Eating Too Much Protein Is Bad



Often the fitness industry leads us to believe that protein is this magical muscle building substance, that can't be stored as fat. Which is why people go on high protein low carb diets. Pretty much every bodybuilder on YouTube will tell you to eat 1gram - 1.5 grams per pound of bodyweight daily.

The biggest problem with consuming too much protein is.. lowering of your testosterone? YES..

Only fats and carbs can boost testosterone not protein. When you consume 200+ grams of protein daily you leave very little room for carbs and fats which eventually leads to reduction is testosterone. I am sure you know what that means... your body will hang onto more fat and have a harder time building strength/muscle just to name two factors of a reduced testosterone.

(Not to confuse anyone it's not the protein that is bad in this situation it's the fact that in order to meet your caloric goals your fats and carbs will decrease and it's this decrease that leads to the lowering in testosterone)

"But I am bulking surely I need more protein?"
Actually you don't believe it or not people who are cutting will need it more than you to retain their muscle. The perfected number scientists have concluded was that .82 grams is the absolute perfect amount to consume, in fact that number is even rounded up by the researchers! Their research shown that only the most intense style of training would need more than .64 grams per pound of bodyweight. Shown in the graph below:


(NOTICE THE CHART IS IN Grams per/KG 1.8g/kg CONVERTED TO POUNDS >(0.82g/lb) )

Cutting needs more than bulking proven in this study: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3182156

"I train with extreme intensity and very heavy surely I need more?"
Nope, in fact a study was done on elite level bodybuilders putting them under more intense workouts than they are accustom to and even in these very intense and heavy circumstances the absolute most needed was .75g. Remember how I said .82g is rounded up? So you don't need to worry.

Study link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1400008


Takeaways from this thread:

- Aim to eat .82g per pound of bodyweight in grams of protein daily. If you weigh 180 multiply it by .82g and you'll see that you need to eat in the range of 145-150 grams of protein daily. This is obtainable without even trying (by that I mean eating what you do normally throughout your day without protein shakes, only drink the shake if you don't think you will reach the goal without it based on what you eat throughout the day)

- Too much protein means you are eating less carbs and fats to meet your caloric goals. The lower intake of carbs and fats will lead to reduced levels of testosterone which is bad (google why low testosterone is bad if you need to) but 2 main things is that you hold onto more fat and you have a harder time building muscle the lower your testosterone levels are

- By eating less protein you now have more room for carbs and fats which tend to be the tastier foods that we crave more often. By eating these 'tasty' 'craving slaying' foods we trigger happy horomones in our brain (Dopamine and Serotonin to be exact) so you'll enjoy yourself more =D

- Remember .82g per pound of body weight is rounded well up. Even in the most extreme situations anything above .75g scientifically has been proven to have no effect.




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I never really went with 1g of protein for bodyweight, I usually went by lean body weight which comes around to that amount give or take a bit.

You say its not necessary to have too much protein on a bulk but what about a cut.
Even if you're doing a lean bulk, your carbs and fats wont be low enough to to affect your test levels.

 

Actually the research study showed that those on a cut need more protein to retain their muscle. But even in the most extreme case they tested .64g/lb of body weight was enough to retain the muscle during the cut.

When your doing any sort of bulk usually your fats and carbs should not be low that +300-700 daily calories should allow for more intake of carbs/fats.

But the problem is for cutting. The worst thing someone can do is go and eat 200grams of protein per day on a cut. Because that leaves such a small amount of room left for carbs and fats. This is who I believe is effected the most by consuming too much protein, those who cut and eat way too much protein.

But also for those who bulk .82g/lb is already rounded up. So for anyone bulking and not following that number is missing out on eating fats and carbs which are the foods we crave and that release dopamine and serotonin in the brain (the happy horomones)

 

i agree but I also think where you get your protein from is important as well.
Getting your macronutrients from whole foods is a whole lot filling
and leaves you satisified(without the need of craving) than lets say a protein shake. From personal experience, I don't think it is too important if you hit 1g protein/bodyweight or lean body mass, whatever works for your body is what works. If i feel better with 200g of protein, ill be taking 200g of protein, no doubt about it. But if you're still feeling hungry and unsatisfied, I agree with you and should lower protein for more carbs or fat.

 

cant agree more.All this protein thing is soo overblwon by supplement companies.

 

Yes. I was going to include that in the main post but I thought it would make it too long.

Supplement companies want you to think you need more protein.

Also the diets you see from 'legendary bodybuilders' are based on mostly steroid user diets. Only steroid users need the higher intake of protein.

 

I've never consumed too much protein or actually put emphasis on its consumption. I focus more on carbs. I do still take my protein shakes after every workout but that's about it. I've put on and still continue to put on muscle so I can agree that you shouldn't eat too much protein but focus more on carbs and fat (more carbs) to go in caloric surplus to put on muscle.

Thanks for the share.

 

There's non-caloric test boosters like D-Aspartic Acid and other things that can boost your test levels without affecting your intake so you really don't need to lower your protein to boost your test/build muscles lol

 

But eating any more than .82g/lb is not benefiting you so why not have better tasting fats and carbs.

If you'd rather take testosterone supplements instead lowering your protein intake go for it :laugh:

 

I dont think that taking more protein, thus reducing fat/carbs intake would lower your test that much.Unless you go for extremly high protein intake.In most cases you should be fine.

Test boosters only work when your testosterone levels drop below minimum.If its in normal range, no matter how much you are going to increase it in natural limits, it wont help to build more muscle.Only going above natural, are going to yield gains.