How much protein can the human body absorb in one sitting?

[Boyd]

I like to think I've got a good diet, considering. I'm not a nutritionist and my regime is built more of habit than discipline, but on the whole I've been following an informal "common sense diet" based primarily on the concept of "eat a lot of good stuff, and not a lot of bad stuff". It's served me well.

Now, my goal is pretty simple: I want to lose fat and gain muscle. To that end I've been eating a diet consisting mainly of organic cereal, skim milk, bananas, grilled chicken, rice, beans, and when I'm feeling decadent, fat-free turkey dogs. I also enjoy a protein shake after my workout and before bed. These shakes consist of three scoops of protein powder at 23 grams/scoop. With the four cups of milk my enormous Target-brand tupperware glasses hold, these shakes contain approximately 100 grams of protein.

I used to have two of these a day as a failsafe to ensure I was meeting my daily quota of protein, since my diet can get pretty erratic sometimes and I have a bad habit of skipping meals. Recently, though, a friend told me the human body can only take in 30 grams of protein in one sitting. He didn't clarify as to what constituted a "sitting", or what happened to the excess protein, only insisting that what I was doing was overkill.

My question for you, young masters of Bullshido, is this:

1) Am I taking in more protein than my body can handle?
2) What becomes of the excess protein?
3) Assuming I continue eating well and eating consistently, should I continue to supplement my diet with all this protein?

I weight 185 and lift 3-4 days a week. I also train BJJ 3-5 days.

[hoodedmonk]

How much protein can the humane body absorb in one shitting is the real question! your body will discard whatever it dosen't use! as A rule of thumb, I was told to gain mass one gram of protein per pound of body weight is ideal. Hope this helps!(convicts/inmates are huge and they eat three squares go figure)

[timjitsu]

Once I drank so much protien shakes that my belly-button ached for 3 days straight. Turned out that I needed to take a massive ****. It hurt.

True story.

[hoodedmonk]

timjitsuson my ass will never be the same do to the same mistake! LOL.

[Teh El Macho]

I'm no young master of bullshido, but I'll say you are missing one important piece of information. Your height.

Ok, you are 185. But how tall are you? Height and weight will determine how far or how close you are to your goals.

[isol8d]

[QUOTE=hoodedmonk]as A rule of thumb, I was told to gain mass one gram of protein per pound of body weight is ideal./QUOTE]

everyone has different size thumbs, and as such, everyone has different protein needs.

Mackie Shilstone recommends the following, make note of grams of protein over kilograms of Lean Body Weight.

Recommended Protein Intake by Age and Sex
7-10 Male/Female 1 Protein gram/kilogram Lean Body Weight
11-14 Male/Female 1 g/kg
15-18 Male 0.9g/kg
19-41 Male 0.8g/kg
15-51 Female 0.8g/kg

Recommended Protein Intake for Strength and Endurance Athletes

Strength Athletes 1.2g-2.0g protein / kg lean body weight
Endurance Athletes 1.2g-1.4g protein / kg lean body weight

FWIW, losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time is not really efficient. For big guys, try to burn the fat while at least maintaining muscle. For skinny guys, build the muscle before you try to get rid of your fat, or you'll just end up with a smaller version of yourself.

[Bang!]

My question for you, young masters of Bullshido, is this:

1) Am I taking in more protein than my body can handle?
2) What becomes of the excess protein?
3) Assuming I continue eating well and eating consistently, should I continue to supplement my diet with all this protein?

1) From your protein shakes? Probably well in excess.
2) Some people will tell you that you'll just **** it out. As far as I know, excess protein is converted into fat, glucose or just burned off. Protein carries the same metabolic weight as carbohydrate -- it's just not used as readily.
3) Probably -- just not to the same extreme. Based on your goals, I would guess that you should be taking in between 2 and 2.5 grams of protein per kilo of boydyweight per day. Some people might argue that even this is excessive, but assuming that you have healthy kidneys and aren't afraid of gaining weight, then off you go.

Bear in mind that you should be spreading your protein consumption out as much as possible. A shake before bed is a swell idea, as is a post (and pre-) workout shake.

[Equipoise]

A rule of thumb is 30g's per sitting. Anymore is generally excreted. Make sure to match your fluid and carbohydrate intake to the protein you take in, otherwise you'll develop fun things like kidney stones.

[Matt W.]

Most literature (and by "literature" I mean fitness rags, of course) recommend between 1-1.5 grams per pound of body weight each day. More if you are really trying to pack on muscle mass. I read an interview with Jay Cutler, current Mr. O, and he claimed to eat in excess of 600 grams a day (IIRC, I think he claimed about 800 grams). When asked if he thought he really needed that much protein, he answered something like, "No, but I don't know exactly how much I do need, so I overestimate." (My paraphrase)

*shrug*

I have also heard the thing that anything over 30-40 grams per sitting is wasted. But I don't know if that's really true or not.

[Teh El Macho]

Keep in mind that Boyd not only wants to pack muscle but to lose bodyfat.

Now, for that, we need his height to have a rough idea of of his body mass index (BMI) and basal metabolic rate (BMR). Presently, we only know his weight (185). No BMI or BMR, no conclusions. Simple as that.

BTW, BMI may not be the most accurate way to determine a person's body composition, but it helps as a starting point.

He, or whoever else that has the same questions should look at the chart below (or similar charts). Keep in mind that 1) an athletic/muscular person may weight more than a sedentary one, and 2) people who consider themselves chubby may have more muscle than they are aware of. The weight ranges that may be applicable for anyone weighting 185+/-lbs are hightlighted below.

Ideal Weight for Men ( from http://www.clark.cc.oh.us/clinic_weight.html )

Height
in Shoes Small Frame Medium Frame Large Frame

6'4" - 162 to 176 lb - 171 to 187 lb - 181 to 207 lb

6'3" - 158 to 172 lb - 167 to 182 lb - 176 to 202 lb

6'2" - 155 to 168 lb - 164 to 178 lb - 172 to 197 lb

6'1" - 152 to 164 lb - 160 to 174 lb - 168 to 192 lb

6' - 149 to 160 lb - 157 to 170 lb - 164 to 188 lb

5'11" - 146 to 157 lb - 154 to 166 lb - 161 to 184 lb

5'10" - 144 to 154 lb - 151 to 163 lb - 158 to 180 lb

5'9" - 142 to 151 lb - 148 to 160 lb - 155 to 176 lb

5'8" - 140 to 148 lb - 145 to 157 lb - 152 to 172 lb

5'7" - 138 to 145 lb - 142 to 154 lb - 149 to 168 lb

5'6" - 136 to 142 lb - 139 to 151 lb - 146 to 164 lb

5'5" - 134 to 140 lb - 137 to 148 lb - 144 to 160 lb

5'4" - 132 to 138 lb - 135 to 145 lb - 142 to 156 lb

5'3" - 130 to 136 lb - 133 to 143 lb - 140 to 153 lb

5'2" - 128 to 134 lb - 131 to 141 lb - 138 to 150 lb

If you find yourself way below your range, and you want to pack more muscle, you need to increase your daily caloric intake. If you are way above, and you want to lose body fat, you need to cut it down. Simple as that, and that's (almost) independent of how much protein you take a day.

How to do both (lose fat and pack muscle), that's tricky. Some people can do it, some cannot. You will have to play it by ear and experiment.

Next thing is to calculate your basal metabolic rate, or more exactly, how much calories you need to take a day to achieve your goals. Keep in mind that everybody is different, so you'll have to experiment and see what works for you. But a good rule of thumb is to use the following guidelines:

-- fat loss : 10 - 13 calories per pound of bodyweight
-- maintenance : 14 - 17 calories per lb of bw
-- weight gain : 18 - 20 calories per lb of bw

There was a related discussion a while back ago. I'd suggest you read it:

http://www.bullshido.net/forums/show...metabolic+rate
http://www.bullshido.net/forums/show...9&postcount=16