chairmanMEOW

Okay so my friend and I are in this argument about how much protein you need to either gain or lose weight.

from what i've read, in both occurrences, you need about 1-1.2 grams of protein per pound you want to be at. if you want to gain weight, you incorporate a lot of complex carbs in the mix as well while losing weight would make you wanna try to have a low amount of carbs.

he brings an article to me that some Ph D wrote that you dont actually need protein supplements to gain weight since our normal diets have proper amounts of protein.

i'm trying to lose weight right now and i'm currently following a minimal carb, high protein diet. he says if i want to lose weight that i should just eat less.

verdict? o_O?

Couchwarrior

You don't need much protein to gain weight, it's the least anabolic of the three energy sources. But if you want to gain muscle as opposed to fat, you'd want to make sure that you get decent amounts of protein. If you eat the right food, you don't need supplements, at least not before you reach a very advanced levels, but most people don't eat right.

The same goes for losing weight, you want proteins to make up a large amount of your food. But of course you also don't want to eat too much. Don't starve yourself though, that will be conter productive in the long run. The most important thing is to burn calories through exercise.

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There are vegan body builders, they look pale but otherwise ripped. They say they get a lot of protein, but what? Tofu, nuts... beans... I'm dubious.

Otherwise there are a lot of theories about what is the best way to eat. From my personal experience, adding extra protein, creatine etc, does help for gaining muscle, but not particulerly for loosing fat.

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wukkadb

Low carb, high protein = unhealthy. Protein is important for building/repairing muscles, and it does supply essential amino acids, but your diet should not be based around protein.

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chairmanMEOW

uh oh. lol. i guess that explains why i lost 18 lbs but dont look any more cut. it must've been a lot of muscle mass i lost as well.

okay. start over diet! =D

currently at 167. aiming for 160 but i want to get more muscular/toned. in terms of diet. what should it be like? the more specific the better. i know everyones asked questions like these already but i'm super confused as to what i should do. i've been doing the high protein-low carb thing for quite some time now so my world is effectively turned upside down x_X

im doing HIIT 4-5 times a week, lifting 3 times a week, running 3-4 times a week, and working in technique training 3 times a week.

im a boxer who'll eventually get into mma but i wanna stick with boxing for now.

Terror Kovenant

Proteins are essential for building, repairing and maintaining muscles. Amino acids are absolutely essential to serious athletes. The body burns carbs to utilize protein. So you won't get the full effect of protein with adequate carbs. I fully believe in protein supplements as a way of building and maintaining muscles. 1 gram to 1.5 grams per lbs of body weight a day.

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The Don

If your looking to drop 7 pounds I can do that in a week.. cut out junk foods.. sugars and sodas and such.. exercise a little bit more then you do now.. and you'll lose the few pounds your looking to lose.

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Brown rice > White rice

An Orange > chocolate

etc

Avoid sugar - try to replace it with fruit. Avoid junk food. Avoid bad fats like cream or anything based on milk or cream. Lean meat > fatty meat.

I'd reccomend buying a book on it

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PunchYourNuts

diet is not rocket science. You want to gain weight, find your maintenance by tracking everything you eat for a week on fitday.com (free counter) and add 3-500 cals a week until you stop gaining roughly 1 lb per week. Then increase again. To lose weight subtract from your maintenance. Protein should be 1.5 grams/lb, fats .5g/lb, carbs don't matter as long as they fit into your macros, although when cutting I limit my carbs to around my workouts.

HIIT twice a week ontop of training 3-4 days a week should help with your goals.

PunchYourNuts

oh and technically your friend is correct. protein shakes are not required AT ALL, assuming you are eating enough protein from whole foods. They just make things easier.