LBM and Protein
 

Most lean body mass calculators give me a count of about 89-90 lbs. Moderate activity(PP) is 0 .6, puts me in the 60g protein category.

I went to The Zone webpage :
http://www.enterthezone.com/Site/co...lator_Women.asp

got a LBM of 89, and a protein requirement of 77 grams. I have an 11 Zone Block requirement which explains the 77g.

Why is there such a difference in Protein requirements? Is this because of this 40% carbs, 30% protein, ratio? 17g is another 3 eggs a day! :eek:

Protein Requirements
 

The mimimum protein requirement for a young woman is 60g a day; using LBM and .6g (moderate described as: Someone who exercises 20-30 minutes two or three times per week) you would have a protein requirement of 54g. It would be better to have more protein rather than less in this case. Any number generated from a calculator will be dependent upon the formula being used; the higher number from the Zone program will reflect that.

I would strongly suggest not going below 60g a day; your body can always break the extra protein down and turn it into glucose for various uses and release it slowly w/o effecting insulin.

Nat

Thanks Natrushka. I was concerned about not getting enough protein, i was wondering if I should up my protein intake since going over doesn't harm :)

I regard 20g protein as my minimum meal portion, it would have meant adding another meal-portion of protein to my day, and making sure of getting about 80g protein daily.

I prefer to be slightly over on protein requirement, rather than under.

You were right, Zellie. More is better. You might also benefit from more frequent, smaller meals throughout the day; it would keep blood sugar stablized and your raise your metabolism.

Nat

LOL! I'm a nibbler! I find meals difficult, since childhood I haven't been able to do breakfast. I break down my daily food intake into nibbles, and eat breakfast and lunch from early in the day until about 4pm. Later I have my supper which is not a huge meal.
I might start the day with a little tub of s/f jello :) to force myself to start eating early in the day. I might leave the eggs for supper, and have fish, chicken for breakfast and lunch.
I must ensure adequate nutrition if I do things this way.

Zellie, sounds like you've found a WOE that works for you then. I love having breakfast for dinner, it feels quite decadent (specially when its pancakes!)

Nat

At last :) low carb is the only way for me. I was hooked on the pyramid mindset, (doesn't work for me), resulted in periods of binges and starvation, and lots of junk food when binging. :)
Didn't do any sugar or fat, and I was gaining weight!

I'm a happy high-protein, low-carb trooper :)

Are you eating enough?
 

Dear Zellie,

Let's play fun with math:

If you are eating 60 grams of protein and, since you don't have too far to go to reach your goal, 60 grams of carbs, that is 480 calories (120x4=480). At your weight and activity level, you probably need at least 1200 calorires a day to stay healthy. That leaves you with a 720 calories gap (1200-480=720). If those calories are from protein or carbs, they must be from fat--so that's 80 grams of fat (720/9=80). If you are a recovering Food Pyramid Aholic, I'd be suprised if you were really eating that many fat grams.

Something doesn't add up. Either you are eating REALLY low calories, well under 1,000 (and that's not healthy for anyone over 90 pounds), or you may not be accurately gauging or recording what you are eating. Either that or I'm missing something.