I'm a big guy. I'm 6' 8" tall and weigh about 253 pounds. According to the chart in PP for computing body fat percentage and lean body mass I have about 205 pounds of lean body mass. According to the Protein Power book, because of my activity level I'm supposed to eat 164 grams of protein a day to keep from losing muscle. That's a lot of protein! It seems hard to me to eat that much protein per day. I supplement my protein intake by using low carb, whey protein powder. The protein powder only has 2 grams net carbs per serving. It has Splenda in it. I'm considering not being as concerned about my minimum protein requirement and just eating until I feel full. However, I don't want to lose muscle mass. I'm doing some weight training and cardio and I don't want to be wasting my exercise time. Have any of you not met your minimum protein requirement and still not lost any muscle? Has anyone experimented to see how much protein they really need?

I know that I've had trouble eating all the protien recomended in the Protein Power Life Plan book- some days I'm hungrier and eat that much, but other days I'm not and was getting nauseated and ignoring my internal cues by trying to get all that protein in. I almost gave up on Protein Power altogether.

But, when I calculated what my protein needs were based on the mathmatical formulas in the original Protein Power book, I got a much more managable number. Then I realized that the charts in the 2nd book round up the protein needs for almost everybody "to make sure you're getting enough", and that I didn't NEED as much protein as the charts stated.

By going with the smaller number (in my case, 70g per day rather than 110 or so) I've been able to stay on this plan for a year and a half.

Thanks for your reply. I might try leaning more toward an Atkins approach on protein consumption and monitor my lean body mass. If it looks like I'm losing LBM I could watch my protein intake more carefully again.

Just thought I'd pass on a thought I got from Eades. As Ruth indicates the protein requirements in PP are lots lower than in PPLP. Eades told me, in response to a question I asked, that you can safely eat about 20% below the levels suggested in PPLP. In my case that puts me a little above the recommendation in PP.

I have found that if I eat less than that amount of protein -- 80% of what is recommended in PPLP -- that I get really hungry after a few days. But if I stick to that amount my hunger is well controlled. Based on what I have read I'm fairly certain that the appetite arises from insufficient protein and that is when I'm in danger of losing LBM. I believe that if you eat sufficient protein you will see "normal" levels of hunger and will not lose LBM.

Thanks for the information. I have both of those books and I'll take another look at them.

20% less protein than 164 grams comes to 131 grams of protein per day. Does that sound reasonable to you LoCarBe?

That sounds like a reasonable goal. Thanks again.

I started using the "My P.L.A.N." to keep track of exactly what I was eating. In the last two days I've discovered that I'm actually going quite a bit over my minimum requirement on my protein consumption. I have eaten quite a few pork skins the last couple of days, though. It's pretty easy to get a lot of protein quickly when eating pork skins. I'm considering eating pork skins (also known as pork rinds) to supplement my protein sometimes, instead of the protein powder. 1.5 oz of pork rinds will give me 24 grams of protein and 0 carbs. A scoop of protein powder will give me 26 grams of protein, 3 net carbs, and some artificial sweetener. The pork skins might be a better choice of protein most of the time.

The nitrogen studies on protein usage usually recommended .8 - 1 g of protein per kg (2.2 pounds) of lean body mass. More if you exercise a lot. Remember if you are not eating a lot of carbs, Eades recommendations include the protein you need to convert protein to glucose (gluconeogenesis). Eat slighly leaner cuts of meat to get the protein. Most meat has enough fat to meat the fat requirements.

I'm following the 30 Day Low Carb Solution (abbreviated Protein Power) and following their chart, I'm supposed to be eating 6 ounces of protein food per meal - assuming 3 meals per day. That's about 120 grams per day. One of their "golden rules" is to always eat your protein minimum every day. Fortunately - they don't really enforce a particular method of accomplishing that task.

For me - I'm always wanting to put something in my mouth so I dish out my proteins at the beginning of the day, and nibble my way through them. When I factor in dairy (hard cheese, cottage cheese) and nuts, and whatever occurs naturally in vegetables, I really don't find it difficult to meet my daily minimum.

However, I've been looking into protein powders to use as snacks or meal replacements. I've seen a lot of creative ideas for shakes using coffee and cream that have me very intrigued.