How Much is Too Much?

[suechef]

Hi - I know you can eat a lot of protein & still lose, but I was wondering if anyone knew how much is too much - at what point does the body start turning excess protein into glucose? I've seen it many places that this happens, but I never see any actual numbers. I'm just interested in knowing for the sake of knowing...
thanks,
Sue

[maxlharris]

It depends. On a lot of things. Activity levels. Protein needs. LBM. exercise. metabolism. Etc. If you are eating 2.4g/lb of body weight, you are at the theoretical limit of useful protein. Beyond that, you're either not gonna digest anymore or it's going to convert to things you don't need. Either way, that's the theoretical limit. Under that limit, if you are eating until you are sated, not stuffed, you are probably not converting any protein to glucose that is going to be a problem to weight loss.

FWIW: there's a lot of worry given to this topic, but I've seen very few people actually stalled because they are blowing it with excessive insulin response to the products of gluconeogenesis. There's usually something else at play.

[suechef]

Thanks Max.

I'm not asking for reasons to do with my own weight loss, just academic curiosity. (I'm eating around 120 g a day more or less, I'm 165 and 5'7", exercise daily, so I figure that's about right - I don't plan it, exactly, it just seems to always come to about that).

When I hear people saying something over and over again, I like to know if there's anything to it (actual science) rather than just the conventional wisdom.

cheers,
Sue