Protein - Daily Minimum

I was under the impression (from reading the Zone diet) that the average woman needed about 21 grams of portein at each meal.

Today I was told that 30 grams of protein per day is plenty.

Does anyone know the minimum amount of protein needed to maintain good health for a woman who's 140 lbs and 5' 8.5"?

Sun. Feb 5, 1:31am

Well, I went to a nutritionist once and she said I should aim for 42 g. I'm 5' and 105 lbs. I don't know your activity level, but I would think you'd need a bit more than 30g.

Sunday, February 5, 2006, 2:20 AM

Are they assuming 3 meals per day? I've always heard something like 50 something grams is best. I think is depends on your activity also. I know I do better with a level that is more like 50-60 at day.

Sunday, February 5, 2006, 5:50 AM

All diets have different recomendations.
weight watchers says 30 % of your calories from protein, same as zone.
RDA says 50 grams protein, 65 grams fat, and 300 grams carbs.
I got this info from Crosstrainer when I downloaded the free trial.

Sunday, February 5, 2006, 9:01 AM

I'm the original poster. Thanks for your input everyone. I had a strong feeling that 30 grams of protein was not enough.

Sunday, February 5, 2006, 2:38 PM

I eat 1200 calories on average...

Get...
71 g protein
31 g fat
180 g carbohydrates

works out to
22% Cals. from fat
6.6% cals from saturated fat
56% cals. from carbs
22% cals from protein

I put the link below to all the nutritional information for the plan that I'm on.

Link

Sunday, February 5, 2006, 2:56 PM

4 , 4 & 9!

1 g protein = 4 calories
1 g carb = 4 calories
1 g fat = 9 calories

So depending on what % you're going for of each and the total amount of calories you're going for per day - you can figure out how many grams of each you need to get.

For example:
1200 calories a day
30% protein, 50% carbs, 20% fat ......
1200*.3 = 360 cals = 360/4 = 90 grams protein
1200*.5 = 600 cals = 600/4 = 150 grams carbs
1200*.2 = 240 cals = 240/9 = 26.67 grams fat

Hope this helps you!

I've always heard 30% protein, 50% carbs, 20% fat is good to shoot for!

Sunday, February 5, 2006, 4:58 PM

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