Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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Hi!

Today I had 0 carbs, 1000kcal of protein and 1500kcal of fat. I know that having a lot of protein is bad for your health, but can I compensate for it eating less protein during the coming week?

Thanks!

flag	asked Jun 11 2011 at 22:24 Konrad 274●4●11

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That's a good amount of protein! I'vr never seen any convincing evidence that high amounts of protein are bad for you, except without any fat or carbohydrate. You got plenty of fat as well, so I wouldn't worry. If you want to eat less protein that's fine too - but the automatic idea that a lot of protein is somehow bad for you is probably erroneous conventional wisdom. – Dave S. Jun 11 2011 at 23:49

Great point. The only issue in any research about problems with protein is consuming only very lean protein. That's when you hear the term "rabbit starvation." – ben61820 Jun 12 2011 at 0:43

overall nutrition is what's important IMO. Also, trying to get exact macro nutrient amounts from day to day is way too much stress. – Leanne Jun 12 2011 at 3:42

ben61820 · Accepted Answer · 2011-06-11 23:35:32Z UTC

yes you can of course lower your protein intake tomorrow or whenever. A measure of a day, one 24 hour period, is arbitrary to the body; a bolus of protein one day is not going to kill you.

Moreover, why is 1000 calories of protein bad? Some say one gram of protein has three cals, some say four. So 1000 calories of protein is somewhere between 250 grams and 333 grams of protein. Thats a solid hit but not "unhealthy". I weigh 175 lbs and each day take in between around 1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight per day. That is exactly in the range the OP says. This is very common for an athletic person.

Rather than being unhealthy it makes me grow bigger and stronger and harder to kill

Eric · Answer 2 · 2011-06-11 22:30:38Z UTC

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I would eat a normal amount of protein the rest of the week and look at it as a data point for the future on what to do different...

How did you get so much protein :-)

answered Jun 11 2011 at 22:30

Eric
22.5k●1●18●71

Look at his profile for a clue, my dear Watson. He's from Brazil. I'm guessing the protein is from red meat, and not whey protein shakes. – Kamal♦ Jun 11 2011 at 22:33

Red meat, as Kamal pointed out! – Konrad Jun 11 2011 at 22:59

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damn brazilians - scarfing their by-default grassfed cows and looking good on the beach. – ben61820 Jun 11 2011 at 23:36

I need to go to Brazil!!!! – Eric Jun 12 2011 at 4:51

semirade · Answer 3 · 2011-06-12 18:30:58Z UTC

I follow the dictates of my intuition and my body - it seems to tell me when I need any fruit or veggies more protein or less - I'm never ever ever hungry - and love eating this way - I don't bother counting or doing a "proportional" type obsession with this diet - otherwise I'd be letting the diet dictate me rather than living life!

Is it bad to have too much protein in a day, but a reasonable amount in a week?

3 Answers