: Protein: How much is too much? I'm currently taking in 100 grams a day of protien via whey powder. I used to take 250 grams when I was training. I've read that you should intake 1 gram per pound of body weight you have when

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The information you are asking about is not well known. We know that excess protein can stress the kidneys, but so far there is really no evidence that higher amounts of protein can damage healthy kidneys.

There's a fair amount of evidence that many of us eat too much protein. In addition, countries that eat more animal protein have higher rates of cancer.

My recommendation is to stay closer to the lower end of protein intake and only increase to the point it shows improved performance and no more.

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According M.D. Nick Evans to lose weight need a diet of 50% protein, 40% carbohydrates, 10% fat and a negative caloric balance.

Considering that 1 gr. proteins are 4 kcal then you can calculate how much protein do you need to lose weight without losing muscle mass.

For example: On a diet of 2200 kcal you need to eat 275gr of protein.
(2200x0.5) / 4 = 275gr

You just only need to know how many calories you need to eat to be in a negative balance. :-)

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There is a need to consume more protein during fat loss to spare muscle protein.

This is especially true for Very Low Caloric Diets.

But anything more then 3g per kilogram of body weight seems unnecessary.

2-3g/kg +a couple of sessions of intensive weight training a week could save your muscles while dieting.

I highly recommend books by Lyle McDonald to understand this issue in all the complexity. www.bodyrecomposition.com/
Note , that despite being often mentioned, there are zero researches confirming kidney damage by high protein intake for healthy people.

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According to research (Source), the body only needs 0.36g of protein per pound (0.79g per kg) each day for maintenance. In 2009, the American Dietetic Association, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine released an abstract supporting 0.5g to 0.8g of protein per pound (1.1g to 1.8g per kg) each day as sufficient (Source).

You can take in a significant amount more than this and be fine, as excess protein is excreted, so long as you get enough fats and/or carbohydrates as well to balance your nutrition needs and solubilize your fat-soluble vitamins that your body requires, as well as calcium to replace that which the protein will leech from your system (Source). You must consume enough water to flush the excess. There's not any point in buying "extra" protein though if you already have plenty in your diet to start with. Those doing body-building will need to be on the high end of this scale.

Based on those research articles, at 250 pounds (113 kg), the figures are as follows:

0.4g/lb = 0.88g/kg = 100g/day (sedentary)
0.5g/lb = 1.10g/kg = 125g/day
0.6g/lb = 1.32g/kg = 150g/day (active)
0.7g/lb = 1.54g/kg = 175g/day
0.8g/lb = 1.76g/kg = 200g/day (body-building)

Regardless of the amount of calories in your diet, your "necessary" protein will fall into that range of amounts. Anything over that amount will be flushed from the body. If you eat more food, you won't need to also add more protein. The amounts listed above are sufficient. If you eat less food, you won't need to drop protein. Just stay within that range.

If you're cutting pounds, but not doing any serious weight training, you're going to fall somewhere between 0.4g and 0.6g of protein per pound (0.88-1.32g/kg). If you want to take more than that, as long as you're taking in enough fiber, you won't see much in digestive problems, taking in enough calcium will prevent bone density problems, and taking in enough water will prevent kidney problems.