Eating (especially eating meat) and protein

Yes, the amount of protein needed varies per individual. The more physical activity you perform, the more protein you need. I've used several models in attempting to determine the answer to your question and ended up at around 50g per day or less. My thoughts are the amount of protein you need to eat daily depends on your GI gram negative anaerobe levels.
Dr Wahl says that 9 cups of greens need to be eaten daily to make a difference, but I feel that number is much lower for most people. Eating folate laden foods is certainly beneficial for many as they are alkalizing in addition to the folate.

It should be noted that all protein is not the same and that animal protein contains more cysteine and thiol groups which are detrimental to people with certain mutations.

In the process of correcting my leaky gut and GERD, I did an elimination diet, as digesting anything was troublesome.

Part of what I left out for three months was read meat, especially pork. For meat I only consumed skinless baked, or grilled, chicken.

My gut thanked me. To this day, I dont buy pork besides a little ham now and then. Happy gut, happy mind.

" Happy gut, happy mind."

Boy can I agree with this!! LOL!

Commander,

Funny handle by the way! With each meal your protein should be the size of your hand. If you make your hand into a fits the square part if how much protein - so maybe 4 oz. for a woman and 6 oz. for a man, per meal. I do plant protein in the morning, wild fish, organic chicken and lots of vegetables. I don't eat pork or veal and very little red meat.

Let us know if your dietary changes make a difference.

My joints feel the best when I eat higher protein, higher fat with vegetables and salads. Bread and gluten will have me limping and moaning when I walk. Which is not an option at work. I tolerate dairy ok, mostly cheese on a salad or cream in my coffee. I eat blueberries and a few strawberries on greek yogurt when I want dessert or ice cream. I love to occasionally make one minute flax muffins and add nuts, seeds and spices, it satisfies my grainy bread cravings with no grains or gluten.
Some do well with the Vegan type diet, it dosen't work at all for me, too many carbohydrates. I think it depends some of a persons genetic heritage and how that person evolved eating indigenous foods.

I completely agree that we all have different tolerance levels for different foods, but with what you are saying ,GH, I shouldn't have felt better or healed on the diet I have followed since I was in treatment the first time.

So I have to go back to the fact that it's highly individual. There are some basics that we can share about diets, but for the most part we have to pay close attention to how we, as an individual, respond to foods.

For me, I'm highly allergic to soy (even soy oil), and MSG can really mess with me, I need to drastically limit my dairy (unless I have goat's milk), and need some grains in my diet. I make sure to eat lots of greens (just makes me feel better), but eating is a real struggle for me no matter what, so I know I don't eat enough food overall.

Wild turkey breast is one of the most delicious meats you will ever eat. It has no gamey flavor. The thighs and legs are gamey tasting, but they are so tendon laden that they're not fun to eat. I think I've still got one in the freezer now.

FYI, a turkey's body temperature is just over 106 degrees. Nothing grows inside a turkey, the pathogens just can't handle the heat.

Avg protein intake for Americans has tripled in the last 50 years.

When I was really fanatic about my dancer body, I came across something called the zone diet with one of the basic premises to feed one's lean body mass and you take into account one's activity level - if I am remembering correctly. I felt so so so so good on this. It treats food like a drug and also helps balance insulin levels. The amount of protein I took in was a function of activity as well as lean body mass. I ate smaller meals and more frequently, and it was a balance of protein, good fats, and carbohydrates. My favorite snack was gelatin, olive oil, and applesauce mixed together.

Anyways... I think how they calculate protein needs is a pretty good point of departure for calculating your basic needs...and the type of protein... whatever your body is asking for. I believe in deep listening to the body. Give it what it asks for with the exception of carbohydrates and sugars - I think this is a body out of balance talking and that this is conceivable the bacteria and the parasites talking. Intuitive prompts are also good, hunches, messages from your highest/wisest self (for some they might call this God, Spirit, Guides, Angels, Unicorns...ha ha ha)

If one is suffering from cognitive impairment, it can be difficult to sort out, one's body fat and lean body mass. I would NOT trust one's gym for measurements. My gym had my body fat at 23% when I was 93 lbs and my scale and my own measurements were telling me something way different. They use it as a sales tactic to get you to buy training sessions and lose body fat when I knew darn well I needed to be GAINING muscle AND body fat.

A dunk test is the most accurate - if you are a student - your college might have this for athletes that you can access..

I have a scale which gives a rough estimate of my % of body fat. From this, I calculated my lean body mass, and have a rough idea of how much protein my body needs. Right now, I am not really paying too much attention to my protein intake.

I am focusing on GUT HEALTH!

Below is some info., and links to help those interested in understanding the concept of protein needs in relation to feeding lean body mass as opposed to whole body weight (in this theory, you don't need to feed the fat, but the muscles, bones, flesh, etc. - which makes sense to me).

"In order to find how much quality protein you need, you must first determine what type of lifestyle you lead. The following guidelines should help:

1. Sedentary lifestyle -- no physical activity -- .5 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass.

2. Moderately Active -- 20 to 30 minutes of exercise two to three times per week -- .6 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass.

3. Active -- physical activity in excess of 30 minutes three to five times per week -- .7 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass.

4. Very Active -- vigorous physical activity lasting an hour or more five or more times per week -- .8 grams per pound.

5. Athlete -- competitive athlete working out twice daily with heavy physical workouts for an hour or more -- .9 grams per pound."

https://www.verywell.com/calculate-protein-needs-using-lean-body-mass-2242535
http://www.oo-rah.com/store/pt/pt02.asp

I think I've just talked myself back into making sure each time I eat - it is BALANCED with stuff for GUT HEALTH (fermented foods)

I don't have much to contribute, just wanted to mention something strange I've found about my intake..

I will either lose or gain weight at an alarming rate, given a window of only like 200 calories.

I was eating around 2,800 calories for a few weeks, because I wanted to put on a few lbs of fat while I worked on getting some muscle. Then, I realized I was starting to get into that skinny fat stage, so I cut it back to around 2,400 calories, and then I was down about 5 pounds a couple weeks later.

I should chart my weight daily, but I get so busy.

Also, both those numbers seem high to me, given my weight, muscle mass, and activity level, but I'm sure I have absorption issues, so there is that..

On a side note on weight loss...RANT>>>

.... like lyme....for some is slow. Very slow. There are multiple reasons for that, but above all some people can function with very little calories and have the ability to store energy more than others. These people cannot workout at low intensity and need to incorporate nutrition, calorie restriction as well as above average exercise. Not for few months but ALL THEIR LIFE.

I am one of those people. Intense cardio exercises helped me to achieve a weight loss of 0.75 lb a month!! that was back in 1992....and that is less than a pound in one month!. But I was extremely consistent and stubborn when I did it over 2 decades ago so after 18 months I had lost 20 lb. Oprah Winfrey lost mush faster than I did then.
I was able to maintain that weight only for few years, because, like everything, muscles and the body adapts. I gained them all back in 2001. That particular year I was running 30 to 40 miles a week and I gained 25lb!!! How was that possible?
The reason was, my body adapted...so well....it got used to a lot of things I did to it. ohhh the abuse!!! LOL..... AND I never changed my diet. I still drank beer..at least one a day... It took me another 5 years to understand the relationship between food, exercise, type of exercise intensity, and body type.
Nothing came magically.....I worked so hard....just like I am working dang hard to beat lyme.
However just like everything...CONSISTENCE and discipline was the key to weight loss for me.

I have coached many people to loose weight over the years. Some ran marathons and finished them, and changed lifestyle. For all of them the hardest thing was to change the mindset that they just could not do it because .....the 100 reasons we like to give ourselves. When I tell someone...you know for some of us certain foods are just forbidden. It is OK. Not the end of the world. Hopefully your life is more than bread and prosciutto or pizza margherita. Right?

The truth is that weight gain for some could certainly be related to health condition, but for most of us is related to a excess of calories and a lack of exercise.

On fads diets my take is that most of them are marketing scams and trend phases that take advantage of people illiteracy on food composition and how foods effects our bodies and health.

Whenever I though I learned something about a food I found another hidden problem with that food that was part of a certain "diet".
Today 90% of our food supplies is not even real food. That is a big problem. Food your ancestors ate every day like butter, milk or a steak are contaminated with additives that will make you gain weight (and not only that). I do not care if you are eating skinless, grilled chicken breast every day with little salad on the side....you are not going to loose weight.

You know why? ....that chicken has been fed growth hormones and steroid and you are eating them too....over and over. These are not only on chicken they are also on eggs, cheese, and all other meats and fish too.
Modern dieters have a bigger challenge than what your mom used to have 50 years ago. This is something many professional of the fitness and diet world don't seem to grasp. So they give false hopes to clients, trying to either sell them some magic diet or a special new age workout...or both. When in reality is all much simpler and straightforward. I just wish people, such as professional and even dieters would be more honest with themselves.

I gained weight this past year because I decreased the amount of exercise by about 90%. I am embarrassed of myself. I cannot barely look at me in the mirror. Blah.
I still eat very healthy ...but ya know how it goes.....2 pound of radishes are still calories for someone who does not move. Not to mention how depressing all this eat. Food used like heroine. The weight gain FOR ME it has nothing to do with my metabolism slowing down or lyme working my thyroid or whatever excuse I want to use.

Tell us more Georgia Hunter, what is this formula and the guidelines??

Georgia Hunter said...
Before I got sick, I trained with one of the best nutritionists/strength trainers in North America. It cost me thousands of dollars but I wanted to learn and learn I did. There is a simple formula for losing or gaining weight that over 90% of the people respond to. Everyone is different so it can be tweaked for slightly better responses, but it's not rocket science. If someone follows the guidelines, they accomplish their goal. If they don't, they won't.

Exactly. It is very easy but it requires commitment and consistency something many people lack of.