Differing Views on Macronutrient Intakes

I just had a very interesting conversation with a group of my fellow nutrition graduate students. A friend of mine was leafing though a nutrition magazine that I get and was surprised to see a recommended intake of 0.5g protein/lb bodyweight.

Grad 1: "Isn't that a little excessive"

I chuckle..

Me: "You don't want to know how much I eat then"

Grad 1:"How much do you eat?"

Me:"Anywhere from 1.25-1.5g/lb."

Grad 1:"What! That's a lot of protein. How can you eat that much? Do you eat 6 times a day?"

I chuckle again..

Me:"Yes"

Grad 2:"You don't need that much. You only need .8g/kg"

oh god...here we go

Me:"No...I only need .8g/kg to survive. But is that optimal? No. I use extra protein calories to displace carbohydrate calories as they are less insulinogenic (amongst other things) this allow for a more favorable body composition."

Grad 1 & 2 "hmmmm"

Grad 3:"But that is bad for your kidneys."

Ding Ding Ding...It was only a matter of time until that came up.

Grad 1: "That's actually not true." - I knew I liked this guy.

Me:"Exactly. That has never been show to be true. It IS true in renal patients."

Grad 3:"Well, I would like to see some longer term studies first."

oh lord....

Grad 2:"Well what would you estimate your macronutrient breakdown to be?"

Me: "I don't have to estimate. It is 40/30/30 on workout days and 30/40/30 on nonworkout days."

Shock spreads throughout the room that I know that off the top of my head.

Grad 3:"Why do you change you intake on different days?"

Me:"The short answer is I replace the calories that I would normally consume during my workout with protein and some calories from vegetables on nonworkout days."

Grad 3:"Well, why are you consuming the below the required 45% of calories from carbohydrates? You need at least 125g of carbohydrates to for your body to function properly."

Me:"That isn't true either. You don't need any carbohydrates to function. Your body works just great on 20grams a day. You might be tired for the first two days until your body adjusts but then you'll be all set."



This conversation when on some more but you get my point...

Tags: protein intake, graduate students, calories, macronutrient, workout nutrition