In my book I explain that we only need 0.75g to 1g of pure protein per kilogram of body weight per day. Unfortunately the reality is most of us each much much more. But is it because we love the taste of protein, that sizzling mamoflesh (or tofu for the vegetarian and vegans)? Or is it that we’re simply not able to easily covert our daily protein needs into something more meaningful on our plate?

Restaurants and Take Away seem to add fuel to the fire, serving up protein-laiden meals generally with a large side of carbohydrate (like mash, chips or rice) and very few vegetables. In fact there seems to be a movement amoung higher end restaurants to not serve ANY vegetables with main meals so you actually need to order, and pay for, a side. And with our fast paced life and constant use of convenience food we’re simple getting accustomed to eating larger unnecessary portions of protein.

But why is it unnecessary and what are the implications of eating too much protein?

Research has shown that over consumption of protein not only leads to weight gain, but is also linked to intestinal issues, kidney problems, colon cancer and other cancer-related diseases. This is generally due to the amount of saturated fats contained in animal proteins as well as the extra work that the kidneys has to do to flush out the toxins which result from the breakdown and synthesis of digested proteins. Further, the acids that are produced need to be neutralised with calcium, and so boned may become calcium depleted and weak if I high protein diet is consumed long term.

So how much is too much protein?

Well the protein amount varies from source to source, and this is where confusion can occur:

• 100g of silken tofu contains a mere 4.5g of protein, but hard tofu contains 11.3g
• 100g of raw whole egg contains 12.5g of protein, and it stays about the same when cooked
• 100g of raw lean lamb contains 22.0g of protein
• 100g of baked Atlantic salmon contains 22.0g of protein, but the same amount grilled contains only 19.0g
• 100g of baked chicken breast contains 28.5g of protein
• 100g of grilled heart smart lean pork contains 30.5g of protein
• 100g of grilled lean beef fillet contains 30.0g of protein, but 100g of lean grilled rump contains 32.5g

So how do we use one rule of thumb to make all this easy?

1. Consider your maximum grams of daily protein is three quarters of your weight – so for an 80kg person it’s 60g or pure protein
2. Divide your protein requirements by the number of meals you have in a day. So for 3 meals a day you need about 20g, but for six meals a day you need only 10g per meal.
3. Multiply your meal value as follows
   • x 10 for Tofu
   • x 8 for eggs
   • x 5 for fish or any seafood
   • x 3.5 for chicken
   • x 3.2 for red meat
4. Select the leanest protein possible (no game meats, sausages, streaky bacon, pork belly, etc.)
5. All protein weights should be done after the meat is cooked due to moisture evaporation
6. This is the MAXIMUM about of protein – remember fruits an vegetables contain protein too so this will fill any shortfall in your protein requirements.

So let’s look at a comparative example. An 80kg person eats three meals a day.

• At breakfast they eat two 60g eggs on toast and an OJ (13.8g+)
• At lunch they eat a chicken and salad sandwich, or a chicken salad which contains around 200g of chicken (57g+)
• At dinner they eat a 300g sirloin, mash and veg (64.5g+)

Not taking into account any protein in the vegetables or other foods that accompany the protein components, this person has consumed more than 2.25 times their required daily consumption of protein – that’s over 135g! And it’s just so easy to do.

So what other tips should I follow to keep my protein intake in check?

1. East a little protein with EVERY meal to help keep you fuller longer
2. Choose only lean protein with any fat trimmed off before cooking
3. Cut back you regular portion sizes by at least half
4. Where possible go for non-red meat proteins like fish and chicken. Restrict red meat to 2 or 3 times a week.
5. When eating out order a mainly vegetarian meal, or if you really need that steak go for the 100g eye fillet, lots of vegetables and skip the bread, chips and rice!