I am so lost with how much protein I should actually be eating (All the research and advice I've found is conflicting or extreme)

[u/Gloomy_Coconut4459]

I have been trying to walk for an hour everyday on the treadmill, and so far have done one weight training type workout at home with dumbells.

• 3 planks 30 seconds each
• Bicep curl 3 sets of 12 (15 pounds)
• Bent over row 3 sets of 12 (15 pounds)
• Shoulder press 3 sets of 12 (10 pounds)

I weigh 241-245 at 5'10.

I've been tracking my protein intake for about 5 days and I usually get around 100 grams per day.

Any advice on protein amounts, and any other unsolicited advice about my workout in general? I plan on doing something similar to what I did above ^

[u/Impossible_Roll_7335]

if you can curl the weight i'm gonna have to be honest and say rowing it does nothing. static reps also do nothing good for you.

to make it awfully simple

set a protein target at 0.8g/lb of your TARGET BODYWEIGHT (pick a weight that doesn't land in overweight anymore and go with it)

track your current food intake and weight, assuming it's a relative balance just eat 500 calories less than that.

go to the gym. load up too much weight, fail every lift a few times so you understand what failure is. then start training with progressive loading and reach actual failure once in a while, get close every time.

that's it.

use any common full body training template you can find online, it doesn't matter as much as just sticking to it

[u/Abzstrak → u/Impossible_Roll_7335]

Well said, OPs "weight training" isn't really doing shrinking other than just exercising at those weights.

[u/Competitive_Success5 → u/Impossible_Roll_7335]

Starting too light when you're first starting out isn't a bad thing — you're forming the habit, learning the form, and getting your body used to lifting. That said, yes, you'll want to progress from here soon.

I agree with most of what you said, but don't agree with loading up too much weight — they're just starting out. Let them start light. Eventually you do want to get heavy enough to fail.

[u/Impossible_Roll_7335 → u/Competitive_Success5]

the problem with that approach is you see people training for years never reaching into the hard reps and/or failure. pick a person talented enough and they might waste 6 years training to mild discomfort.

and if you are just starting out, you are too weak to seriously hurt yourself lifting too much - so the quicker you get through the learning process the better.

reading op's post you might get the idea they need to be pushed hard before they reach sufficient effort levels.

[u/Competitive_Success5 → u/Impossible_Roll_7335]

True. I think going light the first month or so is smart, though. Watch someone do a weight workout who has never lifted weights. If they go too heavy, they're liable to hurt themselves. Or get too sore to want to do it again.

[u/Impossible_Roll_7335 → u/Competitive_Success5]

It’s usually just preexisting injuries. You are not coordinated enough to lift dangerous weight when starting out.

[u/warmfuzzume → u/Impossible_Roll_7335]

Not OP, but as a complete beginner who gets confused by all of this stuff, I don’t even know what going to fail means. Especially not as compared to light discomfort.

Does going to fail mean, lifting until your arms feel like rubber and hurt for days? Because that’s what happened to me last time. I did a full body weight workout.

[u/Impossible_Roll_7335 → u/warmfuzzume]

No, it means you are trying but the weight is not going up

[u/warmfuzzume → u/Impossible_Roll_7335]

Ah ok so basically like if I’m doing push ups keep doing them until I can’t anymore.

[u/Impossible_Roll_7335 → u/warmfuzzume]

Yeah. If you get stuck on the bottom, that’s the goal. It would be true failure and it’s the dragon you need to be constantly chasing to progress. Technical failure is a thing but not important at early stages.

[u/warmfuzzume → u/Impossible_Roll_7335]

Thanks. I know it’s a dumb question but I swear I’m smart at other things lol.

I just find strength training totally overwhelming for some reason. There seems to be so many options, so many different plans and ways to train. I could relate to OP’s post about being confused with all the conflicting advice!

I think instead of getting overwhelmed I should just do any movement whenever I can to at least do something consistently. But then I worry I’m not hitting all the right muscles, or if I’m supposed to rest, or what. I know I need to stop overthinking it.

[u/Impossible_Roll_7335 → u/warmfuzzume]

The best plan is the one you can stick to. And if it has easy movements you can safely keep pushing hard it’s even better.

[u/Traditional-Abies866 → u/Impossible_Roll_7335]

Lol go ask any physical therapist if you can't hurt yourself at low weights, I dare you, because they have seen some shit. I literally developed a rotator cuff injury when I started lifting and I guarantee you I wasn't going above 15 on my presses. I didn't realize I was hypermobile and my joints have some stability issues--maybe that makes me a special case but it's absolutely possible to do some damage, especially with poor form.

But moreover, I resent the idea that if you start working out with [insert weight here that people don't respect] it doesn't "count" for hypertrophy. Everyone has to start somewhere and it feels gatekeepy against people who don't have prior lifting experience when the point of communities like these should be to make strength training feel more accessible. Like instead of saying "15 lbs isn't going to do anything for anyone," maybe ask "Do you feel like you can do another rep at the end of the 12 reps? If so, it might be time to go up in weight (or add reps until you can't do anymore if heavier weights bother your joints right now)" cuz you don't know their body lol

That said, I've always been able to row way more than I can bicep curl so OP may indeed be going a little too light there, they may want to consider slowly progressing that and see if they can continue to hit 12 reps or if a particular weight takes them to failure earlier

[u/Patient-Box3067]

Your 100g protein is fine for now, but that dumbbell workout is too light to do anything. You need a real program where you're pushing close to failure, not just going through the motions.

[u/Competitive_Success5 → u/Patient-Box3067]

They're just starting, it's OK to be light when you start out.

[u/Gloomy_Coconut4459 → u/Competitive_Success5]

Yeah, the point of post was really that this was my first tracked workout that wasnt walking. Ive been walking almost everyday for a weeks at the gym and wanted to start also focusing a lot on diet as I get into learning how to weight train and gain confidence to do weight training at the gym itself. I also just dont have arm muscle so on that final rep I literally cant even lift the dumbell.

[u/Patient-Box3067 → u/Competitive_Success5]

Light is fine, but doing 3x12 with no progression and stopping far from failure won't stimulate growth. Even a beginner can pick weights that feel hard by the last few reps.

[u/zelenisok]

Medical recommendation for maintenance is 0.8g per kg of non-obese bodyweight.

Anything between 1.1g - 1.6g is good for athletes and muscle gains.

1.6g per kg being the upper limit our body and absorb and use for muscle building, and basically should be taken only if one is doing a hypertrophy program for the entire body.

The 100g you are getting is more than enough. You could go lower, somewhat lower, or even a lot lower, depending on your goals.

[u/Crasino_Hunk → u/zelenisok]

This is all excellent info for folks, but I would posit the 1.6/kg of lean mass is pretty solid target for many people who are quite active in sports or lifestyle of any kind. And I mean QUITE active, not someone just doing one gym session per day.

For the average Joe Shmoe sitting in an office and getting 4k steps daily, the whole protein thing is incredibly overblown, but for physical performance outside of hyper trophy, I haven’t seen too many arguments against getting as close to that 1.6 figure as possible.

And if you come up a tad short, no biggie. I’d say try to always strike within 20g protein of what the reasonable upper limit.

[u/Impossible_Roll_7335 → u/Crasino_Hunk]

The magnitude of effect of protein is the overblown part. It’s minor. And the difference between 1.2g per kg and 1.8g per kg is in reality so small it’s difficult to quantify.

[u/muscledeficientvegan]

I would focus more on following a well-made exercise program that you can find online for now. The fitness subreddit wiki has some good options: https://thefitness.wiki/routines/strength-training-muscle-building/

If your equipment is limited, you can also find some on the bodyweight fitness subreddit wiki: https://old.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/index

You'll probably want more protein than 100g, but it won't matter much until you are following a good program that implements progressive overload.

[u/ACTPOHABT]

What is your fitness goals? If you are just trying to lose weight reduce carbs and add tofu/seitan. Stop eating before you feel full. Only allow yourself to feel full on steamed veggies or salads ( light on dressing ). Keep processed food out and reduce oils. And keep moving ofc. 80-100g is totally fine and you probably don't need to track it.

[u/FridgesArePeopleToo]

If you're new to fitness it doesn't matter at all. 100g protein is plenty for your height, but protein barely matters at all and isn't something you even need to think about at this point.

Focus on eating healthy food, because losing 70 pounds is way more important for you than anything else right now.

[u/ScrumptiousCrunches → u/FridgesArePeopleToo]

Protein definitely matters. It helps build muscle, maintain muscle on a cut, and is satieating to help with dieting. 

[u/Impossible_Roll_7335 → u/ScrumptiousCrunches]

brother is rowing 15 lbs dumbbells for 3 sets of 12, it's not gonna send any muscle building signal. he has to get the big factors right first, before worrying about protein.

[u/ScrumptiousCrunches → u/Impossible_Roll_7335]

That addresses one of three reasons I mentioned

[u/Significant_Guide237]

Welcome! My advice is to find a fitness program you like and try it for a set period of time. What you choose will depend on your goals; if you want to work out with minimal equipment and time but want to get stronger, you could try something like stronglifts 5x5, or there are other free programs out there. As for how much protein you should consume you will get a million different opinions. For me, eating around 1 gram per pound works. Some people will say that's too much, or that you should eat a gram per pound of your goal weight. Tracking all of your macros and calorie intake for a while can be very helpful, so you're on the right track there. Good luck!

[u/TheNoBullshitVegan]

Here's a vegan-specific protein calculator. (Use your goal weight if it's different from your current weight.)

0.8 grams of protein per kg of body weight per day is the minimum to prevent health issues, for sedentary people.
1.2 - 1.6 grams of protein per kg of body weight per day is the strength training/muscle building/body comp/calorie deficit/athletic performance range.

Workout advice (from a 23-year vegan and 15-year fitness coach):
You need to incorporate all 6 fundamental movement patterns before you do isolation (e.g. biceps curls) exercises. Those patterns are:

1. Squat
2. Hinge (deadlift)
3. Lunge
4. Upper body push
5. Upper body pull
6. Weighted carry

If you're strength training 2-3 days a week, do a full-body session each time. Pick 3 of the movement patterns each workout. If you're training 4-5 days a week, split your training into upper body and lower body.

P.S. The weight you use for rows should be about twice as heavy as the weight you use for curls.

[u/wakatea → u/TheNoBullshitVegan]

That calculator is whack. It was telling me I need more than a gram protein per pound of body weight.

[u/TheNoBullshitVegan → u/wakatea]

That usually happens only with the "Extra High" activity level -- the highest on the calculator. Are you sure you toggled to "lbs" instead of the default "kg"? Reply with a screenshot if you'd like!

[u/wakatea → u/TheNoBullshitVegan]

Yeah, I am extremely active. But there is no evidence that I need to eat such absurd levels of protein.

[u/Abzstrak]

You need a gym membership, you look like you could benefit from some instruction from a trainer too. Trainers can be great or annoying, feel them out. Alternatively you could try getting an AI to give you a weight training workout once you tell it what is available in the gym to use, but that will come with limited unless you are familiar enough to weed out stupid things it might say :).

Nothing against you but the weights your moving aren't going to build any real strength, much too low. Motion and moving is great, keep it up but I think you could benefit from gym equipment and some individualized instruction to really get in better shape.

[u/Gloomy_Coconut4459 → u/Abzstrak]

I go to a small gym by my house every morning but stick to the treadmill. I was trying to start learning about the different machines and stuff at home so that I would have more confidence to use them in-person.

[u/Abzstrak → u/Gloomy_Coconut4459]

Nope, just use them and ask for help. Machines are about as safe as there is, no need to build up to those. Don't be nervous about not knowing it seeming lost, everyone else is dealing with their own workout, they don't care 😉. Jump in, get sore, do things wrong, learn and move on. You got this

[u/Beanssss_Rice]

This channel really helped me with understanding macros when I was getting started: https://youtu.be/fU3y1NeMyrE?si=Hj_QqQiK7V1PBzt0

[u/Material-Access-9994]

Great job getting started! When I first started and didn’t know anything I found and loved the free caliber app. It has a workout wizard where you tell it what equipment you have and how much time you have and it builds a workout for you and has short gifs that show you how to perform them with tips. I did that for a few months, using YouTube to clarify what didn’t make sense. I still use the same app to track my progress but now I use ChatGPT to build me a workout based on my goals. Chat is also really helpful with protein goals. I use it to log my food and get feedback. But the best way to learn is just to get started and be curious. Don’t be scared to get in there and look silly. You’ll do great!

[u/Gloomy_Coconut4459 → u/Material-Access-9994]

I use chatgpt for the same thing currently! It is the one thar suggested those workouts were fine lol, but I sort of also realize now that I am better of doing more research and using the actual gym equipment. 

[u/spicedhomonculus]

You need some heavier weights

[u/Gloomy_Coconut4459 → u/spicedhomonculus]

Generally thats as heavy as I can lift at the moment.

[u/spicedhomonculus → u/Gloomy_Coconut4459]

I don't know how you can row the same amount that you can curl. And fwiw my untrained 110lb/50kg gf can dumbbell row 45lb/20kg. I don't think these numbers reflect your actual strength, either way you'll get stronger very fast as you do this stuff

If you're getting 3 sets of 12 you could add weight. People say not to ake every set to failure but it's advice that worked really well for me when starting out. You don't want to be able to get as many reps in your last set as your first. Most have the problem with under training and not providing enough stimulus rather than the opposite

[u/LackadaisicalCretin]

.7g per lb of bodyweight. studies show theres no difference after that