How much protein is too much?

I'm a 145 lb woman and I try to get between 100 - 150 gms of protein a day. I use Designer Whey and Nature's Perfect Isopure (it's incredible). I know different sites say different things, but I always have a protein shake 1/2 to 1 hr before a workout and afterward I have some protein and a complex carb. So far, it works for me!

Not sure if I understand the

Not sure if I understand the question correctly. Take protein or consume protein?

The standard rule of thumb is 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight per day. Now this should not be fat added weight, but muscular weight. For example, at about 8% body fat I weigh about 250 lbs which is close enough for me so my minimum protein amount per day to just maintain muscle mass is 250 grams. Over winter I try to gain muscle mass, you can not really gain muscle mass while dieting you need a calorie excess and a protein excess. I So I eat more in general and eat more protein, not a whole lot more but somewhere between 260 to 270 grams. Now I am going through a cutting phase to go down in body fat, right now I am around 280 lbs which adding 30 lbs may sound like a lot but you can still see my six pack clearly I just do not look as shredded. During a cutting phase I will go back to about 250 grams of protein then once I get back to about 8-10% body fat I will reevaluate, find my new maintenance calories and so on.

Now when should you consume protein? You should get protein every single meal and have a variety of sources. I get 270 grams of protein easily on non workout days just from food sources alone, things like fish and chicken and steak, do not forget eggs and milk as well. You just have to be aware of what you are eating. An easy example of that is I make a 1/4 pound sliced turkey breast sandwich, Turkey has 26 grams of protein in 1/4 lbs, 1 slice of whole grain bread 4 grams so times 2 is 8 grams of protein, and one slice of cheese has 6 grams of protein, that’s 40 grams of protein right there in one sandwich. So protein is very easy to get if you just know where to look.

Now if you are talking Whey protein like shakes. there are 3 key times where it will help you. First thing in the morning. I mix it with my oatmeal in the morning. Some people mix it with smoothies, what ever suits you. However morning because your body has been fasting over night it needs food and fast and whey is very fast absorbing and a great source of protein. Next Whey protein should be both before and after a workout. About 1 hour before will give your muscles time to absorb it and be ready to use it. Within an hour after a workout your muscles are hungry they really need it.

Is there a difference

Is there a difference between taking it and consuming it? I think I meant consuming it!

Thanks for your educational replies!

Phases

Great post Xyon. I have a couple of questions off of it:

1. How can you work out muscular weight?
2. Could you explain the phase training?

Finding your lean body mass

Finding your lean body mass is pretty easy, you need to have someone do it that knows what they are doing though. But typically they just measure your body fat % Most personal trainers can do this for you. Doctors and Nurses can as well they just use a special set of fat calipers and measure your body fat in either 3, 5 or 7 points and then there is a calculation for it. There is always a chance for error on their part of around 3% but should get you close enough. Most Gyms/health clubs will offer this as a free service as well it is kind of like taking your blood pressure. There are more accurate ways but they usually cost quite a bit of money. Probably the cheapest below fat calipers is the bod pod. Which measure air displacement by basically putting your body in a pod. They usually chage $30-$40 us for a session. For me the calipers are close enough.

Then Phase Training? You referring to my dieting then bulking? well basically that is another simple concept. You have seen millions of body builders all cut and ripped and shredded. Well this is after severe dieting, they diet typically 3 months before a show. Most Body building competitions are also all in the summer. When you are dieting you can not build muscle. Sure someone starting out lifting for the first time in their late teens or early 20s will have what is called newbie gains where they will gain a lot of muscle pretty fast sometimes 20-30 lbs of muscle however after that they have to fight for constant growth. Anyway when you diet you loose some muscle. You can't help it your low on calories. Of course you want to eat as much protein as you can but you need to cut calories. When I am dieting like right now I eat about 2500 calories a day. Also if you lower your carbs your muscles will also look flatter and they will not hold as much water. This is also why like 2-3 days before a show a body builder will eat tons of pasta this causes the muscles to suddenly swell back up. Anyway After the season for shows is over, a body builder goes back to building bulk and adding muscle. In order to do this you need an excess of calories. Me during the winter I eat about 3500 calories a day. However an excess of calories also make you gain fat. So basically you end up loosing and gaining loosing and gaining. You should really see some of these body builders in the magazines like around Christmas. They are all pretty husky some even have bellies on them. Some use more of a zig zag approach or a saw tooth approach which I used to do. Which basically eat good and in excess for about 6 weeks then diet for 2 to 4 then repeat. Me I only diet now just so I do not end up looking like a power lifter.

Here is a page to nutrition and the picture on there should interest you. There is a picture of Lee Priest, a world famous body builder in the off season and on stage. The Video on this page is ok as well.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/liftrite8.htm

However I will tell you this, you need to know your body well to be able to do this kind of thing. It takes a few years of experimenting with your body to find what your body can do and how it will react and what it reacts to best, everyone is different. This year I actually went up to 300lbs but I got started late cutting. I had a shoulder injury, nothing major, but I needed to nurse the shoulder back in to health and take it easy for a while. I just started cutting June 1 since I got started late and wanted to accelerate fat loss I changed up my normal cutting routine. Which BTW most people might find this hard to believe but I only do about an hour of cardio once a week this is not including the 10 minute of cardio I do as a warm up before each lifting session. Since June 1 I have already lost 15 lbs with pretty much nothing but weight lifting. I hate cardio, and I only do it really for my heart and no other purpose. I expect to be down to about 250 by about October 1, 240 if I am lucky. I am another year old I should be able to get to 240 a year or two ago but every year it gets a little harder to loose.

Oh yeah and if you are

Oh yeah and if you are wondering is 300 lbs really that big, that must be huge? Most people even personal trainers look at me and guess I am about 220 or 230, they are shocked when i tell them 300. Muscle just weighs more. plus the wider your shoulders and back the narrower your waist looks.