Question about protein
 

I'm a big guy. I'm 6' 8" tall and weigh about 253 pounds. According to the chart in PP for computing body fat percentage and lean body mass I have about 205 pounds of lean body mass. According to the Protein Power book, because of my activity level I'm supposed to eat 164 grams of protein a day to keep from losing muscle. That's a lot of protein! It seems hard to me to eat that much protein per day. I supplement my protein intake by using low carb, whey protein powder. The protein powder only has 2 grams net carbs per serving. It has Splenda in it. I'm considering not being as concerned about my minimum protein requirement and just eating until I feel full. However, I don't want to lose muscle mass. I'm doing some weight training and cardio and I don't want to be wasting my exercise time. Have any of you not met your minimum protein requirement and still not lost any muscle? Has anyone experimented to see how much protein they really need?

253 is a really good weight for 6'8".

It could be.....
 

Thanks. 253 lbs could be a good weight for a person my height if more of it were muscle. I would like to decrease my body fat to about 15%.

That is really not that much protein to take in. One protein shake a day gets you almost a third of it. I wouldn't go below that number if you want to build muscle. I actually shoot for 200-250 grams a day at 200 pounds.

I have to eat 140g of protein a day and 60g of fat.

I weigh 126lbs. and working towards a lower body fat %.

Its important not to go under the minimum protein requirement. Its what helps keep the cravings down. 164gms of protein a day is really not that much. Break that down into 3 main meals and 2 snacks a day to meet this requirement. A half of a large chicken breast usually comes in at about 42gms that alone would be 1/4 of your daily requirement.

Remember the Eades spent many years developing this plan. Each requirement is based on their expertise. I don't question I just do.