High Protein Diet

[Earl]

I've posted on a few comments in the blog but his is my first forum thread, so I'll start with my vitals:
 
24 years old
6'4, 207 lbs, ~ 10% body fat
~3800 Calories/Day
Been lifting for about 10 years (pseudo bodybuilding type routine)
Doing Stronglifts 5x5 for about 4 months (with some slight modifications ala Stronglifts II)
5x5 Max (lbs):
Squat: 225
Deadlift: 255
Bench Press: 235
Overhead Press: 115
Rows: 125
 
Since starting the 5x5 routine and eatinga clean diet about 4 months ago, I've been very happy with my strength gains. I barely ever did legs before (hence the squat/bench press strength imbalance), and my squat has gone from 135 to 225. I'm in the midst of my first hard deload right now. I also have lost some fat and gained some lean muscle along the way (went from 204 with 12% body fat to 207 with 10% body fat).
Now I feel as if I have plateaued as far as changing my body composition. I have been getting stronger, but have not seen the fat loss/muscle gain that I've wanted to see in the last month or so. My overall goal is to gain strength while losing fat and adding size to my frame via lean muscle. I am trying to isolate some variables, and I am currently focusing on my protein intake and was hoping for some feedback.
I have historically eaten about 210g protein/day, which is basically dead-on for 1g/lb bodyweight. About ten days ago, I increased my protein intake to about 300g/day (1.5g/lb) while keeping my calories static at around 3800. I have seen some postive results with respect to my energy levels. Although I have read about many nutrition programs that advise 1.5g/lb, I had never tried it myself before. I am wondering if this is a missing link and will help encourage more lean muscle growth.
Does anyone have any experience with this? The idea here is, since I am a hard gainer, to keep my body saturated with tons of protein at all times to encourage as most muscle growth as possible. Given that my calories are static, I am primarily worried that I am overloading my body with excess protein and that this will result in gaining fat, not muscle.
Happy to hear any criticisms/comments...
 
 
 
 
 

[Kyle]

How are you getting your protein?  YOu need complete amino acids for maximum results, like if your just upping whey than that wont help as much...

[Earl]

That's an interesting point, and definitely one that I haven't considered. I can't speak to which amino acids I am getting, but I can list my main sources of protein:
 
Whey protein powder
Milk
Whole wheat bagel
Peanut butter
Chicken
Fish
Steak
Edamame
Protein enriched whole wheat pasta
Whole wheat bread
 
I would say that I touch each of these sources over course of any 2 day period, with steak being the one that is least consistent. Does this list raise any red flags?

[Kyle]

Looks alright, just make sure they arent heavily proccessed foods (EG: Peanut butter, go for an all natural, not one filled wit hydrogenated oils and trans fat and protien pastes)

[1337lolzz]

I eat similar foods as you.  3800-4500 calories a day, and fitday says I am eating 300g of protein a day, only I'm 155 lbs.  For every meal I get my protein source (meats only, I don't drink whey), and make sure it's the only thing on my plate.  I eat it until the thought of putting it in my mouth disgusts me   Then I go back to the kitchen for the pasta/fruit/milk.
The only things I really eat every day is eggs, chicken, fish, beef, fruits, and milk.  I get 300g carbohydrates from fruit and milk alone.  Not sure if this is a good thing though :p
The guys at sosuave.net say you need 2g of protein per lbs of bodyweight, and it only counts if it is from MEAT.  The protein in pasta and other carb sources don't count.
(btw, you are 210 with 10% body fat.  That's pretty darn good!)
Edit: btw, I never heard of excess protein causing fat gain.  I'd say it's pretty darn hard to get "too much" protein, so long you drink a lot of water.

[Earl]

Thanks for the input. I'm looking good on the processed front, everything is on the natural side.
After writing this thread, however, I realized that about 50% of my protein intake (~150g) comes from the whey powder. This sounds like a lot, but the fact remains that I am still getting 150g from the whole food sources. Will this cause any problems as far as future results?

[Kyle]

I would cut down the whey intake, if you still want the proteing, get it from whole food, if not, even if you cut out half the whey your getting 200+ grams protein.

[woo!]

i think whey has a complete profile
i dont think nuts do though.

[Earl]

1337lolzz - Sounds like you have a great diet going (good call on the eggs, I forgot to mention that I eat those as well). Also, if you're taking in the same amount of protein and you only weigh 155 then I'm not so concerned. I've never checked out sosuave.net but I will tomorrow...2g is a lot, I'd like to see how they back that recommendation. I understand why meat protein is better, but I think it's a little extreme to say that pasta and other carb sources don't count. Anyways, I'll check that site tomorrow and post about anything I think is interesting.
 
Kyle - I'm a little uncertain about cutting out the whey just to cut it out. Comparing my current diet to what you recommended (cutting out half the whey), what benefit would that give me? In other words, if it's whey protein or nothing, why not have the extra whey in my diet? Btw, thanks for the input so far and for letting me pick your brain.

[Kyle]

well #1 you can save some whey and money, or you could replace it with some whole food, I really dont think you need 150g protein from whey, especially because a lot of wheys have artificial ingredients and other crap in them (no implying yours does, btw would you like to share name of your whey)

[Earl]

You're right about the money, but if it's something that will make a considerable difference in my progress then I'm not too concerned.
I've used Optimum Nutrition protein for the longest time, great stuff at a great price.

[jdurando]

I agree with you on the ON (particularly the Gold Standard) - great stuff Earl, If at all possible you should try and get your protien from whole foods rather than the supplement. Not saying that I do - sometimes its just easier to use the whey.

[Earl]

I agree that whole foods are better than a supplement.
The question still remains, given that I am getting around 150g from whole foods, isn't an extra 150g whey protein throughout the day better than, say,  only 50g whey?

[jdurando]

Yes -

[Mehdi]

I agree that whole foods are better than a supplement.
The question still remains, given that I am getting around 150g from whole foods, isn't an extra 150g whey protein throughout the day better than, say,  only 50g whey?

I assume your question is "is getting a lot of protein daily good?"
I've been at 2g/lbs protein in the past (300g protein at 70kg body-weight), and I believe you're getting better results in terms of physique. Protein has many benefits, one of them being the thermal effect of food (processing protein burns energy than carbs/fat).
Cons: more expensive and acidic.