Often patients come to me after being on a high protein diet for weight loss or to control their diabetes. They lost weight or controlled their blood sugar better, but gained a kidney stone as a result of eating too much protein. Most of my patients got a stone because they ate too much of any one or two foods on their restrictive diets. The trade off was certainly not intended. In another article I discuss why I am against fad diets, but for now let’s talk about how much protein you need you need per day and how to figure out what that means for each of you.
Kidney Stone Diet
Protein Calculator
Calculating your daily protein requirement is simple! Just enter your weight in lbs below and the Kidney Stone Diet Protein Calculator will handle the rest!
Since food labels show protein in grams, the easiest way to figure out how much ANIMAL protein to have is by using the equation below. My patients get overwhelmed because we are using grams and kilograms in our equation, but don’t worry, I will break it down for you step-by-step.
To calculate how much protein is right for you, use this equation:
0.8 to 1.0 gm/kg/d.
I will use my weight as an example and then you can plug in yours:
My weight is 122 lbs.
After I convert my weight in pounds to kilograms I weigh 55.4 kg.
I got this number by dividing 122 lbs by 2.2 (2.2 pounds = 1 kg)
Therefore, if I were to eat on the low end of the equation it would look like this:
0.8 x 55.4 = 44.32 grams of protein a day.
If I wanted to eat on the upper end of the equation it would look like this:
1.0 x 55.4 = 55.4 grams of protein a day.
Based upon the equation above I can eat anywhere between 44.3 grams – 55.4 grams of protein per day. If I search “how many grams are in 3 ounces of chicken” I find this answer:
“There are about 7 g of protein in 1 ounce of cooked meat. So, for example, 4 ounces of raw boneless skinless chicken breast yields about 3 ounces of cooked chicken or 21 g of protein.”
You can see how quickly grams of protein add up.
This is what Google says for steak:
“If you often cook beef roasts for dinner, you’ll get between 29 and 36 grams of protein from 4 ounces of cooked beef round or chuck roast.”
Pay attention to your meat consumption which includes chicken, pork, fish, red meat, turkey. I am less concerned about other sources of protein. That being said none of you need to eat 5 eggs per day or drink 10 glasses of milk. Drink or eat enough dairy or non-dairy sources to get your RDA of calcium but consuming more does not mean better. I don’t worry about the dairy sources as much because nearly every adult I work with is consuming very little dairy (except for high sodium cheeses).
There you go. Plug in your own numbers. Remember if you need to lose weight use your IDEAL weight in the equation. If you are overweight you do NOT want to use your current weight to calculate the right protein intake as you will be eating too much.
One more thing. Always consult with your physician regarding your specific medical conditions and how this might affect your daily protein intake.
love the simplicity of using the protein calculator…… I had problems in math and still can’t count to 10 without help…. hahahahah The next helpful information would be how many grams of protein are in 1 oz. of cooked meats….. I’m sure I can google it and make my own chart… but if someone else has already done that…. sharing that info would be nice…. just a suggestion.
Hi James,
If you read further down in the article I do break that down. But, yes. One can “google” that too.
Thanks for writing, Jill
Thank you Jill! This was very helpful and easy to understand. My eyes never glazed over 😊
Hi Pat,
Oh good. I am glad it helped!
j
Trying to stay on a low cholesterol and low protein diet. I stopped eating dairy like cheese and stopped meats incorporating more vegetables n fruits and Fish only weekends drink wine,had a can of baby lentils with white rice not knowing that it was high in oxalates
Hi Eileen,
The kidney stone diet can help stones and cholesterol. Lentils can certainly be worked into your diet as well. Think about taking my course so you can really understand how to incorporate everything!
Best, Jill
I am since last month taking 10 mg of cholesterol meds
Hi Eileen,
Maybe with diet tweaking and a bit of exercise you might even get off the med! Come work with me when you can!
Jill
Hi Jill,
I need to lower my uric acid and am uncertain about the daily amount animal protein compared to non-animal protein. Is there a daily percentage?
Hi Nancy,
This article explains how much animal protein you are “allowed” to eat. Put your weight in the calculator we provide and you can figure out how many grams of animal meat protein you can eat per day. Animal meat protein includes seafood and poultry too. https://kidneystonediet.com/protein/
Best, Jill
Hi Jill,
I have a calcium oxalate stone. I understand that I need more calcium in my diet. Can I use calcium citrate supplements (1000mg/day) or I have to get calcium from food?
Hi Hoa,
Always best by foods. If you find you cannot get enough by foods talk to your doc about supplementation.
Best, Jill
thanks for providing such a nice article. i really like this information.
Hi Anika,
My pleasure.
Jill
Hi Jill, how can we keep calcium up with a low fat diet ?
Hi Cindy,
Non Fat dairy or things like plain flax, pea, and rice milks. I eat all non fat lactose free dairy. Kefir, yogurt, milks. NON FAT, plain!
Jill
Hello. Is your program helpful to those of us who do not yet know what type of stones we have? My Nephrologist said the type can only be determined after passing stones, or having them surgically removed. He “assumes” I have calcium oxalate stones, since they’re the most common. I’d appreciate any help I can possibly obtain. Thank you kindly.
Hi Heidi,
Most people have not had a stone analysis before they work with me. The diet helps all stone types!
Hope to see you soon-
jill