Pissing at night due to protein diet

[Chelsea01]

Every day that I take a large amount of protein 200g or more, I notice I wake up in the middle of the night and have to piss.

This is opposed to when I stay off the weights and go on a 'normal' diet, where I don't have that problem at all.

Is there a specific reason for this? and is it bad for you?

Thanks

 

[Zunder]

Well, protein takes more water to digest it than carbs. So you will be thirstier.
You should be drinking a lot of water anyway on a high protein diet.

 

[KarmaSutra]

I'm type II Diabetic. I knew how fvcked up my blood sugar was by how many times I had to piss.

I pissed alot.

My suggestion would be to get your Hemoglobin A1-C number checked by a Doctor. That's the best indicator that your sugar is whack or if something else is going on.

 

[Fuglydude]

Every day that I take a large amount of protein 200g or more, I notice I wake up in the middle of the night and have to piss.

This is opposed to when I stay off the weights and go on a 'normal' diet, where I don't have that problem at all.

Is there a specific reason for this? and is it bad for you?

Thanks

When you eat too much protein, your body will often convert the extra amino acids (the monomers that make up proteins) into other things such as carbohydrates. This is a perfectly normal. The process by which proteins are converted to other things involves a process called transamination. Basically the amino group on amino acids is taken off and eventually forms urea... In medicine we measure this as something called BUN (blood urea nitrogen).

Urea is a waste product and is not normally reabsorbed the kidneys. If you eat more protein your body will produce more urea, and will require additional solvent (water) to expell it... This is probably one of the reasons why you pee more when you eat higher protein. My wife would pee like a race horse on her ketogenic diet prior to her last comp. It is not abnormal.

The debate about high protein diets causing kidney/liver damage has been around for decades! To the best of my knowledge I don't know of ANY substantial studies that have been able to show that high protein diets cause renal and hepatic impairment in healthy individuals who DO NOT have pre-existing kidney/liver problems. Regardless, its not gonna hurt you to drink additional water with a high protein diet as being dehydrated is perceived as a stress by your body and is associated with many undesirable effects.

Hope this helps.

 

[Chelsea01]

Thanks guys for all of your comments.

Fugly, just a few extra questions (hope you don't mind)

1) Would taking more water during the day make this better or worse?

2) Does this mean I am taking too much protein? if my protein is being turned into carbs, could that lead to fat increase?

 

[Alle_Gory]

Hey Fuglydude, have you ever done a keto diet? I've been trying to switch to a very high protein diet with almost zero carbs.

Unfortunately I can only keep this up for a day or two then I get massive headaches. Sugar and carbohydrates make them go away again.

Any tips for transitioning to a keto style diet?

 

[Fuglydude]

Thanks guys for all of your comments.

Fugly, just a few extra questions (hope you don't mind)

1) Would taking more water during the day make this better or worse?

2) Does this mean I am taking too much protein? if my protein is being turned into carbs, could that lead to fat increase?

Good questions.

1) I dont' know the answer to this... although it probably wouldn't hurt to consume extra water through out the day. I try and aim for 250+ g protein/day and I actually dont' find I pee that much. Maybe I'm used to it, but I'm 185-190 lbs at 5'8" at around 12% bodyfat, and fairly active so my body needs a lot of protein. I actually do make it a point to drink half liter of water prior to bedtime just so my body is well hydrated while I'm sleeping. I usually don't have to get up to pee, but keep in mind that I only sleep 4-5 hours on average.

2) I'm not sure what "too much" protein means... I'd define it as when your protein intake is actually causing you direct and acute physiological injury. A good example would be someone with end-stage renal disease or end stage liver disease eating 4 big steaks a day! I'm pretty sure you're okay unless you have pre-existing kidney/liver issues or some congenital problem that causes azotemia (azotemia = when you got lots of Nitrogen-containing crap in your blood that shouldn't really be there).

The chances of a high protein intake causing fat increase would be highly unlikely. There are several reasons for this:

- Protein digestion and metabolism is fundamentally thermic in nature. This basically means that the very act of eating, digesting and processing protein/amino acids will jack up your metabolic rate. Transamination reactions take energy, and no biological process is 100% efficient, so you'll get waste heat production (increased metabolic rate). Just check out this link on the thermic effect of protein:

http://www.jacn.org/content/23/5/373.full

In addition, high protein diets increase satiety, so you won't crave crap. Protein also will be not trigger a massive insulin release like something like sugars. Keeping your insulin levels low is crucial when it comes to maintaining a reasonable body composition.

* In a nutshell: You won't get fat from eating a high protein diet because of the following:
- thermic effect of food.
- satiety (so you won't wanna eat crap)
- hormonal regulation of metabolism by keeping insulin levels in check.

There's other indirect things as well like more nitrogen retention = more muscle mass = faster metabolism, etc. etc.


Regarding the other guys post:

- I'm not sure what zunder meant by protein takes more water to digest than carbs... A peptide bond and a glycosidic bond both require one water molecule to get hydrolyzed.

- Karma was talking about having elevated blood glucose secondary to type 2 DM... If you had this you'd probably notice you were peeing like a race horse all the time, not just at night. The HgbA1-C he mentioned is glycosylated hemoglobin... something that forms when you have chronically elevated blood sugars. I doubt you have type 2 DM, but couldn't hurt to get it checked with your next physical.

 

[Fuglydude]

Hey Fuglydude, have you ever done a keto diet? I've been trying to switch to a very high protein diet with almost zero carbs.

Unfortunately I can only keep this up for a day or two then I get massive headaches. Sugar and carbohydrates make them go away again.

Any tips for transitioning to a keto style diet?

No I haven't. I think I'd be like you in that I'd have a lot of "issues" without adequate carbs.

A lot of competitors, my wife included, will do a keto diet for comps. Some people love it, some people not so much. On these diets, all carbs come from fibrous vegetables. Competing and getting down to that low body fat is really stressful on your body.

Unless you're doing it for a comp, or you're morbidly overweight, I think a simple low carb diet (w/ the majority of carbs coming from natural source and being high GI), coupled with a good exercise program that has high intensity cardio and weights is a much healthier way to go.

 

[Chelsea01]

Thanks a million for a very thorough and informative response. It is much appreciated. You're a legend

 

[Jariel]

Hey Fuglydude, have you ever done a keto diet? I've been trying to switch to a very high protein diet with almost zero carbs.

Unfortunately I can only keep this up for a day or two then I get massive headaches. Sugar and carbohydrates make them go away again.

Any tips for transitioning to a keto style diet?

I have to echo what Fuglydude said on this. I did a zero carb keto diet at the end of last year. I got great results in terms of dropping bodyfat, but it really f*cked me up! It left me lethargic all the time, killed my sex drive and I started getting quite emotional and depressed. By the time I got my sixpack I just felt like a weak, beta male.

I've since tried a low carb diet with added cardio sessions to drop fat and find it a lot better. I just stick to complex carbs such as oatmeal and vegetables early in the day, which keeps my moods and energy up. It's takes a bit longer (not much) to see results, but it's worth it.

 

[Slick Rick-NZ]

OMFG lol. 200g of protein isd way to much and a waste.
google recomended protein intake calculator and see what that tells you.
There are also a few formulas and ****. I am 6'1 189 pounds and my recomended in about 70g. I probly only get 40-50 probly not really shore.
How did you manage to take in so much protein each day lol?
Google side effects because I know that too much is bad and causes something similar like a kidney stone when you have too much calcium.
Yes the protein will be converted to carbs or fats and is a waste.
You arnt a body builder?
Let me know how you get on.
Slick..

 

[Zunder]

Hey Fuglydude, have you ever done a keto diet? I've been trying to switch to a very high protein diet with almost zero carbs.

Unfortunately I can only keep this up for a day or two then I get massive headaches. Sugar and carbohydrates make them go away again.

Any tips for transitioning to a keto style diet?

You know its funny. I used to have such a sweet tooth. I'd eat chocolates and all sorts of candy all the time. And other carbs like pastries, breads etc.

I can tell you now - apart from my booze binges, I feel better, stronger, and fitter and never get these "low-carb" headaches that people talk about since I basically cut all the simple sugar foods out of my diet.
Veges, a little bit of rice, and a little bit of potatoes is all I need as far as carbs go.

And think about it - if its processed that means its not natural, and if its not natural your body will adapt to you not sticking that shyte down your gizzard - but you may have to just hadren up and accept a few days or even weeks of headaches and other withdrawl symptoms - similar to giving up smoking perhaps.

 

[Jariel]

And think about it - if its processed that means its not natural, and if its not natural your body will adapt to you not sticking that shyte down your gizzard - but you may have to just hadren up and accept a few days or even weeks of headaches and other withdrawl symptoms - similar to giving up smoking perhaps.

I completely agree, and cutting simple carbs and processed food from my diet was VERY much like quitting smoking.

A lot of people don't realise that this high sugar processed food is highly addictive. It gives you what's known as an insulin spike, which gives you a brief burst of energy and lifts your mood, but then moments later you experience a come down...just like any other drug. It's at this point you reach for more of the same, just to keep yourself from crashing. And the more you eat, the more you crave...which is why fat people keep eating more crap and why we have this obesity epidemic.

Nicotine works the same way and in order to quit effectively, you have to get it out of your system. You have to endure the cravings, the headaches, mood swings and all the other symptoms, until your body adapts. I found after 2 weeks of giving up simple carbs, I no longer craved them.

Like Zunder said, you will feel so much better once you give up that crap!