How much protein do we need?

[Ritascornershop]

I’ve been vegetarian for decades (& survived 😁). My best friend is always banging on about how I can’t be getting enough protein (no matter how many times I explain it to her).

When I google it I read that women need about 50-60 grams a day. A woman at work got quite stroppy with me about this and said she eats 150 grams a day & that I’m eating poorly if I’m “only” eating about 50-60 grams of protein. I can’t imagine how she has room for other food! I’d be stuffed.

How much do other people think is required?

It depends on your weight and age. We need 0.8 gr of protein/kg until 65, when you should eat at least 1 gr tp prevent sarcopenia.
Excessive protein will cause gain weight and increase risk of cancer.

Thanks, so that calculation says I should have about 49 grams a day. I wasn’t going to argue with my coworker about it, she didn’t seem like the sort who would take it well, but if I ate that much protein I’d be too full to eat any fruit or veg (or carbs).

Ideally you would have 30 gr in one meal and whatever left spread across day

Yeah it's about 50-60 grams which I hit easily without trying every day.
Your colleague might be on a low carb high protein diet which is her choice but not necessary for good health.

Any excess protein intake is converted to glucose by the liver rather than stored so unless your colleague is a body builder she isn't using her 150 grams as 'protein' anyway

Annoying that she feels entitled to judge your diet but isn't open to listening to actual facts.

Is your coworker overweight or is she on a low carb diet?

As above we need about 0.8 gr of protein/kg. But I need less than that as I am overweight.