Get more protein into my diet?

mrsmiley32

Okay from my last post I learned maybe I should take apart my Chipotle bowl, but how about how to get more protein into my diet and reduce fat (carbs I will reduce by eating even fewer breads and cutting out the bit of ice cream I seem to have more often).

Though regarding carbs, if I upped my veggie count am I going to be upping my carbs by a lot?

I'm going to start cooking more often and was thinking essentially just pan cooking red meat/chicken/salmon with a sprinkling of seasoning and a sliver of butter (don't yell at me, you need some fat to cook in), and then sauteing veggies in the left overs. And eating about an ounce of rice to make sure I get some carbs. Probably 6oz of meat 4oz of veggies (green beans/corn/broccoli) and 1 oz of rice is what I'm aiming for with iced tea. This would be lunch (reheated) and dinner.

Breakfast will remain my jimmy dean turkey sausage/egg white/cheese sandwich.

Does that sound like a decent meal plan?

Shy_Yogi

Eat more veggies and less rice. It was a little confusing - you are worried about upping your carb intake with veggies....then in the next paragraph you mention eating rice to up your carbs. Why not just up your carbs with veggies (more fiber, more vitamins and health benefits than rice)?

lemurcat12

mrsmiley32 wrote: »

I'm going to start cooking more often and was thinking essentially just pan cooking red meat/chicken/salmon with a sprinkling of seasoning and a sliver of butter (don't yell at me, you need some fat to cook in), and then sauteing veggies in the left overs. And eating about an ounce of rice to make sure I get some carbs. Probably 6oz of meat 4oz of veggies (green beans/corn/broccoli) and 1 oz of rice is what I'm aiming for with iced tea. This would be lunch (reheated) and dinner.

In looking at just a couple of days of your diary (so perhaps I picked atypical days), this should do it. No need to feel guilty about the butter (or some olive or coconut oil)--it's good to cook in some fat so long as you don't overdo it. It looked to me like you were high on fat mainly due to meals out/fast food, so if you increase the meals cooked at home significantly I doubt you will have any issue with fat. If you eat less fatty meats (which means really most things you would cook at home--I eat a variety of meat with no problem and a lower calorie/fat limit, so beef, chicken (with or without skin, dark and light), fish, pork, lamb, all fine) and add in some veggies and a reasonable amount of starchier carbs (potatoes, rice, etc.), you should be good.

If you track it you can see what's going on and adjust. I did the same thing when I started and just adjusted my meat and starch portions some to get my protein up (and cut the percentage of carbs some).

JasonH_DFW

No, average person gets too mch protien already, half of which turns to sugar via neoglucogensis. Up your fat and cut carbs to less than 5%. Remember the human machine evovled from a high fat moderate protien low carb diet. Fruit was scarce and limited varies in nature, grains are a fairly recent development (last 5k years). Thats why depending on your racial background you might not have the enzyme makeup to process certain foods properly.

mrsmiley32

jhitt1975, that's what bothers me about the paleo diet. Nevermind carbs are seen as brain food from most nutritional sites I've seen out there, but about 5000 years ago (which is wrong btw, but anyways I get your point) we started to move out of the stone age and into an agricultural society, with that came breakthroughs in intelligence. Coincidence? I think so, but I also think your conclusion is incorrect also. Nevermind even hunters and gathers drank fermented grains and ate barley, agent egypt (up to about 12,000 years ago) is renown for being a bread based culture.

Life is about balance, balancing our physical health along with our mental health. Anyways, thank you lemurcat I just wanted to see if that looked reasonable.

TheVirgoddess

jhitt1975 wrote: »

No, average person gets too mch protien already, half of which turns to sugar via neoglucogensis. Up your fat and cut carbs to less than 5%. Remember the human machine evovled from a high fat moderate protien low carb diet. Fruit was scarce and limited varies in nature, grains are a fairly recent development (last 5k years). Thats why depending on your racial background you might not have the enzyme makeup to process certain foods properly.

Um what?

Carlos_421

jhitt1975 wrote: »

No, average person gets too mch protien already, half of which turns to sugar via neoglucogensis. Up your fat and cut carbs to less than 5%. Remember the human machine evovled from a high fat moderate protien low carb diet. Fruit was scarce and limited varies in nature, grains are a fairly recent development (last 5k years). Thats why depending on your racial background you might not have the enzyme makeup to process certain foods properly.

Seriously??? I can't believe I'm about to sound like one of the "mean people of MFP" but, seriously???

First off, the vast majority of people in first world countries are more likely to struggle to get sufficient protein, let alone too much. Someone with a goal of fitness should be aiming for .8 to 1 gram of protein per lb of lean body mass. That can be tough for people (read: the average person) who are more used to eating lots of breads and pasta.

And evolving on high fat diets?? Please, oh please, share the research.

And the best part...the racism. So race determines my ability to process certain foods? I guess my European history lets me function well on sausage and potatoes while my Native American heritage means that I can eat corn and bison without a problem. Should African Americans eat African plant species and wild caught wildebeest to lose weight? Do people of oriental descent live longer on a rice based diet? C'mon...the blatant ignorance.

For the love of Pete, we are all the same race. Skin color, hair type, eyebrow bushiness, geographical location of ancestors, etc. don't make any difference beyond the differences we make up in our minds.

segacs

Don't worry about added carbs from veggies. They're the good kind of carbs (fibre, complex carbs, packed with vitamins and nutrients) and it's good to have some of those in your diet. If you're eating too many carbs, try reducing the amount of sugary snacks, white bread and white rice, and simple carbs that you eat.

You can get more protein via: lean meats, fish, dairy, eggs, lentils, beans, soy, tofu, tempeh, chickpeas, nuts, seeds... you name it. Whatever you like to eat.

Try cooking your own meat instead of eating takeout from chipotle if you want to get the protein benefits without all the added oils and sodium. Pan cooking and sauteeing are fine, but oven roasting/baking your meats and steaming your veggies is even better.

Ain't nobody gonna yell at you for a bit of oil or butter in your cooking. Just limit the quantities -- you don't need much, and those calories add up fast!