Increasing protein intake while keeping carbs, fat and cholesterol down...HOW?!

calimom00

Hey, everyone. I'm hoping someone can help, as I'm struggling here

Since I started flexible dieting/IIFYM, I have realized how little protein I've been getting, while my fat and carb intake was really high. I want to remedy that without sending my cholesterol flying. It doesn't help that I'm not a huge fan of meat or dairy, but I'm trying to be more open-minded. This is starting to frustrate me, but I don't want to give up. Any advice?

yarwell

Chicken and tuna - low fat, no carb, high protein.

calimom00

I forgot about tuna! Thank you!

ChrisRendon1128

-Chicken
-Fish
-Beans
-Protein Shakes/Bars
-Eggs

Hope that helped

LKArgh

Fish. Chicken. Legumes.

calimom00

I just made a protein shake with peanut butter powder...way more protein than I thought in both! And I'm going to make some black beans with tuna and brown rice. I'm feeling a lot more optimistic about being able to stick with it, thank you! And if anyone has any more suggestions, please keep them coming!

goldthistime

I had to eat more meat. If that's not something you want to do, you are not going to have much room for starchy carbs like white rice or white bread. I would add a handful of nuts to your day and maybe a protein bar as a snack. Broccoli has a surprising amount of protein too.

jgnatca

Egg whites if you are worried about cholesterol. Unsaturated fats can help too.

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/fats-and-cholesterol/

From the above link, olive, canola, sunflower, soy, and corn), nuts, seeds, and fish.

Think Mediterranean diet, with a nice vinaigrette on your fresh veggies for your unsaturated oils.

calimom00

Nuts, olive oil, avocados are staples in my diet. I'd like to add in more fish, but that stupid fat limit...I wish I could specify healthy fats vs. unhealthy fats on MFP.

goldthistime

What stupid fat limit? Maybe you should revisit your macro settings. Lots of low carbers would argue that you would be better off eating more fat and fewer carbs. Me, I try to get 20% protein and don't worry too much about whether the rest of the calories come from fats or carbs. My macros are set to 50 carbs, 20 protein, 30 fats. Lots of MFP'ers like 40 carbs, 30 protein, 30 fat (I rarely can eat that much protein).

socioseguro

calimom00 wrote: »

Nuts, olive oil, avocados are staples in my diet. I'd like to add in more fish, but that stupid fat limit...I wish I could specify healthy fats vs. unhealthy fats on MFP.

I use the macros numbers as guidance, not as gospel. If I happen to overshoot so be it. Calories ingested is more important to me
Good luck in your healthy journey

StacyChrz

I like plain, fat free Greek yogurt. I know it's boring but the Chobani and Fage are pretty good. You get 15-18 grams of protein from 90-100 calories and no fat. Plus the added benefit of more calcium and the probiotics.

janejellyroll

calimom00 wrote: »

Nuts, olive oil, avocados are staples in my diet. I'd like to add in more fish, but that stupid fat limit...I wish I could specify healthy fats vs. unhealthy fats on MFP.

The fat goal is just a suggestion. You can disregard it or change it.

Unknown

This content has been removed.

jgnatca

I've seen people be successful on high carb, low fat, low carb high fat, and those who eat a balanced macro ratio like me. What everyone has had in common is watching their total calorie intake.

@PlantBasedKnight , how much protein must a person ingest to experience kidney damage? And the acidity stuff is all junk science.

janejellyroll

PlantBasedKnight wrote: »

Dear calimom00
Why would any one do that? what are you trying to achieve by increasing protein intake and keeping carbs low?

To me that sounds a recipe for disaster.

You want to lose weight and be fit and healthy. Follow high carb low fat diet like the "Starch solution" by Dr Mcdougall. Starch here is the starchy plants processed/cooked minimally (Potato, sweet potato, legumes, grains etc)

High protein diet (namely animal based portions) does the following to you:
1-increase your blood acidity
2-high acidity makes it hard to lose fat
3-high acidity causes bone loss which pave the way to osteoporosis
4-high protein diets promote fast aging and growth, that is cancer growth. thus it increases your risk of cancer
5-high protein intake stresses your kidneys and eventually damage them
6-High blood acidity damages the joints, you end up with pain whenever you want to move a joint
7-it also gives a terrible body odour

The question then becomes how/what to cook? if you are interested I can show you websites who gives recipes for free for delicious foods like that.

You can lose weight and be fit and healthy while eating higher protein and/or fat. Look around the world -- people can thrive on all sorts of macro distributions. I don't think there is "one right way."

calimom00

I agree on the body odor. My husband is a body builder, and I can always smell the difference when he's taking in more protein. I don't mind getting my protein from fish and plant sources, and I don't hate meat, I just don't want to HAVE to eat it. I'd rather eat red meat or chicken for enjoyment, if that makes sense. I don't eat pork at all, except on New Years Day.

I think I'm going to follow the advice to use the fat portion as a guideline. As long as it's mostly healthy fats, I will try not to over think it too much. I had my weigh-in this morning, so I will see how things look next week. I upped my calories to reflect my exercise and breastfeeding, which I hadn't done originally. After reading the responses posted so far, I feel more comfortable tweaking my numbers a bit.

calimom00

@PlantBasedKnight I am trying to lose baby weight (I had my son two years ago, this is getting ridiculous), and up my endurance so I can start doing more outdoor activities with my family.

smis92103

Best sources of protein: https://www.myliporidex.com/blog/best_protein_sources1

calimom00

I should also clarify that my protein intake has always been really low, and I'm increasing to meet my suggested goal. I am also chronically iron deficient, and I know that protein sources can also be good iron sources (or so I've heard).

calimom00

smis92103 wrote: »

Best sources of protein: https://www.myliporidex.com/blog/best_protein_sources1

Thank you!

cwolfman13

calimom00 wrote: »

Nuts, olive oil, avocados are staples in my diet. I'd like to add in more fish, but that stupid fat limit...I wish I could specify healthy fats vs. unhealthy fats on MFP.

You can adjust your macros however you please...the default MFP settings aren't some kind of gospel.

For more protein just eat lean cuts of chicken, pork, beef, and fish...there are loads of lean fish that should have very little impact on your fat macros.

Also, dietary cholesterol is pretty much irrelevant...the FDA is in process of removing the old recommendations and requirements on food labeling due to the fact that it has been determined that there really isn't a correlation between dietary cholesterol and blood serum. The U.S. is slow...we're like the only country that even tracks it.

Where your weight is concerned, calories are what matter, not your macros or macro ratios.

jgnatca

I am also iron deficient and here's a cool way I'm increasing my iron in my diet.

http://www.luckyironfish.com/

And a list of iron rich foods:

http://www.webmd.com/diet/iron-rich-foods

calimom00

jgnatca wrote: »

I am also iron deficient and here's a cool way I'm increasing my iron in my diet.

http://www.luckyironfish.com/

And a list of iron rich foods:

http://www.webmd.com/diet/iron-rich-foods

This is AWESOME. Thank you so much.

calimom00

cwolfman13 wrote: »

calimom00 wrote: »

Nuts, olive oil, avocados are staples in my diet. I'd like to add in more fish, but that stupid fat limit...I wish I could specify healthy fats vs. unhealthy fats on MFP.

You can adjust your macros however you please...the default MFP settings aren't some kind of gospel.

For more protein just eat lean cuts of chicken, pork, beef, and fish...there are loads of lean fish that should have very little impact on your fat macros.

Also, dietary cholesterol is pretty much irrelevant...the FDA is in process of removing the old recommendations and requirements on food labeling due to the fact that it has been determined that there really isn't a correlation between dietary cholesterol and blood serum. The U.S. is slow...we're like the only country that even tracks it.

Where your weight is concerned, calories are what matter, not your macros or macro ratios.

I hear so many different opinions on this. I'm really just trying to safeguard my heart health as much as I can, as there have been some issues with this within my family.

DaddieCat

I'm a bodybuilder... I'm also vegan and have been for over a decade. I have a ridiculously high protein intake to support my process and goals. But none of the above listed "problems" with protein seem to present themselves to me. I'm regularly checked by my doctor including blood work and all hormone tests. They all come out well within a healthy range.

I've not suffered from any type of fabled "protein poisoning" nor do many of the other thousands upon thousands of people who eat a high protein diet, whether plant based or not.

Bunk science and false anecdotal evidence is still bunk science no matter the source.

As for iron deficiency, that should be monitored by a doctor as too much iron is proven by science to be harmful to you and iron is not a water soluble vitamin in the sense that the body does not excrete extra quantities in the same way you would vitamin c, for example.

calimom00

BecomingBane wrote: »

As for iron deficiency, that should be monitored by a doctor as too much iron is proven by science to be harmful to you and iron is not a water soluble vitamin in the sense that the body does not excrete extra quantities in the same way you would vitamin c, for example.

It is for this reason that I prefer to get my iron from food sources, and only take supplements at the recommendation of my FNP, who prescribed blue green algae supplements instead of a traditional supplement during my pregnancy. Even with my prenatal vitamins, I still always come back low.

viajera99

I've found fat-free plain greek yogurt and fat-free cottage cheese are excellent ways to increase protein intake without bumping up the fat and carb macros too much. (I highly recommend Trader Joe's version of both if you have one nearby. Best tasting I've come across.)

dewd2

calimom00 wrote: »

cwolfman13 wrote: »

calimom00 wrote: »

Nuts, olive oil, avocados are staples in my diet. I'd like to add in more fish, but that stupid fat limit...I wish I could specify healthy fats vs. unhealthy fats on MFP.

You can adjust your macros however you please...the default MFP settings aren't some kind of gospel.

For more protein just eat lean cuts of chicken, pork, beef, and fish...there are loads of lean fish that should have very little impact on your fat macros.

Also, dietary cholesterol is pretty much irrelevant...the FDA is in process of removing the old recommendations and requirements on food labeling due to the fact that it has been determined that there really isn't a correlation between dietary cholesterol and blood serum. The U.S. is slow...we're like the only country that even tracks it.

Where your weight is concerned, calories are what matter, not your macros or macro ratios.

I hear so many different opinions on this. I'm really just trying to safeguard my heart health as much as I can, as there have been some issues with this within my family.

There's opinions and then there are facts. You should follow the science. Cholesterol in food has no impact on the cholesterol in your blood. In addition, the levels in your blood are a symptom, not the disease.

http://www.aarp.org/health/healthy-living/info-2015/cholesterol-myths.html

goldthistime

jgnatca wrote: »

I've seen people be successful on high carb, low fat, low carb high fat, and those who eat a balanced macro ratio like me. What everyone has had in common is watching their total calorie intake.

@PlantBasedKnight , how much protein must a person ingest to experience kidney damage? And the acidity stuff is all junk science.

I read a study where they doubled subjects' protein % from what the experimenters called normal levels of 15% to 30%. The subjects (young athletes if I remember correctly) showed a measurable increase of uric acid in their blood. The study was about satiety. The extra protein increased satiety. I like to think my 20% goal is a good compromise.

kshama2001

calimom00 wrote: »

I should also clarify that my protein intake has always been really low, and I'm increasing to meet my suggested goal. I am also chronically iron deficient, and I know that protein sources can also be good iron sources (or so I've heard).

I'm anemic and can't get enough iron from food alone. I take Iron Bisglycinate. My doctor had given me cheaper forms of iron (I'm with the VA) but I still had fatigue and hair loss with them.

I'm not saying you shouldn't increase your iron from food, but do also get your levels tested regularly and consult with your doctor about supplementing.