Protein question
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MKknits
Posts: 184 Member
I've been off on my protein goals lately (as in low) - is that a serious problem? For example once MFP adjusts for my activity today (which I never eat back) it says I should be eating 221 grams of protein today (which seems INSANE to me). I only had 78 grams. My macro % are still in the right proportions though. Part of the issue is that I'm just not that hungry.
Thoughts? Suggestions?
Thoughts? Suggestions?
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Replies
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I've been off on my protein goals lately (as in low) - is that a serious problem? For example once MFP adjusts for my activity today (which I never eat back) it says I should be eating 221 grams of protein today (which seems INSANE to me). I only had 78 grams. My macro % are still in the right proportions though. Part of the issue is that I'm just not that hungry.
Thoughts? Suggestions?
221 will probably defeat ketosis. I have an upper limit of 120, which I never exceed. (I'm diabetic, though, and I know excessive carbs will jack up my blood glucose.)
Try computing your macros again with a keto calculator? (Such as: keto-calculator.ankerl.com)1 -
One of the reasons using actual grams, rather than ratios, seems to work best when setting macros. I used the Ketogains calculator to help me figure out my macro grams based on my goals. There are many out there. But it seems like a common suggestion is to identify your keto goals. What are your max carb grams per day? That tends to be a firm limit. Then identify your protein max. The rest of your calories would then come from fats--but not necessary a set goal that you have to reach each day.
There's some tips in the Launch Pad, the Diet Doctor website, the New Atkins for a New You, etc. And of course, folks with far more experience doing keto--and explaining this stuff-are all over this board and the keto subreddit.
Oh--and I can't recall the exact title, but Dr. Steve Phinney has a video where he discusses the science behind his and Volek's ideas about constant protein, possibly adjusting carbs, and adjusting fats as people progress through weightloss. Anyone recall which video I'm describing? One of the Low Carb Australia vids, I think.1 -
My max net carbs is 20, I think once in the last two weeks I've gone over. Most days I sit around 14-17 net carbs, most of those carbs are veg, cheese and nuts. I know that I don't want my protein too high but too low also isn't good. I think I struggle a bit with my macros because I'm obese so some of the amounts are really high - and with eating this way my appetite is usually pretty small and when I don't have a a huge appetite I'm not that hungry for huge amounts of food. I want smaller portions of good food and tend to add fats to make sure I get close to my fat macros.
Here is a screen shot of my macros at the end of the day
At this point I'm not hungry and it's too late to eat. I pre-plan most days but I'm finding myself short on some macros at the end of the day and I'm finding I'm not really hungry enough to eat more then 1800 calories (keep in mind I have at least 100lbs to lose and I don't want to lose too fast because I want time for my skin to adjust).
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My max net carbs is 20, I think once in the last two weeks I've gone over. Most days I sit around 14-17 net carbs, most of those carbs are veg, cheese and nuts. I know that I don't want my protein too high but too low also isn't good. I think I struggle a bit with my macros because I'm obese so some of the amounts are really high - and with eating this way my appetite is usually pretty small and when I don't have a a huge appetite I'm not that hungry for huge amounts of food. I want smaller portions of good food and tend to add fats to make sure I get close to my fat macros.
Here is a screen shot of my macros at the end of the day
At this point I'm not hungry and it's too late to eat. I pre-plan most days but I'm finding myself short on some macros at the end of the day and I'm finding I'm not really hungry enough to eat more then 1800 calories (keep in mind I have at least 100lbs to lose and I don't want to lose too fast because I want time for my skin to adjust).
You could calculate your calories needed to maintain weight at what your goal weight is and use that as your calorie goal. Then your calorie deficit will naturally close as you lose the weight.1 -
That protein amount seems really excessive to me. I am in maintenance and working to build muscle at which I am successful. I am burning/consuming 3200-3500 calories a day, and I don't generally eat 221 g of protein. I typically struggle to not go over my goal in protein just because my total calories are so high, but there is no way I would get 200+ on only 1732 calories. The %'s in your actual are probably closer to the targets you want versus what you have in the goal.1
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I needed to lose about 100lbs. I've lost close to that and am now just maintaining. I've never had any sort blood/sugar issues or anything like that, so it was just the weight that was my problem. Rightly or wrongly all I ever really focused on was keeping my carbs at or below 20g. I also looked for opportunities to increase my fat content (yum), but I really never paid much attention to the protein macro, other than avoiding very lean meats. On the rare occasions that I bothered to check my protein was generally on the high side. I don't really eat vegetables other than green beans once in a while. Nowadays I do have an apple as a treat most days but that's about it for plant based calories. Good luck.0
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it's because the % goes up with your added 874 calories from your exercise burn, I alway ignore that and stick with my base macros. because I don't trust my smartwatch and I'm usually full.3
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Eat less than 80g protein per day even with exercise is added that will be enough to maintain muscle mass a maximum of 4oz of meat per meal is a good place to start to control glucose overload and get thrown out of ketosis. Just remember to also watch other sources of protein with it like certain veggies and split that protein up between 2-3 meals per day not all at one sitting like I have seen others do who think because they did not exceed their macro for the day that it is ok. Keto on!!!1
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Thanks all - I think I'm settling into this and figuring out what ways of eating work for me. I got curious and ordered some ketostix and every few days will use one and they come up pretty dark pink, so I'm pretty sure I'm doing this right. I just need to trust my body and if it tells me I'm not hungry I'm not going to force myself to eat.1
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Thanks all - I think I'm settling into this and figuring out what ways of eating work for me. I got curious and ordered some ketostix and every few days will use one and they come up pretty dark pink, so I'm pretty sure I'm doing this right. I just need to trust my body and if it tells me I'm not hungry I'm not going to force myself to eat.
Just so you know, as your body gets more used to using ketones, you will spill less in your urine, so as long as the strips show there are some ketones, you are good. If it remains very high for a long time, that could actually indicate a medical issue.
I say this because some people freak out when they see the strips go from indicating a high level to a low level even though they feel great and haven't increased their carb intake. Everyone is a bit different, so how low they go and how quickly may vary.
However, if you spend the big bucks and go for blood ketone testing, those will actually get a bit higher as your body gets used to using ketones over glucose.0 -
Thanks all - I think I'm settling into this and figuring out what ways of eating work for me. I got curious and ordered some ketostix and every few days will use one and they come up pretty dark pink, so I'm pretty sure I'm doing this right. I just need to trust my body and if it tells me I'm not hungry I'm not going to force myself to eat.
That's how it works! youre doing great
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Thanks all - I think I'm settling into this and figuring out what ways of eating work for me. I got curious and ordered some ketostix and every few days will use one and they come up pretty dark pink, so I'm pretty sure I'm doing this right. I just need to trust my body and if it tells me I'm not hungry I'm not going to force myself to eat.
Pee stix™ will get darker as you become dehydrated. IMHO, they may be useful for the basic Q, "Ketosis - Y or N", but if they're dark, I go straight to a couple pints of fluids (w electrolytes). They lighten up pretty quickly.
Also, in my n=1 experience, they don't correlate very well with results from blood ketone strips.
There's a thread in the r/keto group on using cheap breathalyzers (which can't tell the difference between alcohol and breath ketones).
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Thanks all - I think I'm settling into this and figuring out what ways of eating work for me. I got curious and ordered some ketostix and every few days will use one and they come up pretty dark pink, so I'm pretty sure I'm doing this right. I just need to trust my body and if it tells me I'm not hungry I'm not going to force myself to eat.
Pee stix™ will get darker as you become dehydrated. IMHO, they may be useful for the basic Q, "Ketosis - Y or N", but if they're dark, I go straight to a couple pints of fluids (w electrolytes). They lighten up pretty quickly.
Also, in my n=1 experience, they don't correlate very well with results from blood ketone strips.
There's a thread in the r/keto group on using cheap breathalyzers (which can't tell the difference between alcohol and breath ketones).
Thanks - I drink tons of water (and did before I did this WOE) because I teach and if I don't drink enough water I lose my voice talking all day. An average day is 3 liters but sometimes I drink even more then that. Weekends I don't always drink as much water so I tend to not test at all on weekends. I usually test once maybe twice a week. maybe years down the road I'll invest in the breathalyzer but right now it isn't in my budget and I can tell by how I feel that I'm in ketosis, I just wanted to confirm it for now.
I've been reading up a bit more about how ketones are used and the idea that cancer cells are obligate glucose users is interesting to me, so I'm thinking that in general this is going to be something I do for a long time with my family history of cancer.0 -
@MKknits - If you're careful about your diet - carbs are low and you don't overdo the protein (esp. if you're diabetic), you can safely assume you're in ketosis. No harm in periodic pee tests, but probably just as well to save the money you'd spend on blood ketone tests or breathylzers on something yummy.
I also imagine that I'm an LCHF lifer. But there's so much we don't know about nutrition, and individual differences are vast. One of the hardest parts of following a ketogenic diet, especially one that seems to be working, is keeping an open mind to the possibility that there may be other diets that work for you, perhaps even different diets at different times of your life. Until personalized medicine and nutrition become reality, it seems like a good idea to keep an eye on what the less extreme LF advocates are thinking, even though it often sounds goofy and is sometimes delivered with a degree of certainty that makes you go
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Let me offer my take on it. MFP is telling you that your calorie goal is over 3000. Even if that is eating back all your exercise calories and with as much weight as you have to lose that is an astronomical amount of calories. This is the reason your macros are also high. They correlate together.
A gram of fat is 9 calories; a gram of protein and carbs are 4 calories each. MFP is calculating your macro grams based on the calorie goal. 230 grams of protein is 920 calories. 221 grams of fat is 1988 calories. 38 grams of carbs is 152 calories. Add those all together and it comes to 3060 calories.
You probably need to be more around 1800, just a guess not knowing your stats (age, wt, ht, etc). Looking at your screen shot that is what you ate for that day. You also took in 4% of your calories from carbs, 78% from fat and 18% from protein. There is no way you can eat 220 grams of protein without also increasing your calories. Your percentages of macros are pretty much exactly where they need to be. Look at your pie chart and you will see.
If you use the desktop you can change your goals under settings. On the app you click on goals, then macro and calorie goals. Use a good calculator as directed above and reset your values in MFP. I hope this all made sense. If not feel free to friend me and send me a message.1
