Lower my cards, but keep my calories

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SilMarillion
SilMarillion Posts: 71
in Food and Nutrition
Hi there,

Looking for some pointers on how to decrease my daily carbohydrate intake, increase my protein intake, and still eat 2000 net calories... Looking at my daily diary, I can easily hit my 15% protein -- in fact I can easily get that to 30% or more by drinking a protein powder shake... but I would like to do is get my carbs down to the 40% mark.... but it seems like when I do this, I start to struggle with my calories.. and then I am under eating by 600+ ....

Any suggestions on what foods I can eat that are high in protein, high in calories but low in carbs?

SilMarillion.
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Replies

  • dls06
    dls06 Posts: 6,774 Member
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    Egg white omelets.
  • cholibear
    cholibear Posts: 86
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    bump
  • twinmom01
    twinmom01 Posts: 854 Member
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    lots of good things...

    Nuts - I snack on a mix of raw pecans and almonds....with this you do have to be careful if you are watching your calorie intake because it is easy to go over...I buy mine in bulk and then will repack in single serving snack bags...I just count out 24 nuts so depending on the sizes of the nuts I may be over or under.

    Nut Butters - Almond and sun butters are good. Peanut butter is a good source if you dont' have issues...the only thing is you do want to get them as clean as you can - if you have a Whole Foods near you they have where you can grind your own. if not look in the organic section for jars that have basically just the nuts listed as their ingrediate.

    Avocado - I buy the 100 calorie packs of guacamole (Wholly Guac or Walmart has a house brand) and use carrots or red pepper strips to dip.

    Jerky - it is best if you can make it yourself - fairly easy to do in a low heat oven - lots of instructions on the net - My husband and I make our own - we bought a jerky press gun from Amazon for about $20 for making ground jerky - we use Venison he has shot but you can easily use store bought meats - you can even get a nice piece of steak and make thin slices, add some seasoning and "dry" them in a low heat oven...storebought packs a LOT of sodium per serving

    Pork rinds - if you get the big puffy kind a handful is only about 50-60 calories - like the jerky it is best to look at the ingrediant list as some sneak chemical crap in there...
  • Awkward30
    Awkward30 Posts: 1,927 Member
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    On my low carb days I am in the mid-low 100s by just giving up straight carbs (ie no side of grain or potatoes and no bread). I'm still probably considered moderate carb, but it's about as low as I'll consider going!
  • SilMarillion
    SilMarillion Posts: 71
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    Thanks for the suggestion, but the problem I have with egg whites is that they are so low in calories... Egg beaters are only 25 calories per serving -- I would probably eat 4 servings in one omelet.... I wonder if there is a turkey sausage that is low carb (and also low sodium!!!) out there that will boast the calories...

    Yes, I know I could add veggies, but these are also so low in calories that they won't move the needle that much...

    SilMarillion
  • Superchikanthem
    Superchikanthem Posts: 362 Member
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    Eat the whole egg. If your lowering your carbs your going to have to up protein and fats. Don't be afraid of the yolk.
  • SilMarillion
    SilMarillion Posts: 71
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    Love the yolk ... just hate the cholesterol!
  • SeaChele77
    SeaChele77 Posts: 1,103 Member
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    Jimmy Dean turkey sausage is great - but still lower in calories - I had 2 pieces this morning and it was only 83 calories -but low carbs and high protein.

    I am having the exact same issue and almost posted a topic before seeing your post. I am trying to stay as close to 100 on my carbs, but when doing that I am undereating more than normal.

    BUMP!!!!!
  • SilMarillion
    SilMarillion Posts: 71
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    Jimmy Dean turkey sausage is great - but still lower in calories - I had 2 pieces this morning and it was only 83 calories -but low carbs and high protein.

    I am having the exact same issue and almost posted a topic before seeing your post. I am trying to stay as close to 100 on my carbs, but when doing that I am undereating more than normal.

    BUMP!!!!!

    The problem I have with all the Jimmy Dean sausages is the amount of sodium they contain... two patties would eat up 500mg -- or a quarter of my daily intake.... but I guess there isn't a perfect food out there, and we all have to make some compromises..
  • twinmom01
    twinmom01 Posts: 854 Member
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    Jimmy Dean turkey sausage is great - but still lower in calories - I had 2 pieces this morning and it was only 83 calories -but low carbs and high protein.

    I am having the exact same issue and almost posted a topic before seeing your post. I am trying to stay as close to 100 on my carbs, but when doing that I am undereating more than normal.

    BUMP!!!!!

    The problem I have with all the Jimmy Dean sausages is the amount of sodium they contain... two patties would eat up 500mg -- or a quarter of my daily intake.... but I guess there isn't a perfect food out there, and we all have to make some compromises..

    I eat the Jimmy Dean turkey a fair amount. What does the rest of your daily eats involve? While it may be a fair amount per serving if the rest of your eats are fairly low in sodium then the amount should be fairly negliagible in the overall scheme...
  • tigerlily8045
    tigerlily8045 Posts: 415 Member
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    lots of good things...

    Nut Butters - Almond and sun butters are good. Peanut butter is a good source if you dont' have issues...the only thing is you do want to get them as clean as you can - if you have a Whole Foods near you they have where you can grind your own. if not look in the organic section for jars that have basically just the nuts listed as their ingrediate.

    OH geez at first glance I thought this said Nutter butters... you know the cookies. I thought how is that going to help... *slaps head.
  • twinmom01
    twinmom01 Posts: 854 Member
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    Another option would be to do up a whole chicken and snack off of that for a few days...

    I have on occasion bought a grocery store rotissarie chicken and just used that for snacking. Every once in a while I can get a good deal on organic "free range" chickens and will buy a few of those and stick them in the freezer - simply thaw one and shove in a crockpot for a few hours...that way you can control the amount of spices and seasonings, including sodium
  • naija1983
    naija1983 Posts: 10
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    I have this same issue and plus I travel weekly for work - so can't cook during the week.

    I resort to protein shakes. I usually have 1 per day with 20g protein and 8g carbs per serving. Different brands have even more protein and may be even less in carbs but I like the taste of this brand the best.

    ETA: I see that you already drink shakes :) It's a tough question then but I'd say eat the foods that are calorically dense (PB, Avocado, nuts) which usually have decent amounts of protein but watch your fats.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    Hi there,

    Looking for some pointers on how to decrease my daily carbohydrate intake, increase my protein intake, and still eat 2000 net calories... Looking at my daily diary, I can easily hit my 15% protein -- in fact I can easily get that to 30% or more by drinking a protein powder shake... but I would like to do is get my carbs down to the 40% mark.... but it seems like when I do this, I start to struggle with my calories.. and then I am under eating by 600+ ....

    Any suggestions on what foods I can eat that are high in protein, high in calories but low in carbs?

    SilMarillion.
    Add more fat calories. Add olive oil to soups and sauces. Add avocado to salads etc.
  • lindsay0515
    lindsay0515 Posts: 52 Member
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    I have the same problem. I just became a big fan of egg salad over lettuce with roasted red peppers. Right under 300 calories and very little carbs. I use 2 hard boiled eggs, 1 TBSP of Kraft Mayo w/ Olive Oil, 1 TSP of spicy mustard, 1 tsp of salad cubes and a dash of cayenne. Mix together and put on top of shredded lettuce and then add roasted red peppers. It's not too filling and makes a nice refreshing summer snack to boost calories.
  • kristen6022
    kristen6022 Posts: 1,926 Member
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    Jenni-O has link sausage for breakfast that is tasty. In the meat case by the other Turkey Products. They don't have an carbs. I live alone and cook for one, and to make it easier for me I freeze them in portions and the night before stick one portion in the fridge so it's defrosted by morning.
  • ddardeen
    ddardeen Posts: 3 Member
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    greek yogurt is a good protein source with moderate calories, same with cottage cheese
  • Emancipated_Tai
    Emancipated_Tai Posts: 756 Member
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    Feel free to look at my diary. My carbs stay low between 50-70g/day and protein averages 150g/day. I’m on 1700 calories, but I usually eat more than that upwards to 1950.
  • stephenatl09
    stephenatl09 Posts: 186 Member
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    Quit eating cards, eat more veggies and lean proteins.
    avoid over processed foods. Do you realize how much you have to process turkey to make it taste like bacon or pork sausage? You should use the main and best "muscle", your brain...hahaha !
    edit to add a comma before the grammer gestapo got me...
  • ChefSuzzieQ
    ChefSuzzieQ Posts: 119
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    I am set at 40/30/30 with the 40 being my protein. I limit my grains and eat a lot of eggs, whites, chicken breast and turkey. Getting most of your carbs from fruit and veg and not grains should work for you.

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