more protein without more fat

kerriknox

Ok, so since I started my 100 days (I know I'm only on day 3 but this was something I struggled with before but it has just been confirmed by my logging everything) I have found that I am low on carbs (ok with that) low on protein (would like to fix that) and high on fat (OK with that as well except that I'd like to get my protein up).

How do I increase protein without increasing fat as well? I am at about 25% carbs so that is pretty good. It is all through vegetables and fruit so I don't want to change that macro but how do I increase protein and I guess decrease fat in order to keep my calories in line. Are there any snacks or food that are particularly high in protein but lower in fat? Ideally I'd like to be 25% carbs / 40% protein and 35% fat.

spirit80

You can add whey protein as a snack. I like grilled boneless skinless chicken breast grilled as my main source of protein.

Desmonema

Hey,
you could try beef jerky! Look out for a brand with no preservatives or added sugar; they can anyway only use lean meat to produce this, so it's low in fat. There's also turkey jerky or deer jerky.

overfences

Most people I've talked to who try to follow the Paleo/Primal diet eat about 25% Carbs, 25% Protein, and 50% fat.

Is there a reason you want to decrease the fat to that particular percentage? I stay within my calorie goals, but other than that I never try to decrease fat.

GalaxyDuck

As long as you're eating good healthy fats, there's no need to be scared of it.. Without a good portion of fat to go with your protein, you'll probably be finding yourself 1)short on calories each day and 2)hungry a lot!

Don't be scared of getting more than 35% fat. It won't MAKE you fat if it's coming from good sources. Search Mark's Daily Apple, Whole9, or Rob Wolff's site for more info. I would actually switch your protein/fat ratios and shoot for 40% (or more) fat and 35% protein, as there is a limit to how much protein your body (i.e. your kidneys) can handle a day.

kerriknox

I'm totally OK with lots of fat. I know my fat is from good sources, my only reason for decreasing it is I want to increase my protein by about 20 g a day and since my carbs are already at 25% it has to come out of the fat portion if I want to keep my calories in line.

My main concern is to only burn fat and not muscle and my understanding was that I needed to keep my protein up to do that. I worry that with my protein below goal I may burn muscle as well.

spirit80

I'm totally OK with lots of fat. I know my fat is from good sources, my only reason for decreasing it is I want to increase my protein by about 20 g a day and since my carbs are already at 25% it has to come out of the fat portion if I want to keep my calories in line.

My main concern is to only burn fat and not muscle and my understanding was that I needed to keep my protein up to do that. I worry that with my protein below goal I may burn muscle as well.

What is your exercise program to build muscle?

GalaxyDuck

A good way to figure out how much protein to eat each day is to try to get about 0.8 to 1 g of protein for every lb of your bodyweight, or your "goal weight". So for example, if you weigh 150 and want to maintain that, aim for 150g of protein. When I started paleo I actually lost weight I didn't want to/expect. I weighed 125lb and in order to get back up to my goal weight (i.e. build some muscle) I try to shoot for between 130 and 140 gs of protein a day.

Using the Goals setting, I adjust the percentages until I hit somewhere in that range which was about 30-35% protein for me, depending on how many calories I eat that day hehe. If you are still trying to lose weight, shoot to eat about 1 g of protein for every lb of your goal weight, whatever that may be.

I hope that wasn't too confusing!

Edited to add: just checked out your profile and saw you're a fellow Canuck! Don't see many of them in the paleo/primal group so hey

zellagrrl

Most people I've talked to who try to follow the Paleo/Primal diet eat about 25% Carbs, 25% Protein, and 50% fat.

Is there a reason you want to decrease the fat to that particular percentage? I stay within my calorie goals, but other than that I never try to decrease fat.

My fiancé has gastroparesis and has a hard time digesting fat (it's usually easier in liquid form). I use lean cuts of meat, 96/4 ground beef (if his stomach decides not to reject beef) and 99% fat free ground turkey a lot. Shrimp, salmon, eggs and chicken sausage round it out.

No idea what OP's situation is, but that's what I deal with And because I'm slack, I only cook for the more restrictive diet.

twinmom01

Chances are the fats are going to go up a little bit when you add in more protien...

Chicken is a big one - sometimes we buy a rotissire chicken to snack on or do up one in the crockpot for the week...

Ground turkey - I make turkey meatballs and bake them in the oven...a couple makes for a good snack

Turkey Sausage - This is one of the few boxed things I buy - the Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage links - I have a serving a day with breakfast

Eggs - hard boiled eggs

Jerky - have to watch if you buy store brands as some are loaded with sodium and marinated in non paleo stuff like soy ...fairly easy to make your own using your oven - check out some lower threads and there is one about making your own jerky

Fish - tuna, salmon, etc...

If you do dairy then things like Greek Yogurt is a good source - add in some frozen berries and when they thaw a bit they release some juice and sweeten the plain stuff.

I don't worry too much about fat...since for the most part it is good for you fats I don't worry about it - I watch my carb intake fist, my protien intake (as I lift weights I need to make sure my body has the amino acids needed to repair the muscle) - THEN calories and finally fat...

kerriknox

Thanks for all the responses. I am going to have to play around with it, I think. I do consider myself more primal than Paleo now as I eat dairy. At the moment I am only getting about 80 - 90 g of protein a day and as I am doing a lifting program (NROLFW) I would like to get that up over 100. Maybe I'll just have to add some cardio in to give myself more calories I can eat each day and not worry about giving up the fat for protein.

I like the idea of making my own jerky! I may try that this weekend. We buy our beef from a local farm and are getting pretty low though. The next butchering date isn't till the middle of August!