"All you can eat" anything isn't going to really cut it, unfortunately

I think calories do count on some level, just not as much as some people obsess about.

That sort of dates back to the first Atkins book where it was suggested that infinite portions of steak were OK.

Too much protein, for instance, isn't good for you (dangerous in REALLY high doses and it will stall weight loss in excess).

I can stay below 50g of carbs a day and could comfortably keep to around 1600 calories if I had to (as a 5ft 10in fairly active bloke I need more than this though ).

I would say focus more on getting the fat up (65% is my ideal), the protein moderate (20 to 25%) and the carbs low (15 to 10%).

If you eat whole, natural, nutrient -dense foods (i.e. not processed) then the fat and protein should satisfy the hunger.

Plenty of leafy veg will help fill you up and won't hit the calories too hard.

80g carbs could work for you, it depends on how dependant you were on carbs/sugar before.

If you are eating grains (whole or otherwise, bread, pasta, rice, etc) then this could stimulate your appetite and you may still be hungry even if you are below your carb limit.

I haven't had a slice of bread or any pasta, rice, etc in months ... Can't say I miss it and I am a lot less snacky these days.

Primal Blueprint ... Good book, I like that one. I don't entirely believe his 'carbohydrate curve' but most of what he says rings true with me. Especially the bits on exercising less, I like that, makes more sense than killing yourself with Chronic Cardio

And you say you haven't lost weight but how about measurements? Worth tracking these too ...

When I up my fat intake the hunger went away Im around 1600 calories a day with 60-70% fat.

so if I take yesterday as an example I had 1800 cals with 60cabst/118 fat/129protien.

I guess I need to lower the protien and get more fat ... ugh..... how do you calculate the percents?

You are not far off, you need to consider that you are showing grams and the percentage is one of Calories so we have to adjust for the fact that Fat has more Calories per gram than Carbs or Protein.

(Carbohydrate - 4 Calories per gram, Fats - 9 Calories per gram and Protein - 4 Calories per gram). All of this is a very rough estimate but widely used.

My iPhone/iPad app does the percentages automatically, I can't find it on the website but I'll try to do it manually ...

Carbs - 60g multiplied by 4 Calories = 120 Calories
Fats - 118g multiplied by 9 Calories = 1062 Calories
Protein = 129g multiplied by 4 Calories = 516 Calories

I make that 1698 Calories total ... Not sure where the 1800 comes from (I'm sure someone will tell me soon enough ) but I'll push on ...

By percentages of Calories that makes it:

Carbs - 8%
Fats - 62%
Protein - 30%

Pretty much my ideal profile too.

I may well have made a huge mistake here somewhere too, it's early

Hi, I'm new to this, been eating primal for about ten days now, but I think I have been low carb/high protein, rather than low carb/high fat. So, I am very keen to try these percentages and see how it goes. The first 5 or so days I was amazed that my hunger/cravings seemed to have disappeared completely, but this second week I have had glimpses of them again. I haven't eaten any grains or dairy or sugar, but a piece of fruit every day. So i am ready to cut that out, and increase my fat intake without eating too much protein. So, the question is, what foods are best for this? I'm guessing avocado, coconut (in all it's guises - I live in tropical India so that's easy), oily fish... any other suggestions? I don't have much weight to lose (I want to lean up) but my main intention is to get rid of the cravings that lead to binge eating. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Been primal since the start of August. Was just low carb through July. Starting using MFP July 26.
I've lost 23 lbs so far. I have found it much easier since I went primal and stopped all grains and legumes. I think I'm now "fat-burning" instead of "sugar-burning" as my hunger has really abated and I can do IF (intermittent fasting). I have lots of energy. My blood pressure has dropped quite a bit also, and my arthritis is much improved.

However, without MFP I think it would be too easy to overdo my calorie count. There are a lot of ideas on Marks site that might not agree with traditional diet advice, but so far its working for me and my husband. Thing is, I think you have to embrace it as a way of life and not just a temporary thing to drop weight. With the health benefits I've seen so far, it definitely worth a try. I hope to keep it up through the winter and maybe by then it will have become a good habit. Mark says aim for 80/20 so you can slip occasionally, but for now I'm really trying not to.

PS. I just watched a hydrocut commercial and went - "crap", if you don't lose the weight through diet modification its just bound to come back.

Primal does allow dairy, so I like to have Oikos 2% plain yogurt with a few berries. You could skip the berries and add some almonds or walnuts. Why are you restricting protein? The goal for quick weight loss would be carbs below 30 grams but proteins and fat are important to get your calories and maintain your muscles.

Also Primal is more than just a eating plan. Check out Mark's resources.

Dairy and fruit is overrated for weight management IMO.

Since I cut back on the cheese and upped the healthy fats I think I have made better progress.

I've never been a fan of fruit anyway, I stick to the home-grown strawberries with some cream ... nice.

I find it amusing that "fruit and vegetables" are constantly mentioned in the same breath when they are completely different things from a weight management point of view.

But that's the food pyramid and the bogus "5 a day" (marketing) message for ya ...

if you want to keep the fruit, try the lower carb berries