high protein = high fat !

menojy
menojy Posts: 92 Member
in Food and Nutrition
whenever I try to increase my protein intake, my fat intake rises as well ! when I eat fish, meat, eggs fat percentage gets out of control ...
how can I increase my protein intake up to 30% while keeping fat intake below 25% ?

and what's a healthy ratio anyways ? is it bad if my diet is high in fats ?
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Replies

  • Sqeekyjojo
    Sqeekyjojo Posts: 704 Member
    Eat lean meat and don't add butter, oil, etc, to it when cooking.

    An egg is a great thing. But have it boiled or poached, not fried or served on buttered toast.

    Steak is great. Don't have sauce with it, use a spice rub instead.
  • katevarner
    katevarner Posts: 884 Member
    What percentages are you trying to reach? I have my fat intake at 35% and my protein at 25% but I'm in maintenance. And I frequently go over in both categories. I do better when I pay the closest attention to not having too many carbs and getting enough protein. The fats usually sort themselves out.

    Just make sure you are eating healthy fats (avocado, nuts, monounsaturated, meat (grass fed is best) and dairy). As long as it's not a lot of added fat from processing, you should be fine at 25% or even higher.
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
    Are you going over? And are you going over on MFP's default? If you join the eat train progress group, there is a sticky that goes into finding what your macros should be set at. Mine is 40/30/30.
  • NobodyInParticular
    NobodyInParticular Posts: 352 Member
    Egg whites, chicken breast, Tilapia, turkey Breast, ground chicken and turkey....
  • AJinBirmingham
    AJinBirmingham Posts: 497
    I have the same problem, because although I like a little bit of lean meat - I much prefer nuts and dairy products.

    As she said, cut back on the extra fat (especially sauces) that you add to your food whenever you can.

    I do well if I can keep my protein high and my CARBS LOW, even if it does sometimes push my fat percentage up a bit. Everyone's different, but you might want to try focusing on those two and not worrying too much about fat for a few days, see how you feel and check the scale.
  • NavyMommy
    NavyMommy Posts: 102 Member
    Feel free to look at my diary. I met with a nutritionist on Monday who wanted me to be at about 1500 calories and 110-120 grams of protein. She had another way she wanted me to track, but it wasn't working so I came back to MFP. My favorite sources are canned tuna, nonfat greek yogurt, and boneless skinless chicken breast.
  • madrose0715
    madrose0715 Posts: 463 Member
    low fat cottage cheese, low fat greek yogurt, low fat milk, high protien granolas
  • CoachReddy
    CoachReddy Posts: 3,949 Member
    whenever I try to increase my protein intake, my fat intake rises as well ! when I eat fish, meat, eggs fat percentage gets out of control ...
    how can I increase my protein intake up to 30% while keeping fat intake below 25% ?

    and what's a healthy ratio anyways ? is it bad if my diet is high in fats ?

    there is very little fat in fish, and if you eat lean cuts of meat, also very little fat.

    I'm kind of confused.

    also, those are good fats. my diet is 55% fat, and it doesn't seem to be doing all too badly for me. ;)
  • djrn144
    djrn144 Posts: 21 Member
    I am working with a doctor who says always choose low carb before low fat, i don't even count my fat just protein and carbs. It will sort itself out. Plus, you feel full quicker and don't eat as much, at least that's the theory!
  • Hbazzell
    Hbazzell Posts: 899 Member
    Most vegetarian proteins have no fat or very lttle fat.
  • Athena53
    Athena53 Posts: 717 Member
    I like beef jerky - it's pricey and has a high salt content, but definitely low-fat.
  • MelsAuntie
    MelsAuntie Posts: 2,833 Member
    The guidlines on the site are MINIMUM protein and fat intake. Even if I'm way under in overall calories I'm usually over in fats and protein, which is fine with me. I pay no attention to carbs at all. I'm losing weight every weigh-in and I feel good.
  • redraidergirl2009
    redraidergirl2009 Posts: 2,560 Member
    Replace one of your protein serving with a low fat protein shake.
  • lcuconley
    lcuconley Posts: 734 Member
    Same thing happens to me! In the am, I replaced butter on my English muffin with a slice do low fat ham. Greek yogurt fat free is great for protein. I resort to protein bars or powders a few times per week. I shoot for 50c/25f/25p. I shed go higher on my protein because I lift, but can't seem to get there right now.
  • suelegal
    suelegal Posts: 1,282 Member
    low fat cottage cheese, low fat greek yogurt, low fat milk, high protien granolas

    Fats aren't bad - when the industry makes something low fat, they almost always add sugars and other crap carbs to make the foods palatable. Granola is not good, look at the ingredients. Greek yogurt with "fruits" are so much added sugars! Protein bars are not great either since they too are added sugars and carbs, although they are better than candy.

    Lean proteins - meats, FISH, eggs, some cheese - it's all good for you and if you are lifting heavy weights you should eat at least 1gm of lean protein for every pound of lean body weight. I actually shoot for 150gm of protein each day.

    ETA: You don't have to follow MFP macros, you can customize them to suit your nutritional needs.
  • msleanlegs
    msleanlegs Posts: 188 Member
    Most vegetarian proteins have no fat or very lttle fat.

    Ha, was going to suggest this. Planned out my food today and it comes to 114 grams of protein and just 35 grams of fat.
  • CoachReddy
    CoachReddy Posts: 3,949 Member
    low fat cottage cheese, low fat greek yogurt, low fat milk, high protien granolas

    Fats aren't bad - when the industry makes something low fat, they almost always add sugars and other crap carbs to make the foods palatable. Granola is not good, look at the ingredients. Greek yogurt with "fruits" are so much added sugars! Protein bars are not great either since they too are added sugars and carbs, although they are better than candy.

    Lean proteins - meats, FISH, eggs, some cheese - it's all good for you and if you are lifting heavy weights you should eat at least 1gm of lean protein for every pound of lean body weight. I actually shoot for 150gm of protein each day.

    ETA: You don't have to follow MFP macros, you can customize them to suit your nutritional needs.

    all of this.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    For most people, it's better to have your fat percentage to be higher than your protein percentage. I do 20% protein and 35% fats. Proteins and fats should be treated as minimums, not maximums.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    Most vegetarian proteins have no fat or very lttle fat.

    Ha, was going to suggest this. Planned out my food today and it comes to 114 grams of protein and just 35 grams of fat.

    Hmm, when I think of vegetable proteins, I think of nuts and seeds, both of which are high in fats. What vegetable protein were you thinking of?
  • Labrae90
    Labrae90 Posts: 36
    Huh.....

    I guess I'm confused. I looked over my journal and when I've upped my protein I have never gone over in my fats. But then I eat skinless/boneless chicken and don't add anything unless it is a mcormick seasoning which has no fat in it. I eat eggs, and even when I fry them I fry them in olive oil and once again just a little tiny bit of olive oil and never go over on my fat there either. I love tuna fish, and eat it all the time without the mayo or even with 1tbsp of mayo. I even eat lean hamburger meat.

    I guess it depends on how you are making it?
    I notice when I upped my protein I started losing more also. High protein for me is good.

    Hope you find a solution.
  • Athena53
    Athena53 Posts: 717 Member
    Fats aren't bad - when the industry makes something low fat, they almost always add sugars and other crap carbs to make the foods palatable.

    Yeah, you really need to read the labels. When I want yogurt, I start with a brand of nonfat that has only milk and yogurt cultures in the ingredients and then add what I want.
  • crystalflame
    crystalflame Posts: 1,049 Member
    .3g of fat per lb of body weight per day, minimum. If your ticker's right and you're about 180, that's ~500 calories from fat per day (each gram of fat is 9 calories). Not sure what your calorie goals are, but I'm guessing you need to have your fat macro set at 30 or 35%.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,193 Member
    Most vegetarian proteins have no fat or very lttle fat.

    Ha, was going to suggest this. Planned out my food today and it comes to 114 grams of protein and just 35 grams of fat.
    What was the point you were making. For the same amount of protein if someone went with tilapia for example the fat would have been 10g's.
  • AJinBirmingham
    AJinBirmingham Posts: 497
    I agree - fat doesn't make you fat. Carbs make you fat.

    (I think fat was unfairly demonized when commodity crop lobbyists (corn and wheat mostly) were building our food pyramid, which it turns out, is killing us with carbs.)
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    I agree - fat doesn't make you fat. Carbs make you fat.

    So sorry. Wrong answer. Too much food makes you fat. Thanks for playing and being a good sport!
  • johnnisays
    johnnisays Posts: 7
    Egg whites, chicken breast, Tilapia, turkey Breast, ground chicken and turkey....

    what he said.
  • johnnisays
    johnnisays Posts: 7
    I agree - fat doesn't make you fat. Carbs make you fat.

    carbs make you fat? is that broscience?
    So sorry. Wrong answer. Too much food makes you fat. Thanks for playing and being a good sport!

    haha im with this one
  • 970Mikaela1
    970Mikaela1 Posts: 2,013 Member
    I agree - fat doesn't make you fat. Carbs make you fat.

    carbs make you fat? is that broscience?
    So sorry. Wrong answer. Too much food makes you fat. Thanks for playing and being a good sport!

    haha im with this one


    me too y'all are too fast
  • clannum
    clannum Posts: 2 Member
    Make sure you are using the egg WHITES only instead of whole eggs...the yolks are majority fat while the whites are almost pure protein...
  • albertabeefy
    albertabeefy Posts: 1,169 Member
    I agree - fat doesn't make you fat. Carbs make you fat.

    So sorry. Wrong answer. Too much food makes you fat. Thanks for playing and being a good sport!
    This quite true.

    While there are scientific studies that show that those with insulin-resistance - whether from diabetes, PCOS, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, metabolic-syndrome/obesity, etc. - are more likely to lose weight when cutting carbohydrates and upping fat, the results are due to several factors: We can't simply vilify one macronutrient:

    1. Those with inulin-resistance are more-likely to 'crave' carbohydrate and thus eat excess calories from it. This most-commonly comes from spikes and drops in both glucose and insulin, stimulating hunger in the brain.

    2. Reducing carbohydrate in the insulin-resistant results in weight-loss primarily due to a caloric-deficit due to 3 primary mechanisms:

    * It reduces the cravings for carbohydrate mentioned in point 1, above resulting in lower intake;

    * Fats and Proteins are both more satiating than carbohydrate, resulting in feeling full faster and longer, resulting in lower intake;

    * Though small, there is a thermogenic effect of food - especially protein - that results in increased TDEE.

    3. Insulin-resistant people who are placed on a reduced-carbohydrate diet often become more health-conscious. As such, they will often (either consciously or subconsciously) make wiser choices in regards to nutrition, exercise, and other lifestyle choices. Most will simply move more as a result of having less rapid drops in blood glucose (which causes a dramatic loss of energy). Most increase their TDEE through these lifestyle choices.

    Even if you're obese and diabetic, eating high levels of carbohydrate alone will not make you fat - you still have to eat a caloric surplus.

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