My macros are set to 60% fat/30% protein/10% carbohydrate. This is a similar breakdown to many who are paleo. "TDEE - 20% = daily caloric intake" is the common refrain you'll hear for weightloss. I don't know if that's the way to go for you or not. It'd be around 1500 calories for you based on those numbers.

Sorry. I guess I'm not a ton of help. Welcome to paleo living, though.

He nailed it!

How do you get 60 % of your diet in fat though? Eating lots of Nuts?

Also for me TDEE - 20% = 1515 I think.

Thanks!

I'm avoiding nuts (and they're not considered healthy in large quantities anyhow because of the 60/30 fat ratios -- I forget the specific terminology -- except maybe? macadamia nuts, for some reason I think they're considered better, but we don't allow them in the house as they're deadly to dogs and our dog is a devoted scavenger).

Whew! Can you tell from the run-on sentence above that I've been doing heavy-duty physical and brain work all morning? (Please don't tell me that's my natural style...)

I use a lot of coconut oil in cooking, and if I can't get my fat ratios up I'll actually eat a spoonful of the stuff. You can also blend it in a smoothie. Today I'm having a whole avocado with my lunch to make up for missing breakfast and I still have quite a bit of fat blocks left to fill on my MFP nutrition thingie. I'll also drizzle EVOO on salads and other foods, especially at dinner, if I haven't made my fat-intake goal for the day.

I love to bake sweet potatoes and mash them with a generous amount of butter. I really need to clarify the butter that's sitting in my fridge, though. I keep putting it on my list of things to do, and it keeps getting pre-empted.

HTH. I'm sure there are other things to do, but those are what I've been doing lately.

How do you get 60 % of your diet in fat though? Eating lots of Nuts?

Also for me TDEE - 20% = 1515 I think.

Thanks!

Bacon! butter, coconut oil, olive oil, fatty cuts of meat.

Oh, how could I leave out bacon??? Must be the brain-dead feeling from working hard all morning hauling books up from the basement for this weekend's book sale.

Yes, definitely, bacon! (We prefer nitrate-free, sugar-free bacon at our house.)

How do you get 60 % of your diet in fat though? Eating lots of Nuts?

Also for me TDEE - 20% = 1515 I think.

Thanks!

I eat a lot off eggs, bacon, and beef. I cook everything in coconut oil or bacon grease.

Well I LOVE bacon and so does my hubby, so that will work nicely! For meats, should I focus on any types of cuts? I'm guessing I don't need to worry as much about lean cuts ie: chicken breast/tenderloins etc?

Thanks for the advice everyone, I really appreciate it!

Lean cuts of meat are what you should buy UNLESS you are buying grass-fed, pastured animal meat. The omega-3:omega-6 ratio for your standard CAFO meat is not very good and all those fatty-acids are located in the fat. So, minimizing intake of that fat, and replacing it (kind of) by cooking in a healthy fat (coconut oil is probably best), is a good idea. Grass-fed, pastured animals don't have the piss-poor ratio and so feel free to eat the hell out their fat.

Having said that, eating the "bad" fat from the non-grass-fed animals isn't going to kill you. If you have to do it, or do it on accident, just move on. it's not a game changer. Giving up grains and other garbage "food" products is a HUGE step in the right direction even if you completely disregard all this other advice about fat and such.

Thanks everyone!

If could someone give me an example of some meals they normally eat? I'm trying to get a feel for portion/content of what a primal/paleo meal would look like. 8oz of steak or something? Also since you can't use sauces, what types of things do you all put on meat etc? (Not steak bc obviously a good steak needs nothing else )

:flowerforyou:

We use a lot of spices and seasonings, preferably fresh but you can get dried herbs without additives. Last night's salmon was topped with lemon juice, olive oil, chopped garlic, thyme, pepper, lemon zest, lime zest, dill, and sliced onions ... for those of us on the anti-immune protocol, and everyone else had Trader Joe's 21 Seasonings on theirs instead of the medley of herbs.

Ground beef we often saute with balsamic, onion, garlic and herbs, depending on the flavor profile we're looking for.

I love to fry onions (and sometimes other veggies with them, like carrots or cabbage) in fat until they caramelize, and top meat with them.

The steak we had the other night was topped with sauteed mushrooms in balsamic butter/coconut oil sauce.

My mom used to top a steak or chop with a pat of butter and let it melt all over!

Thanks everyone!

If could someone give me an example of some meals they normally eat? I'm trying to get a feel for portion/content of what a primal/paleo meal would look like. 8oz of steak or something? Also since you can't use sauces, what types of things do you all put on meat etc? (Not steak bc obviously a good steak needs nothing else )

:flowerforyou:

I use an obscene amount of garlic powder and onion powder. I use a lot of salt and pepper, too. This is pretty much how I spice all the meat I cook. I typically scrape the spices up off the bottom of the cast iron and keep them stirred in to the coconut oil as everything is cooking. Then I pour the mixture over everything on the plate. It works for me but I could see someone wanting more variety.

Eeeewww, powders? Chop yourself up some real garlic and onions! :flowerforyou:

<---- Lazy

Eeeewww, powders? Chop yourself up some real garlic and onions! :flowerforyou:

<---- Lazy

Rude!

Did I miss something? :huh:

Thanks everyone!

If could someone give me an example of some meals they normally eat? I'm trying to get a feel for portion/content of what a primal/paleo meal would look like. 8oz of steak or something? Also since you can't use sauces, what types of things do you all put on meat etc? (Not steak bc obviously a good steak needs nothing else )

:flowerforyou:

Breakfast - 2 slices of bacon cooked in a little bit of coconut oil, 3 eggs cooked in the bacon grease
Dinner - meat of the day (1-2 chicken breasts, 6-10oz of steak, a 1/4lb hamburger, etc. depending on sizes and hunger), steamed veggies to fill the rest of the plate, usually doused in butter (usually carrots and broccoli, sometimes mashed sweet potatoes or spaghetti squash). If having burgers or other "sandwich" type meats, if I go sandwich style, it's wrapped in lettuce with tomato slices and cheese (if primal)
Lunch - Yesterday's leftovers

The meats tend to be marinated or brushed in balsamic, or a vinegar, olive oil, herb/spice mix that my husband makes.

As Primal/Paleo, 1500 calories tends to be A LOT of food. Seriously, what I just outlined above comes out to like 1200-1500 on average. I often end up grabbing something else just so I can get up to 1500-1800 calories.

I recommend just focusing on eating what your supposed to eat, instead of how much, for a while. Try to pay attention to your hunger signals and follow them. Keep tracking, so you can see where you naturally fall, then adjust accordingly.

Absolutely! -- agreeing with the fact that 1500 paleo/primal calories is a LOT of food. I recommend tracking your eating not because of fear of eating too much, but rather too little! I've gotten several warnings (from MFP) over the past two weeks that my calorie intake is too low, yet I'm almost never hungry (and when I am, I have lots of calories to fill).

I had to up my fat percentage (more coconut oil, olive oil, avocados, and bacon, mostly) just to get "enough" calories in to satisfy MFP. I originally had my percentages set at 40(fat) 30(carbs) and 30(protein) but now it's 50(fat) 25(carbs) and 25(protein). Seems to work for me, but some here have posted much higher fat levels and losing weight, along with health and energy.