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Need to up protein and down fat

sohmui
sohmui Posts: 108 Member
edited February 25 in Health and Weight Loss
My diary says I am regularly not eating enough protein but eating too much fat. The problem is that when I try to increase protein, I increase fat as well. Has anyone any recommendations on some high-protein low-fat [yet tasty!] food I could add to balance things. Thanks :smile:

Replies

  • JoshuaL86
    JoshuaL86 Posts: 403 Member
    Chicken breast, tilapia, beef jerky, protein powders
  • simplydelish2
    simplydelish2 Posts: 726 Member
    chicken and turkey (white meat)...also some protein shakes and protein bars (read the labels).
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
    Chicken breast
    Turkey cutlets
    0% fat Greek yogurt
    Beans
    Cod
    Haddock
    Halibut
    Whey protein powder
    Hemp protein powder
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    If your diet is low in one of the three macros (carbs, fat, or proteins), then it will be high in the other two. So a low-carb diet is high in protein & fats. A low-fat diet is high in carbs & protein.

    Fat does not make you fat—calories do. I use MFP's protein & fiber goals as minimums, and ignore fat & carbs. It will take trial & error to find what works for you.

    This post should be required reading: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • sohmui
    sohmui Posts: 108 Member
    Thanks, editorgrll. I've read through the post and it's good, commonsense advice. True, we should avoid obsession with minutiae. That said, I am now on maintenance, so this isn't really about losing weight but rather that reducing fat should be beneficial to the heart. I am 72 years old and keen to avoid strokes and heart attacks! Even so, I can't believe it would do much harm to concentrate on increasing protein for a while, even if it sends other macros higher. I swim and do muscle resistance exercises for 12-14 hours a week so I guess protein is pretty important.

    Thanks to everyone for low-fat suggestions. They all sound tasty and I'll be adding them to my shopping list.
  • jamesryanfletcher
    jamesryanfletcher Posts: 128 Member
    There's a good list and many other ideas in this thread: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/926789-protein-sources

    Fat-free and low fat cottage cheeses are pretty good too.
  • sohmui
    sohmui Posts: 108 Member
    I'd quite forgotten about cottage cheese! I ate lots of it last year while I was losing weight. Thanks for the reminder and for the helpful list. Heading for the shops now :smile:
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    Cut the red meat, switch to white (and fresh).

    All non-fresh food has labels with fat content on them. My first trip through the grocery store upon hearing that all food had to have as little fat as possible, zero if possible and just cut out trans and sat fat...it was such an eye opener. It leaves you with very, very little to eat, lol.

    But everything is marked, so if you want to, you can just check the labels and purchase accordingly. :)
  • joepage612
    joepage612 Posts: 179 Member
    I'm vegetarian and I use tempeh for my main protein source. its 7g fat and 16g protein. Without doing homework my nutrient ratios always seem to be in the right balance in the MFP pie graph. I dont know if tempeh numbers are right for you since you would eat different things than I do, but maybe tempeh is right for you. this is not tofu this is tempeh they are differrnt. 1 block is considered 3 servings and If I eat an entire block ive reached my protein goal with my fat goal still under. http://www.westsoytofu.com/products/detail.html/tempeh/original-soy-tempeh
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    I am now on maintenance, so this isn't really about losing weight but rather that reducing fat should be beneficial to the heart. I am 72 years old and keen to avoid strokes and heart attacks! Even so, I can't believe it would do much harm to concentrate on increasing protein for a while, even if it sends other macros higher.
    It has nothing to do with maintenance vs. weight loss. Your goals are contradictory, so either eat high-protein or low-fat. You can't do both. High-protein diets are high-fat; low-fat diets are high-carb.
  • sohmui
    sohmui Posts: 108 Member
    Your goals are contradictory, so either eat high-protein or low-fat. You can't do both. High-protein diets are high-fat; low-fat diets are high-carb.
    Interesting. This fact was staring me in the face from my food diary results but I needed it spelled out in the end. I buy low-fat yogurts two or three times a week, even though I'm not keen on low-fat stuff, because it's the only way I can keep to my MFP goals.

    Certainly giving up processed food played a major part in my weight loss. Together with exercise, dumping the Big Macs and the Pizzas were the only reason I reached my goal.
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  • Sailatsorf
    Sailatsorf Posts: 161 Member
    Chicken breast and egg whites are my favorite low-fat, high protein foods.
This discussion has been closed.

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