can't get my fat count lower - help?

HarrietSabre
HarrietSabre Posts: 186 Member
edited November 11 in Food and Nutrition
Hi,

Been trying to pay more attention to *what* I eat rather than just the calories. Obviously happy with the carbs as they usually tend to be about right and most of them are fruit or fibre-related (except the odd chocolate treat).

What I can't get is the protein and the fat right. My g of fat is usually 10-20g over what it should be whilst I can't seem to get my protein over about 30g in a day.

I don't have enough money to be eating lean chicken every day (I normally have it like 3 times a week) and I don't really like tuna. I normally eat 1-2 eggs a day for protein. Salmon I have (in tins) but obvs that's quite fatty.

Any other ideas? Has to be things I can EASILY get hold of as there are no health food or other shops around here.

Replies

  • weird_me2
    weird_me2 Posts: 716 Member
    Well, for the fat goal, I would just raise my fat goal and lower the carb one. For protein, any meat you will eat and salmon is great. The fat in salmon is good for you. Raising your fat goal will help. You can also get decent protein from dairy products - milk has 8 g protein per cup, cheese has about the same per one ounce and cottage cheese has about 14-16 grams per 1/2 cup. Plus, you could always eat more eggs. The fat in the eggs isn't bad for you and most of the fats are going to be better for you than an excessive amount of carbs.
  • HarrietSabre
    HarrietSabre Posts: 186 Member
    weird_me2 wrote: »
    Well, for the fat goal, I would just raise my fat goal and lower the carb one. For protein, any meat you will eat and salmon is great. The fat in salmon is good for you. Raising your fat goal will help. You can also get decent protein from dairy products - milk has 8 g protein per cup, cheese has about the same per one ounce and cottage cheese has about 14-16 grams per 1/2 cup. Plus, you could always eat more eggs. The fat in the eggs isn't bad for you and most of the fats are going to be better for you than an excessive amount of carbs.

    My range before was 40% carbs and 30% each of fat and protein, do you think 30% carbs and 35% each of fat and protein would work better?
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    Change the settings.
    Fat is good for you.
  • HarrietSabre
    HarrietSabre Posts: 186 Member
    RodaRose wrote: »
    Change the settings.
    Fat is good for you.

    any recommendations of what % it should be? see the post above
  • weird_me2
    weird_me2 Posts: 716 Member
    Since you are having problem even hitting 30% protein, I'd try just switching the carb/fat #s for now. Do 40% fat, 30% carbs and 30% protein. As you find more ways to add protein that you enjoy, you can re-evaluate to see if you need to add more or not. I'm at 30/40/30 carbs/fat/protein, but I often end up closer to 45% fat and 25-30 each carbs and protein. I have a higher calorie goal, so even with 25-30% protein, I'm well over 100 grams a day.
  • HarrietSabre
    HarrietSabre Posts: 186 Member
    OK thank you! I'm just not sure where I can get more protein from without getting powders which are expensive here in Poland!
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
    Are you having trouble getting over 30% of your calories from protein, or are you having problems eating over 30g total of protein? One is a problem, and one isn't.
  • HarrietSabre
    HarrietSabre Posts: 186 Member
    AliceDark wrote: »
    Are you having trouble getting over 30% of your calories from protein, or are you having problems eating over 30g total of protein? One is a problem, and one isn't.

    A good day for me is about 70g of protein, but it can be as low as 30-40g. I've actually found this sliced meat stuff in the shop downstairs which gives me loads of protein without much fat that I *really* enjoy eating, so hopefully that can help me a little here.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    low/no fat dairy. Skim milk is a great option, IMO.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited January 2015
    HarrietSabre wrote: »
    weird_me2 wrote: »
    Well, for the fat goal, I would just raise my fat goal and lower the carb one. For protein, any meat you will eat and salmon is great. The fat in salmon is good for you. Raising your fat goal will help. You can also get decent protein from dairy products - milk has 8 g protein per cup, cheese has about the same per one ounce and cottage cheese has about 14-16 grams per 1/2 cup. Plus, you could always eat more eggs. The fat in the eggs isn't bad for you and most of the fats are going to be better for you than an excessive amount of carbs.

    My range before was 40% carbs and 30% each of fat and protein, do you think 30% carbs and 35% each of fat and protein would work better?

    Sure, but you might be making it even harder on yourself for the protein and it's unlikely you need 35% protein (depends on total grams and your size, among other things). No real harm in doing 30-30-40 with the 40 fat, if that's how you prefer to eat and you are getting enough fiber and other good things found largely in carbs. Or even 20-25% protein, 30-35% carbs, 35-40% fat, depending on what works for you (and adds up to 100%, of course!). At the most generous estimate you need 1 gram of protein per pound of lean body mass, so depending on your calories the lower percentages could be totally fine.

    As others have said, lowfat or skim dairy is great for protein without lots of fat. Whole eggs are great, but give you lots of fat with your protein. I'm skeptical of egg whites myself, but you can add those (or whey protein). But also be aware that there are lots of meat sources of lean protein besides chicken: any white fish, lean pork (common in the US, perhaps less so in Poland), lean beef.
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