Screwing up my macros?

nxd10 · May 2015

I've been logging 3 years and have maintained fine. My food is healthy - not refined, home cooked, lots of veggies and fruits, etc. BUT I am trying to change my macros to increase calories from protein and lower calories from carbs to under 40%.

You'd think I'd know how to do that, but I keep getting stuck. My carbs are mostly coming from brown rice, from fruit or nuts. I also eat 1/4 cup of ice cream most days - but that isn't exactly excessive. Other carbs come from plain, low fat granola or today I had some corn bread with dinner. Yesterday it was corn on the cob.

My concern for the under 40% carb is to prevent insulin spikes - I come from a family of diabetics, even though I am not diabetic.

Suggestions for ways of changing my macros? Eggs, meat, etc. are all high protein but also have lots of fat. I'm happy with my meals. I'm looking for snacks.

Joannesmith2818 · May 2015

Not all meat is high in fat. Eat lean protein like chicken, turkey, lean mince and certain fish. Also you can eat just the egg whites if you are concerned about the fat in the yolk. I eat around 40% carbs and found I had to reduce my fruit intake and just ear veg to balance it out!!!

nxd10 · May 2015

Thank you. I like meat and only eat lean protein as you suggest. I just eat around 4 oz of them, which is not a lot of calories. I have chickens and lots of eggs - sorry, I'm eating those whole. I eat around an apple or banana a day. But it is the natural sugars that are killing me.

When I was at a deficit, I basically gave up all bread and only ate low carb tortillas at lunch (which I like a lot). I could go back to that - I hit my macros. What is throwing me is that essentially any carb - rice, bread, corn - has so many calories that although I eat them in very small portions, they throw my macros. I'm only on 1760 calorie maintenance (net) and that is, in fact, the correct number - I've done it for two years.

wkwebby · May 2015

I'm kind of in the same boat. I'm not diabetic yet, but am destined to be since both parents, and all my siblings are diabetic. I started out setting my carbs to 35% and worked by way down to 30% now. If I really concentrate on hitting my protein every day (set at 35%), I am so stuffed that I either eat MUCH less of the breads or rice, or don't even have enough room for it. That's how I really started to cut out the carbs in my diet. Eating is like a job for me (no emotional eating, but some boredom eating), and I try to hit those proteins with a reward of a carb if I still have the caloric room (and stomach room).

At this point, most of my carbs are from veggies. Since you're only looking for snacks though, try beef (or turkey) jerky, but watch for your sodium intake with these. Egg whites, or whole eggs, 0% fat greek yogurt (plain or low calorie) otherwise, they will have higher carb content than protein content. Powdered peanut butter has some great protein without all the fat content and carb content is low. Once you reconstitute the PB, it tastes like peanuts in liquid form, it's great!

DaveinSK · May 2015

I tend to have more of my protein in meals and snacks are usually protein deficient. For snacks, hardboiled eggs with a sprinkle of salt are great treats and they're actually reasonably filling. A extra large egg has less calories than a half cup of rice, and it's close to 50/50 fat and protein vs rice being almost all carbs. I keep a salt grinder and bottle of Tabasco in my desk for that very reason.

If I'm low on protein towards the end of the day I'll also mix up some chocolate whey with 2% milk, which is a nice treat.

Alternately if you can handle it cottage cheese is excellent for protein. It turns my stomach but my wife loves it.

nxd10 · May 2015

Thank you. I have been doing the hardboiled eggs. I think that WKWebby has a good thought - focus on bringing up protein. I can also eat more egg salad (We really are buried in eggs from our chickens.)

How? Eggs - check. No fat plain yogurt - that's breakfast. I can't eat jerky, I don't think. Other suggestions of high protein/low carb?

nxd10 · May 2015

You are absolutely right. But I'm looking for suggestions on something ELSE to eat. On the other hand, MFP doesn't distinguish low from high glycemic index foods. Which is a weakness, frankly.

annette_15 · May 2015

What if you double your protein and skip the carb in one of your meals?

livingleanlivingclean · May 2015

When I'm trying to eat less carbs I wouldn't be looking at including rice, pasta, granola, bread etc. Imo they are a waste of calories because I prefer volume and I only get that by choosing options that are less carb dense (vegies and fruit)

Do you actually need a snack? If your meals include higher protein and fat you may find you stay satisfied between meals and don't need to eat in between

ahoy_m8 · May 2015

For lots of dishes that go with rice (red beans, lentils, keema aloo, braised meat stews), I make rice for the fam and eat mine on a bed of spinach. I like that a lot! If you reduced carbs at one meal, as Anette said, maybe you'd have more to work with for snacks? Also, for glycemic considerations, pairing simple carbs with a lot of fiber moderates the insulin response, essentially digesting slower, avoiding the insulin spike-crash-burn, keeping you full longer, etc. Maybe counterintuitive for reducing carbs, but increasing the carbs that have fiber can have the effect you desire. Seeds (flax, chia), collards, spinach all have >50% of their carbs=fiber.

nxd10 · May 2015

I typically get 300-400 calories at breakfast and lunch and 500 at dinner. I can't eat that much at meals because I get really full. So yes, at 9PM I'm hungry and I need to eat.

I think the bottom line is - just stop eating carbs. That's a lot easier to do than trying to add protein - and it's what I did when I was at a deficit. I just need to eat more other things.

For the past year, my son has been on a very strict low tyramine and histamine diet, so we've dropped things we used to eat a lot of, like beans, lentils, and meat rollups. My husband does most of the cooking and we've subbed in tons of veggies and fruit but also rice, noodles, or potatoes. Maybe I should just add them back and my son can just skip that part of the meal. He has a new supplement he's taking now that may allow him to eat them anyway.

Thank you everyone!

wkwebby · May 2015

I found a great noodle substitute that is made from shirataki mushrooms and one brand made from tofu. The one that is made from mushrooms is called pasta zero (be prepared for the consistency to be just like the mushroom). They are shaped like spaghetti and fettucine, while the other one can be found in ziti or shell shaped (and a little better consistency like tofu). If you like mushrooms, either one will be good (they don't taste like anything except the sauce you put on it). Either one of these are packaged in a two serving bag and has a whopping 3 grams of carb and 1 gram of protein per serving. It's a great carb substitute with relatively low carb and a wee bit of protein. The calories as you can imagine is only 15 per serving. My husband doesn't like this substitute and I eat two servings at dinner (which I feel is perfect for me) and still only use 30 calories for the two servings. See what your local stores have and try it. I'm a big fan of them.

dopeysmelly · May 2015

I'm in the process of changing up what I eat (strange cholesterol reading, long story), and I've found that by focusing on getting enough fat (in my case from unsaturated fat sources), the protein and the carbs seem to take care of themselves. In other words, I'm unintentionally getting carbs about 40% on most days even though I'm not targeting that.

I find adding nuts makes a big difference (they have protein as well as fat) and getting protein from fish sources might help you (lots of protein there). I have increased my legume intake a lot (including tofu), so you might want to consider adding that back in and just separating out what your son can't have. It's a pain, but I'm starting to realize that different people just need to eat slightly differently.

I do eat bread, rice and pasta, but in much smaller quantities and they are only a very small part of the plate, and significantly dwarfed by veggies.

My diary is open if you want to peak.

nxd10 · May 2015

We use a lot of different types of pastas (wheat doesn't sit well with my husband), but my son is on a very strict low tyramine diet and can't eat any soy (unfortunately). I'll try the mushroom pasta.

I think you're right about protein and fat. I do get enough fat, but don't get enough protein. Working on that has really helped move things towards balance. Still haven't got enough protein, but my carbs are under 40% again.

Thanks all!

Screwing up my macros?

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