High protein but lower fat

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Fiveling
Fiveling Posts: 44 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I've been trying to eat higher levels of protein recently, because I want to help maintain muscle and also so I, theoretically, eat fewer carbs. Currently my goal is set as 110 grams, 0.7 grams per pound of body weight.

But I'm having trouble reaching even that, and when I do manage to reach it I'm almost certainly over my calorie goal. I'm pretty sure that it's the fat that seems connected with the protein which makes it hard for me to reach my protein goal but not go much over my calorie one.

What low fat but high protein foods can you suggest? Particularly for breakfast and lunch.

Or is trying to reach 110g of protein but only 41g of fat unreasonable?

Replies

  • lodro
    lodro Posts: 982 Member
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    depends on how many carbohydrates you eat and what your overall calories are. also make sure you calculate your protein intake by lean body weight, ie without body fat.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
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    That's about 800 calories coming from fat and protein. Not unreasonable. Just keep your protein choices lean/low fat. I always hit at least 130g of protein with lean turkey, chicken sausages, tuna, shrimp, Fage 0%, a protein bar, frozen yogurt, and I add protein powder to my desserts once in awhile.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,404 MFP Moderator
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    Why are you trying to go low fat? You can't go both low fat and low carb... you can either eat a moderate amount of all macros or go either low carb or low fat.
  • Fiveling
    Fiveling Posts: 44 Member
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    @psulemon I'm not trying to go low fat particularly. Just trying to hit my protein goal without going over my calorie goal. It currently seems that fat is the problem, but I guess I could try lowering the amount of carbs by a bit and moving that allowance into fat.

    @lodro Ah, lean body weight, not total! OK, but I don't know my body fat percentage. I don't have scales at home, nevermind electric ones. Hmm, maybe the leisure centre will have one of those machines I can use, the ones that send electricity through you. Though I heard they're strongly affected by how much you'd had to drink that day. But if there is one it'll give me an idea. If not, I'll go with 25% because last time I measured it regularly it was somewhere around there.

    @arditarose Examples of lean/low fat protein is what I'm hoping for. I already drink skimmed or semi-skimmed milk, and if I buy yoghurt for a snack I try to find no fat. Cheese though I cannot go low fat - I've grown up loving cheese too much! I'm going to have bacon sandwiches on Sunday, so I suppose I can cut the visible fat off those. Do you have any other examples of lean protein?
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,404 MFP Moderator
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    White meats (chicken & turkey) are lean meats. Fish, while has a good amount of fat, is very healthy for you. Egg whites work wonders for volume.


    Personally, I concentrate on calories, protein and fiber. And pretty much let the rest fall out.
  • Yi5hedr3
    Yi5hedr3 Posts: 2,696 Member
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    You need more fats, but eat lean sliced turkey from the deli, drink protein shakes, then consume coconut oil, MCT oil, and kerrygold butter to make up your calories.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    I hear you. It is hard to increase protein while keeping calories low. Because fat loves to take a ride with our proteins. I've reconciled myself to a little fat.

    For breakfast, egg whites. For lunch, canned tuna.
    For dinner, lean meats of all kinds including breast meat, lean ground turkey, and lean ground beef.

    Beans and legumes have a slightly lower protein count but they are also low fat.

    By the way, locals have caught on that fat doesn't make us fat, and we're experiencing a butter shortage.
  • cyn1965
    cyn1965 Posts: 3 Member
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    Whey protein shakes. Especially after your work outs.
  • Confuzzled4ever
    Confuzzled4ever Posts: 2,860 Member
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    I get around 120 protein and 40 or less fat a day with 1200ish calories. Im usually under 100 carbs too. I eat avocado, eggs, cheese and tomato for breakfast. Lunch is whatever. Today I had chobani 0% with protein powder and a banana, dinner is I usually a lot of chicken with a serving or two of veggies and some kind of sauce. Today I'm making stuffed mushrooms though.

    I make protein my focus, the rest seems to fall into place.
  • Fiveling
    Fiveling Posts: 44 Member
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    I'll try and use some more of my myprotein whey powder. It is ...a year out of date, but it hadn't been opened till like two days ago I think. It smells and tastes fine. It's just that it's ~100 calories a scoop (plus milk) and gives very little nutrients afaik other than protein. But, if I am aiming for higher protein, that's probably what I need.

    I can't really change what I eat for dinner. I live with my parents, so we all eat the same thing together. I can eat less than them, but it's the same thing. There's always a serving of protein in the meal (meat, cheese, egg, that sort of thing). That's why I'm looking for more breakfast/lunch foods.

    Hmm, tomorrow, if I wake up on time, I might have omlette with apple and maybe a little cheese.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    lodro wrote: »
    depends on how many carbohydrates you eat and what your overall calories are. also make sure you calculate your protein intake by lean body weight, ie without body fat.

    No she's doing it right

    0.64-0.8g per lb of bodyweight is about the same as 1g per lb of LBM roughly

    And carbs are irrelevant, unless she is low carbing by choice

    OP 0% Greek yogurt ...170g = 18g protein = 97 cals, chicken, fish, eggs / egg whites
  • Fiveling
    Fiveling Posts: 44 Member
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    I've been finding 0% greek yoghurt useful, yeah. I still haven't gotten round to starting planning/making lunch in advance, so yesterday I had a tin of tuna steak and a 0% greek yoghurt and was pleasantly surprised how high in protein the latter was. I don't feel like eating plain tuna steak again today, but I'll probably get another yoghurt.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    Fiveling wrote: »
    I've been finding 0% greek yoghurt useful, yeah. I still haven't gotten round to starting planning/making lunch in advance, so yesterday I had a tin of tuna steak and a 0% greek yoghurt and was pleasantly surprised how high in protein the latter was. I don't feel like eating plain tuna steak again today, but I'll probably get another yoghurt.

    put your tuna on a bed of mixed leaves with green beans, black olives, tomatoes, boiled egg and new potatoes and gorgeous balsamic vinegrette .. salad nicoise .. drools (although I like fresh tuna steak for that)
  • Fiveling
    Fiveling Posts: 44 Member
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    That requires preparation though, which is something I've not gotten round to doing re: my lunch yet. The yoghurt and tuna in question were bought from the shop near work, and while I technically have access to a microwave and a kettle, I don't really have anywhere to cook or prepare lunch at work. That does sound nice though.

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