Frustrated.... I need more protein... less carbs/fat.

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Replies

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Hello everyone!

    This is my first time posting. I recently hired a personal trainer and she put me on a flexible diet... but I need to stick to these numbers daily:
    Calorie intake - between 1735 and 1750 (I am breastfeeding)
    Protein - 175g
    Carbs - 165g
    Fats - 55g

    So far in the 4 days of using this app I see myself with a higher carb percentage and I keep going over my fat by a few grams. My protein has the lowest percentage but I have been eating foods with protein. The thing is these foods also have the tendency to have a lot of carbs... Any advice on which foods to consume to get the protein up above the carbs and fats. I have been looking on Google and I'm having a bit of trouble finding foods and recipes.

    Doesn't sound flexible at all to me. You don't need to anything. You will want a diet that keeps you happy and energetic and that you can easily stick to. Too little fat and way too much protein, no wonder you struggle. What problems did you have with the default MFP gave you? If you can pinpoint that, maybe we can offer more help. Personal trainers aren't usually the best to give advice on anything except training.

    I agree with this ^.

    @HerNaturelleHigh if 44 % protein, 42 % carbs, and 14 % fat worked for you, great. But it's unnecessarily high in protein and low in fat. I shoot for 30 % fat, go over it all the time, and still lose weight.

    MyFitnessPal’s current default goals distribute calories as follows: 50% from carbohydrates, 20% from protein and 30% from fat. I like a little less carbs and more protein, but there are lots of people who do fine with more carbs and less protein. It's all about finding the mix that works best for you.
  • jdwils14
    jdwils14 Posts: 154 Member
    edited March 2016
    Hello everyone!

    This is my first time posting. I recently hired a personal trainer and she put me on a flexible diet... but I need to stick to these numbers daily:
    Calorie intake - between 1735 and 1750 (I am breastfeeding)
    Protein - 175g
    Carbs - 165g
    Fats - 55g

    So far in the 4 days of using this app I see myself with a higher carb percentage and I keep going over my fat by a few grams. My protein has the lowest percentage but I have been eating foods with protein. The thing is these foods also have the tendency to have a lot of carbs... Any advice on which foods to consume to get the protein up above the carbs and fats. I have been looking on Google and I'm having a bit of trouble finding foods and recipes.

    Just some food for thought...since I don't see any posts about this...since you are breastfeeding, should you care more about nutrients than macros? Talking to a PT while you are responsible for the health of your baby might be conflicting (speculation).

    Just keep in mind that your baby needs nutrients, not just calories. Some foods that carry these nutrients are going to be out of your macro ranges that the PT wants you to be on. That plan might not be best for your baby.

    What you eat is what your baby gets....what you don't eat is what your baby doesn't get.

    http://www.livestrong.com/article/507127-top-10-foods-for-breastfeeding-moms/

    congrats, by the way.
  • Yi5hedr3
    Yi5hedr3 Posts: 2,696 Member
    That's a lot of carbs AND Protein. Best to keep them each around 100.
  • HerNaturelleHigh
    HerNaturelleHigh Posts: 7 Member
    edited March 2016
    tmorton03 wrote: »
    If your trainer is suggesting for you to have 175 grams, this can be done! A really easy and low calorie way to get more protein is your diet is through WHEY protein. Whey protein is typically a powder that can be made with water or milk. The brand of protein I use has 24 grams of protein and 120 calories for one scoop. I also find protein in eggs, egg white, chicken breast, pork, lean red meat, etc. After the birth of my daughter, I had 85 pounds to lose. I lost it by counting calories, increasing my protein and eating less carbs. Good luck!

    I messaged my trainer today (she's on vacation) she also recommended whey protein. I bought a low carb fat free whey protein and made kale mango banana smoothie white plain Greek yogurt, soy milk and whey protein and that definitely boosted my protein intake!
  • HerNaturelleHigh
    HerNaturelleHigh Posts: 7 Member
    hko718 wrote: »
    High protein greek yogurts. Protein shake, you can even get ISO (low carb/fat)

    Greek yogurt has become my new best friend!
  • ClosetBayesian
    ClosetBayesian Posts: 836 Member
    jdwils14 wrote: »
    Hello everyone!

    This is my first time posting. I recently hired a personal trainer and she put me on a flexible diet... but I need to stick to these numbers daily:
    Calorie intake - between 1735 and 1750 (I am breastfeeding)
    Protein - 175g
    Carbs - 165g
    Fats - 55g

    So far in the 4 days of using this app I see myself with a higher carb percentage and I keep going over my fat by a few grams. My protein has the lowest percentage but I have been eating foods with protein. The thing is these foods also have the tendency to have a lot of carbs... Any advice on which foods to consume to get the protein up above the carbs and fats. I have been looking on Google and I'm having a bit of trouble finding foods and recipes.

    Just some food for thought...since I don't see any posts about this...since you are breastfeeding, should you care more about nutrients than macros? Talking to a PT while you are responsible for the health of your baby might be conflicting (speculation).

    Just keep in mind that your baby needs nutrients, not just calories. Some foods that carry these nutrients are going to be out of your macro ranges that the PT wants you to be on. That plan might not be best for your baby.

    What you eat is what your baby gets....what you don't eat is what your baby doesn't get.

    http://www.livestrong.com/article/507127-top-10-foods-for-breastfeeding-moms/

    congrats, by the way.

    Mom needs calories. The nutrient content of breast milk stays fairly stable even when a mother's diet changes.
  • peacemongernc
    peacemongernc Posts: 253 Member
    Francl27 wrote: »
    175g of protein is WAY overkill IMO.

    But yeah... white fish, canned tuna, plain 0% Greek yogurt, chicken breast, shrimp, low fat ham, beef jerky, egg whites.

    I know for a fact that I'd never be able to stick to such a diet. I can do 130-140g, but this is crazy.

    I agree. I've had a trainer tell me the same thing and I tried it for about 6 months. I just felt like crap, quit losing weight, and didn't like my food anymore. So I dropped my protein down to about 20% to 25% of my calories and upped my fat to about 40% and I feel SO much better! But I believe that this is an individual thing. I also have a suspicion that some men (especially younger men) can tolerate a higher protein diet than some women can. I've never read that anywhere... just based on conversations and anecdotal stuff.

    I get a lot of my protein from things like eggs, cottage cheese, black beans, nuts, chicken and chicken bone broth, and hummus.

    Watch the canned tuna and other fish... because of heavy metals in fish, there is a limited amount recommended for pregnant and breastfeeding moms!
  • peacemongernc
    peacemongernc Posts: 253 Member
    jdwils14 wrote: »
    Hello everyone!

    This is my first time posting. I recently hired a personal trainer and she put me on a flexible diet... but I need to stick to these numbers daily:
    Calorie intake - between 1735 and 1750 (I am breastfeeding)
    Protein - 175g
    Carbs - 165g
    Fats - 55g

    So far in the 4 days of using this app I see myself with a higher carb percentage and I keep going over my fat by a few grams. My protein has the lowest percentage but I have been eating foods with protein. The thing is these foods also have the tendency to have a lot of carbs... Any advice on which foods to consume to get the protein up above the carbs and fats. I have been looking on Google and I'm having a bit of trouble finding foods and recipes.

    Just some food for thought...since I don't see any posts about this...since you are breastfeeding, should you care more about nutrients than macros? Talking to a PT while you are responsible for the health of your baby might be conflicting (speculation).

    Just keep in mind that your baby needs nutrients, not just calories. Some foods that carry these nutrients are going to be out of your macro ranges that the PT wants you to be on. That plan might not be best for your baby.

    What you eat is what your baby gets....what you don't eat is what your baby doesn't get.

    http://www.livestrong.com/article/507127-top-10-foods-for-breastfeeding-moms/

    congrats, by the way.

    Mom needs calories. The nutrient content of breast milk stays fairly stable even when a mother's diet changes.

    I did a good bit of research on this when I was nursing my kids. This is the party line, but it turns out that it is a little more complicated than this. There is a difference in the milk of a woman eating a nutrient poor diet and the milk of a mother eating a nutrient rich diet, especially with regard to the water soluble vitamins. Macros tend to be fairly constant, but change a bit depending on how frequently the child is nursing and the age of the child. Ruth Lawrence wrote a book on this a few decades ago, and I was able to email back and forth with her about some of my questions. I suspect that the "party line" about how baby will get whatever it needs may have been put forth to encourage breastfeeding... all the nutrients in breastmilk are more bioavailable that the nutrients in formula, and no one wants a woman to decide to wean a baby because she feels uneasy about the nutrient content of her diet. But there is a subtle difference between a good diet and a poor one.