I follow a few people who talk about nutrition, and tend to find that there's not enough protein in our diets - or at least not "good" protein (animal or plant). A LOT of typical American diets are a TON of processed foods, and all the crap that comes in them (even though frequently it wouldn't be needed). I can't say I've looked at actual hard data though, would be interesting to review.

For me, high protein works MUCH better, and a significant portion of my meals from carbs = weight gain (and no, not just the temporary water gain).

Also, when I'm eating higher protein, I'm also eating a LOT more vegetables - as bases, sides, mixed in - so while protein does go up, veggies go WAY up as those are the primary carb replacement. Fats go up a bit as well, but honestly, compared to those who eat a lot of processed foods, it's probably not bad at all, and a lot of it comes from sources like olives, nuts, avocados, etc - some cheese and butter as well, but again, it's not "hidden" in some ingredient list.

I do shoot for leaner meats (chicken, fish, shrimp) or leaner cuts of beef/pork on the occasions that's what I am cooking. Cheese makes a more regular occurrence, although I have a preference for harder/aged cheeses when I can afford/utilize them.

Funny, I just started reading a book called Proteinaholic. In it, Dr. Davis writes how we're doing ourselves a disservice by breaking everything down into macros, and therefore nixing off whole categories of foods because we're trying to avoid something (usually carbs).
All food is either protein, fat or carbohydrate, and most, if not all, vegetables are mostly carbohydrates. When people start saying that they're avoiding carbs, they usually mean grains and starchy vegetables, but I think most people now don't know that there's a difference between simple carbs and complex ones, they just avoid ALL carbs (of course, people in this MFP group I think are a lot more knowledgeable about this stuff than a lot of the general public ). But the fiber in vegetables, especially starchy vegetables, can make you feel full for a long time, sometimes longer than protein can. Of course, everybody's body is different, and different things work for different people. And, as others have already said, genetics probably plays a part too.

I've been a vegetarian for pretty much my whole adult life, but I ate a lot of cheese, and I mean A LOT, ate it at every meal and on pretty much everything. Five years ago my total cholesterol was 194, LDL 94 and Serum Sodium 145 (healthy range is 136-145). And I wasn't even eating any meat!
Over the last two years I've switched to a mostly (about 90%) vegan diet - my total cholesterol earlier this month was 153, LDL is 81 and sodium 138. So a vegan diet is clearly working for me. I also agree that processed foods play a big part in our health (or lack of it).
A funny aside, in Proteinaholic, chapter 4, Davis writes about a 1969 study on the effects of saturated fat on health. When the report came out the meat, egg and dairy industries were of course P.O'ed.

The last sentence of the first full paragraph would be hysterical if it wasn't so enraging!
@SherryRueter , thanks for the link to this archive site, I had forgotten about it.

@mandycat_florida - Great advise. You're 77 - nice that you're on the boards. I wish my mom would do the same. SO hard to get her into technology. She fell yesterday, I live 13hours away..... I hope she goes to the doctor today.

@goRun2 Interesting on what to cut out. I have cut out most of those. I don't eat any vegan proteins (tofu, tempeh). I cut out processed meat (if we want ham, we buy a ham). and I maybe have red meats once every month(?) Mainly I eat Tuna, ground turkey, chicken, pork. I need to add in more legumes.

High protein diets, high fiber diets, low fat diets and every other diet I've ever heard of all have one thing in common - cut out the processed foods! I'm no medical professional or researcher, but I'm of the firm belief that the processed stuff is killing us; chemicals, preservatives, extenders, stabilizers, etc. all with names we can't even pronounce. Not to mention the level of sodium in some of these things.
I find that my weight loss slows or stalls when I start to add some packaged vegan foods to my meals (purely out of laziness). I do much better, and have less cravings, when I eat mostly whole foods (by mostly I mean that I still use packaged condiments).
I'm with everyone else here that strength into my old age is important. I don't want to be a 90-year old weakling, I want to be able to do squats and chin-ups into my 90s (PS - I can't do the chin-ups right now). I also want to be able to run to keep my heart and lungs in good shape.

I think my middle ground for now will be to try to use meat more as a garnish with my vegetables. It’s almost like how I eat pasta and rice.

A spaghetti Bolognese is marinara sauce, zucchini, and almost 4 strings of spaghetti. I can delude myself that I did not deprive myself. Same with rice - I sprinkle a few grains. And I’ll do the same with meat.

Lordy…the hacks we have to come up with..🙄🤣

@SherryRueter, yes the packaged food I mentioned is stuff like Beyond burgers and other products like that (Gardein, Boca, Amy's, etc.). The condiments are things like ketchup, mustard, hot sauces, soy sauce, etc.
My plan for the next two weeks is to eat only whole, unprocessed foods. I know the word "unprocessed" can have different meanings to different people too. I mean it as vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, grains, beans or legumes that I've purchased raw and (mostly) fresh and then prepared for myself. I'm also including whole grains as "unprocessed" (oats, quinoa, brown rice).
The couple exceptions I'm making for "fresh" is that I'm allowing frozen corn and frozen berries since they're not in season, and canned beans (because it takes soooo long to make them from dry). I'm also going to allow myself bottled vinegars and olive oils with which I can make salad dressings. The recipes are coming from the book "Proteinaholic". I'm going to give a it a try for two weeks first, and then see what happens from there. I just really want to clean all of the junk out of my body for a while.

Let's not dismiss frozen fruits and vegetables. Seasonal produce, grown within a reasonable distance, is certainly better than frozen. But frozen items processed by reputable companies are usually frozen within 24 hours of being harvested and lose none of their nutritional value. That definitely beats that "fresh" zucchini that you only realized when you got home came from Guatemala. I make a lot of soups with frozen veggies and for smoothies frozen fruit is better than fresh if you like a nice thick texture.

I’m at a loss and hoping someone has an answer. I’m trying to be better with my protein sources (less animal protein) and bought Morningstar veggie bacon strips. I compared the label to a pork bacon extra thick brand and the labels were really not that different. Am I missing something?