How to balance protein and fat

s9dcsc8c6f
s9dcsc8c6f Posts: 1 Member
in Introduce Yourself
I’m trying to do less fat and more protein. Any suggestions on what foods. I don’t eat red meat, but have tried it a few times.

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  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,631 Member
    This thread is a great resource for identifying protein sources:

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10247171/carbs-and-fats-are-cheap-heres-a-guide-to-getting-your-proteins-worth-fiber-also

    It links to a spreadsheet that lists many, many foods in order by protein efficiency: Most protein for fewest qualities. Find foods you like on that spreadsheet, eat more of those in place of some other food(s) that aren't as helpful/tasty in context of your goals.

    I'm vegetarian (ovo-lacto) and even I found some useful ideas in there. It was a little less when I was on reduced calories during weight loss, but I shoot for a 100g protein minimum now as a 5'5" female at 130 pounds, usually exceed it . . . without using protein powder, protein bars, or commercial fake meats.

    A tip that helped me with that as a vegetarian, but that also works for omnivores: Think about getting little bits of protein in many things you eat, in addition to the "one big protein" that may center a meal. There are breads with more protein than others, grains and other side dishes ditto, veggies, snacks, beverages, even some fruits. The little bits add up through the day. These tend not to be as high quality protein (in essential amino acid (EAA) completeness and bioavailability) but varying the sources helps balance that out to some extent.
  • SueEllenLawton3047
    SueEllenLawton3047 Posts: 4 Member
    I'm in the same boat, somewhat. I'm an ovo-lacto-pescatarian (eggs, milk, seafood) and I REALLY struggle to even get half the protein that is "recommended" for me. Even when I get only half, I, then, usually blow my fat allowance out of the water.

    I've copied the data from the linked spreadsheet above and deleted all of the meats for my own purposes (reduced listed foods from 333 to 263). Still it is a little daunting to decipher what all of this data means. For instance, what does "Quality Protein" mean?

    In any case, I created a new column called "Protein/Fat", which is simply the "Protein per 100g" divided by the "Fat per 100g." Since we want the protein # to be as high as possible and the fat as low as possible, it stands to reason that the higher the Protein/Fat ration is, the food should provide the best balance possible. So, if the spreadsheet is then sorted from highest to lowest Protein/Fat ratio, that should give us the best foods to accomplish this balance.

    Does that make sense?

    You could do the same thing, but leave in poultry/fowl if you eat that. Here is the link to my modified spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1cd38hy1kJlCon-SIBBU6PnLCYhaVhmASEl5qDvvL8ME/edit?usp=sharing

    I also re-arranged a couple of columns and narrowed most of them so you could see more data on the screen at once.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,631 Member
    Going over fat goal, within calorie goal, isn't a problem, unless it prevents getting adequate protein. I understand that you're thinking you're getting too much fat compared to protein, but IMO the big issue here is just increasing protein, since being over on fat is OK. (I admit, it would be best if not all that fat is saturated fat, but that's a little different discussion.) If protein goes up by reducing some carbs OR some fats, that should be fine.

    Protein and fats are essential nutrients in the technical sense that our bodies can't make them out of any other nutrient . . . or rather certain amino acids (in protein) and fatty acids (in fats) are essential. We need to eat a certain minimum of essential fatty acids and essential amino acids. More isn't necessarily bad. Carbs are more flexible - not an essential nutrient in that sense.

    I hope it's obvious that the macros aren't directly the issue for weight management - calories are. (Sub-par nutrition can trigger fatigue or appetite, so affect weight management indirectly.)

    Even for health and nutrition, there's no need to be exactly exact on macronutrients every single day. Pretty good, on average over a few days: That should be fine. Too little protein or fat isn't a great idea; more than your goal but within calories overall - that's generally fine.

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