Lower my cards, but keep my calories
SilMarillion
Posts: 71
Hi there,
Looking for some pointers on how to decrease my daily carbohydrate intake, increase my protein intake, and still eat 2000 net calories... Looking at my daily diary, I can easily hit my 15% protein -- in fact I can easily get that to 30% or more by drinking a protein powder shake... but I would like to do is get my carbs down to the 40% mark.... but it seems like when I do this, I start to struggle with my calories.. and then I am under eating by 600+ ....
Any suggestions on what foods I can eat that are high in protein, high in calories but low in carbs?
SilMarillion.
Looking for some pointers on how to decrease my daily carbohydrate intake, increase my protein intake, and still eat 2000 net calories... Looking at my daily diary, I can easily hit my 15% protein -- in fact I can easily get that to 30% or more by drinking a protein powder shake... but I would like to do is get my carbs down to the 40% mark.... but it seems like when I do this, I start to struggle with my calories.. and then I am under eating by 600+ ....
Any suggestions on what foods I can eat that are high in protein, high in calories but low in carbs?
SilMarillion.
0
Replies
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Egg white omelets.0
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bump0
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lots of good things...
Nuts - I snack on a mix of raw pecans and almonds....with this you do have to be careful if you are watching your calorie intake because it is easy to go over...I buy mine in bulk and then will repack in single serving snack bags...I just count out 24 nuts so depending on the sizes of the nuts I may be over or under.
Nut Butters - Almond and sun butters are good. Peanut butter is a good source if you dont' have issues...the only thing is you do want to get them as clean as you can - if you have a Whole Foods near you they have where you can grind your own. if not look in the organic section for jars that have basically just the nuts listed as their ingrediate.
Avocado - I buy the 100 calorie packs of guacamole (Wholly Guac or Walmart has a house brand) and use carrots or red pepper strips to dip.
Jerky - it is best if you can make it yourself - fairly easy to do in a low heat oven - lots of instructions on the net - My husband and I make our own - we bought a jerky press gun from Amazon for about $20 for making ground jerky - we use Venison he has shot but you can easily use store bought meats - you can even get a nice piece of steak and make thin slices, add some seasoning and "dry" them in a low heat oven...storebought packs a LOT of sodium per serving
Pork rinds - if you get the big puffy kind a handful is only about 50-60 calories - like the jerky it is best to look at the ingrediant list as some sneak chemical crap in there...0 -
On my low carb days I am in the mid-low 100s by just giving up straight carbs (ie no side of grain or potatoes and no bread). I'm still probably considered moderate carb, but it's about as low as I'll consider going!0
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Thanks for the suggestion, but the problem I have with egg whites is that they are so low in calories... Egg beaters are only 25 calories per serving -- I would probably eat 4 servings in one omelet.... I wonder if there is a turkey sausage that is low carb (and also low sodium!!!) out there that will boast the calories...
Yes, I know I could add veggies, but these are also so low in calories that they won't move the needle that much...
SilMarillion0 -
Eat the whole egg. If your lowering your carbs your going to have to up protein and fats. Don't be afraid of the yolk.0
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Love the yolk ... just hate the cholesterol!0
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Jimmy Dean turkey sausage is great - but still lower in calories - I had 2 pieces this morning and it was only 83 calories -but low carbs and high protein.
I am having the exact same issue and almost posted a topic before seeing your post. I am trying to stay as close to 100 on my carbs, but when doing that I am undereating more than normal.
BUMP!!!!!0 -
Jimmy Dean turkey sausage is great - but still lower in calories - I had 2 pieces this morning and it was only 83 calories -but low carbs and high protein.
I am having the exact same issue and almost posted a topic before seeing your post. I am trying to stay as close to 100 on my carbs, but when doing that I am undereating more than normal.
BUMP!!!!!
The problem I have with all the Jimmy Dean sausages is the amount of sodium they contain... two patties would eat up 500mg -- or a quarter of my daily intake.... but I guess there isn't a perfect food out there, and we all have to make some compromises..0 -
Jimmy Dean turkey sausage is great - but still lower in calories - I had 2 pieces this morning and it was only 83 calories -but low carbs and high protein.
I am having the exact same issue and almost posted a topic before seeing your post. I am trying to stay as close to 100 on my carbs, but when doing that I am undereating more than normal.
BUMP!!!!!
The problem I have with all the Jimmy Dean sausages is the amount of sodium they contain... two patties would eat up 500mg -- or a quarter of my daily intake.... but I guess there isn't a perfect food out there, and we all have to make some compromises..
I eat the Jimmy Dean turkey a fair amount. What does the rest of your daily eats involve? While it may be a fair amount per serving if the rest of your eats are fairly low in sodium then the amount should be fairly negliagible in the overall scheme...0 -
lots of good things...
Nut Butters - Almond and sun butters are good. Peanut butter is a good source if you dont' have issues...the only thing is you do want to get them as clean as you can - if you have a Whole Foods near you they have where you can grind your own. if not look in the organic section for jars that have basically just the nuts listed as their ingrediate.
OH geez at first glance I thought this said Nutter butters... you know the cookies. I thought how is that going to help... *slaps head.0 -
Another option would be to do up a whole chicken and snack off of that for a few days...
I have on occasion bought a grocery store rotissarie chicken and just used that for snacking. Every once in a while I can get a good deal on organic "free range" chickens and will buy a few of those and stick them in the freezer - simply thaw one and shove in a crockpot for a few hours...that way you can control the amount of spices and seasonings, including sodium0 -
I have this same issue and plus I travel weekly for work - so can't cook during the week.
I resort to protein shakes. I usually have 1 per day with 20g protein and 8g carbs per serving. Different brands have even more protein and may be even less in carbs but I like the taste of this brand the best.
ETA: I see that you already drink shakes
It's a tough question then but I'd say eat the foods that are calorically dense (PB, Avocado, nuts) which usually have decent amounts of protein but watch your fats. 0 -
Add more fat calories. Add olive oil to soups and sauces. Add avocado to salads etc.Hi there,
Looking for some pointers on how to decrease my daily carbohydrate intake, increase my protein intake, and still eat 2000 net calories... Looking at my daily diary, I can easily hit my 15% protein -- in fact I can easily get that to 30% or more by drinking a protein powder shake... but I would like to do is get my carbs down to the 40% mark.... but it seems like when I do this, I start to struggle with my calories.. and then I am under eating by 600+ ....
Any suggestions on what foods I can eat that are high in protein, high in calories but low in carbs?
SilMarillion.0 -
I have the same problem. I just became a big fan of egg salad over lettuce with roasted red peppers. Right under 300 calories and very little carbs. I use 2 hard boiled eggs, 1 TBSP of Kraft Mayo w/ Olive Oil, 1 TSP of spicy mustard, 1 tsp of salad cubes and a dash of cayenne. Mix together and put on top of shredded lettuce and then add roasted red peppers. It's not too filling and makes a nice refreshing summer snack to boost calories.0
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Jenni-O has link sausage for breakfast that is tasty. In the meat case by the other Turkey Products. They don't have an carbs. I live alone and cook for one, and to make it easier for me I freeze them in portions and the night before stick one portion in the fridge so it's defrosted by morning.0
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greek yogurt is a good protein source with moderate calories, same with cottage cheese0
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Feel free to look at my diary. My carbs stay low between 50-70g/day and protein averages 150g/day. I’m on 1700 calories, but I usually eat more than that upwards to 1950.0
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Quit eating cards, eat more veggies and lean proteins.
avoid over processed foods. Do you realize how much you have to process turkey to make it taste like bacon or pork sausage? You should use the main and best "muscle", your brain...hahaha !
edit to add a comma before the grammer gestapo got me...0 -
I am set at 40/30/30 with the 40 being my protein. I limit my grains and eat a lot of eggs, whites, chicken breast and turkey. Getting most of your carbs from fruit and veg and not grains should work for you.0
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lots of good things...
Nut Butters - Almond and sun butters are good. Peanut butter is a good source if you dont' have issues...the only thing is you do want to get them as clean as you can - if you have a Whole Foods near you they have where you can grind your own. if not look in the organic section for jars that have basically just the nuts listed as their ingrediate.
OH geez at first glance I thought this said Nutter butters... you know the cookies. I thought how is that going to help... *slaps head.
I thought the same thing. lol.0 -
I drink a protein shake with 1Tbls of peanut butter every morning. I eat salmon most days for lunch and nuts with snacks. I try and stay under 100g carbs and between 100-150g of protein daily. I try to stay around 1600 cal.0
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Some doctors/scientists/researchers are now of the opinion that dietary cholesterol does not have much affect on LDL (bad) cholesterol. Others, of course, disagree... but you can do a quick Google and see which side is more compelling to you (assuming you would like to eat whole eggs).Love the yolk ... just hate the cholesterol!0 -
Looking at your diary, there are lots of little things that add up. I presume the beer is untouchable (it is for me), but there are some very simple things you can do.
1. Drop the Peter Pan peanut butter. REAL peanut butter has very little sugar in it. I know it's not a lot of difference, but you gotta start with good ingredients. Look for this trend in a lot of your food - the more processing and/or ingredients went in to making it, the more you'll have sugars and sodium to deal with in general. For peanut butter, the only ingredient should be "nuts". Maybe "salt" if you prefer the flavor, but then.. sodium.
2. Your diet suffers from the same problem mine once did (and still does from time to time) - lots of healthy components, not-so-great proportions.
Just take all the healthy-but-carb-y stuff and reduce it by a little, then increase the healthy-but-non-carb-y stuff.
I dropped a piece of fruit and added a "the other half" to the half of a turkey wrap in my daily lunch (I'm boring - I bag a lunch every day and eat the same thing). Sugars went down, protein went up, I got a lot less hungry on about the same calories.
I dropped the bagel with cream cheese and added oatmeal and an egg (still carb-y, but less sugar and more proteins). I'm considering refrigerator oatmeal for a more convenient meal on occasion.0 -
My son needs to gain weight and we try to find somewhat healthy ways to help him gain. We mostly resorted to a lot of dairy to help in that department -- we use half and half on his cereal, with oatmeal or with fruit; whole milk to drink; full fat 4% cottage cheese; malted and half and half in his smoothies or shakes. Full strength real fruit juices. Also, as someone noted, nuts add up calories; put them on salads, add to your cooked veggies. Beans are a nice alternative for protein- good on salads and a heavy bean and meat chili can add up the calories. Mayo also boosts calories. Tuna salad with mayo, crab salad, egg salad, etc. Regarding eggs, unless you have a cholesterol problem, I agree that there is little evidence that dietary cholesterol affects your blood cholesterol levels. Hope this is helpful. Good luck.0
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greek yogurt is a good protein source with moderate calories, same with cottage cheese
It is, but it has 24g of carbs!! If you're trying to reduce carbs yogurt is not the best option. :ohwell:0 -
Some doctors/scientists/researchers are now of the opinion that dietary cholesterol does not have much affect on LDL (bad) cholesterol. Others, of course, disagree... but you can do a quick Google and see which side is more compelling to you (assuming you would like to eat whole eggs).Love the yolk ... just hate the cholesterol!
Because high BP and Cholesterol is a known problem in my family, so I monitor by sodium and cholesterol intake... But saving that... I am going to go back to eating two poached eggs on home made quinoa bread for my breakfast..0 -
1. Drop the Peter Pan peanut butter. REAL peanut butter has very little sugar in it. I know it's not a lot of difference, but you gotta start with good ingredients. Look for this trend in a lot of your food - the more processing and/or ingredients went in to making it, the more you'll have sugars and sodium to deal with in general. For peanut butter, the only ingredient should be "nuts". Maybe "salt" if you prefer the flavor, but then.. sodium.
Just to defend myself a little here... the Peter Pan peanut butter was a one time deal.... don't normally eat peanut butter... even the REAL stuff... just don't really care for it.0 -
low fat cottage cheese. I love it.0
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The man is trying to get his calories up , so surely full fat cottage cheese would make more sense.low fat cottage cheese. I love it.
Less carbs = more fat, at least until someone invents a 4th macronutrient.0
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