Protein Intake sometimes higher than Fat Intake page

[Camila]

I am just over one month into the Primal Diet and have been logging everything into FitDay. I am still trying to get the ratios right of Fats:Proteins:Carbs and I know that fats should be the highest, at least at or around 65% or higher) but sometimes I find that my protein intake is higher than the fats. Is this bad and would this work against me for weight loss? Would this have any adverse effects for eating Primally? I think this happens by eating steak or eggs or tuna or bacon, etc. throughout the day and it ends up being more than the fat I took in even to cook it in, i.e. Coconut Oil, Butter, etc. or what is in the protein source itself. Thanks and looking forward to any suggestions.

[Daemonized]

Protein is mostly a building block and makes a very poor fuel source for the human body. Extra protein that you don't use will be excreted while extra fat (or carbs for that matter) get stored for later energy needs. If carb intake isn't sufficient the refill one's glycogen supply in the muscles and liver then some of the protein will be converted via neoglucogenesis to help re-supply but that's still not going to effect fat storage.

[Daemonized]

For that matter, if a human were to consume massive quantities of protein to the exclusion of fat and carbs one they would starve to death. (rabbit starvation)

[AndreaReina]

Remember that fat has 9 calories/gram, protein only 4. So assuming a 2020 calorie day, 50g carbs (200 cal, 10%), 140g protein (560 cal, 28%), 140g fat (1260 cal, 62%) is one of many possible Primal breakdowns. Notice that protein and fat grams are equal, but the caloric value favors fat. While it is possible to eat more protein calories than fat, you'd have to be eating lots of very lean meats like sirloin, round, and tuna. The fact that you mention eggs and bacon (both quite fatty foods) leads me to believe that you are only looking at grams, not total calories. If that's so, don't worry about it, you're probably good. But if you want to make sure, compare caloric values, not mass -- that's what we're talking about when we say we're eating 65% fat, etc.

[Primal Toad]

What are you eating? It is quite difficult to consume more protein then fat in calories on a regular basis when you add pure fat foods such as coconut oil and butter. And you eat bacon... Andrea might be right - you might be calculating it wrong.

[Camila]

What are you eating? It is quite difficult to consume more protein then fat in calories on a regular basis when you add pure fat foods such as coconut oil and butter. And you eat bacon... Andrea might be right - you might be calculating it wrong.

Thank you Andrea and Primal Toad... you guys are right. On fitday, I have been looking only at grams because that is what it totals things up in. Do either of you happen to know how to turn each amount of grams of fatrotein:carbs into a caloric amount to see how much it would be then? Or another way maybe.. ? Thanks again.. I really appreciate your responses!

[Primal Toad]

Thank you Andrea and Primal Toad... you guys are right. On fitday, I have been looking only at grams because that is what it totals things up in. Do either of you happen to know how to turn each amount of grams of fatrotein:carbs into a caloric amount to see how much it would be then? Or another way maybe.. ? Thanks again.. I really appreciate your responses!

I have used fitday before and still do on occasion. When you are on a food log day you should see a "calories" tab at the bottom. This should be a pie graph breaking down your macronutrient ratios. The graph will be in calorie percentages. Fat should be 50% + followed by moderate protein and then carbs.

[Camila]

You guys rock! Thank you for your help. I did not even notice the charts at the bottom because there were always ads in the way. Once I compared the percentages instead of looking at grams, you are right Primal Toad, I AM getting higher percentages of fat than protein. Over one month though, fat percentages range from 44%-65%. I only had it above 60% two days tho. I guess it does take a little time to tweak this diet? How do you all increase your fat% on top of eating eggs, bacon, avocado, nuts, steak, other meats, coconut, olive oils, coconut milk? I can't seem to get fats up consistently to around 60+%.

I did notice something else though. I have been trying to stay around 50g carbs a day, lower if possible and some days it's a little higher. Andrea, the only day I got down to 10% carbs, I only had 31.3 grams of carbs that day, or 120 calories. It seems my Fitday is off from your calculations: 50g carbs (200 cal, 10%). I want to try to stay at 10% carbs a day (per your suggestion) but some days I do need more than 31 grams of carbs. If I stay around 50g carbs, the percentage is more like 14-15%. Does yours fluctuate like this? How exact do you guys try to keep this? Thank you!!!

[ProtoAlex]

For increased fat intake I just experiment with mixing everything I can with lard/tallow/palm oil/coconut oil, that and see sig. In the morning my eggs are normally cooked in about 1/4 of fat. The fat gets consumed too, every last delicious drop. Also whenever you finally start eating less "steaks" and more real cuts of meat like organ meats then you'll start doing a lot better on the fat. If all else fails just eat a spoonful or two of fat, you'd be surprised how quickly you can develop a taste for it.

You really don't want to be in a prolonged state of high protein, low(er) fat, low carbs. Your body will swap out of ketosis at this point and simply act like it was running off of glucose but will have to start making all of it's energy needs by converting protein into glucose. This is fine in limited amounts but if it's your primary energy source then you're doing some real bad stuff to your heart and kidneys.

[Dragonfly]

Remember that your %s will change based on the total number of calories you eat. Aim for 50 g of carbs and don't worry about the percentage.