protein / fat daily amounts - please help!! page

[trail chick]

Hi - I am trying to maintain my weight, which Cronometer tells me is about 2,000 cals a day. (I'm happy with about 1,800 or so). I'm not trying to lose right now (pregnancy), although I will have at least 20 lbs. to lose post-preg I'm guessing. So, I find that I quickly exceed my allotted protein amount (which is about 400 calories for my lean body mass) and would need to make up the necessary calories in fat if I'm maintaining. Do I just pour more oil on my daily salad? Eat another pat of butter?? It seems like a less natural way to get more fat, but every healthy fat contained in foods (nuts, eggs, meat, etc) also contains lots o' protein!! I'm feeling macronutrient confusion!! How do I limit my protein so strictly but then get enough fat to maintain weight? Should I make at least one meal a day no protein at all? This seems to fly in the face of my old Zone Diet/Paleo knowledge, but would help me set my macronutrients on track. Thanks!!!!

p.s. I can't give up my eggs in the morning. I really depend on them to get my day off right Primally.

[Abe Wagner]

IMO, its hard to over eat protein. (I'm no doctor, and I know close to nothing about pregnancy health). But in genreal, I'd say its very hard to eat too much protein. But maybe I can share what I do since I often need to get more fat into my diet. I tend to melt butter on everything; veggies, steak, hamburger, name it. Also, I make this "chocolate" stuff with coconut oil, pure cocoa, and a little bit of honey. It ends up being mostly fat, and mostly saturated fat at that (excellent fuel source and avoids all the O3/O6 balance issues). I warm the oil a little bit to get it liquid and pulse blended everything together. Then I pour it in candy molds and put it in the freezer to set. I store it in the fridge. It has the consistancy of chocolate, and it tastes (give or take) like and mounds bar. I eat 5-6 peices after meals when I eat chicken or something else thats lower in fat.
Hope that helps.

[Apex Predator]

If you are eating naturally occurring, primal protein sources like fatty meat, I wouldn't worry about overdoing it. Be careful with nuts.

[tradawg]

Why is your protein so limited? I assume you're eating plenty of carbs since you're not trying to lose weight?

[Lovelessk]

Limit fats or Carbs.

Do not limit protein.

You have it very very wrong.

[Uncephalized]

You're not going to overeat protein from meat and eggs. Just eat meat and vegetables until you don't feel like eating more. Throw in some tubers like sweet potatoes every once in a while if you feel the need. No need to overthink things too much.

[Timothy]

I agree with the others: don't limit whole-foods protein during pregnancy. Your body will let you know when you've had enough. Pregnancy demands certain nutrients at certain times, and so your appetite should be your friend, not your enemy. There will be plenty of time to whip yourself into shape post-partum. Good luck!

[trail chick]

I'm trying to Mark's formula in Primal Blueprint for how much protein you need per day (depending on activity level - the thing is, I'm only moderately active right now): .7 g of protein per pound of lean mass. That leaves me about 80 grams of protein per day, or 300-400 calories. It seemed low to me, but I'm just trying to follow the PB plan, track it carefully and see how it pans out in daily meals and how it feels for my daily needs energy-wise. It may seem like over-thinking, but in the beginning of going Primal I think food tracking is pretty valuable. I figured out that nuts are actually relatively MUCH higher than fat than protein and are actually perfectly suited to my need for higher fat without all the protein attached. Apex, just curious, why did you warn against nuts?

All that said, I do agree that if you're eating Primal foods, you really can't go too wrong. And since I am in maintenance mode, I am going to enjoy one of those delicious chocolate fat bombs that Abe suggested and enjoy the hell out of it! Sounds fantastic. I'm going to enjoy every minute of maintenance!! ;-) ;-)

[Timothy]

Mark has recommended 1g/lb of lean mass as a minimum for people trying to gain strength:

How to Gain Weight and Build Muscle | Mark's Daily Apple

I don't know what the pregnancy number would be, but it's sure to be at least that.

All protein is not created equal, however. Plant protein, including that from nuts, usually does not have all nine of the essential amino acids that your body needs (particularly lysine). Nuts also have unfavorable fatty acid ratios and contain phytates that can prevent absorption of important nutrients like magnesium. I find that when I eat nuts, my hunger actually increases -- my nutritional profile gets more out of balance the more I eat. So I would suggest that you embrace your love of eggs instead.

Abe's recipe sounds ecstatically delicious.

[Apex Predator]

I warn against nuts for several reasons rolled into one: Because they are so convenient and delicious, people have a tendency to eat a lot of nuts. This can be troublesome for several reasons. It's really easy to pound down 2000 calories of nuts in one sitting. In addition to a lot of calories, that's a ton of Omega 6. Additionally, nuts cause inflammations and GI distress in some, if not many people.

Mark's guidelines are guidelines, not commands. Especially since you are new to primal and pregnant, eat and enjoy!