i have a hard time... page

[Amber]

with ratios. i feel like i need something concrete that i can plan my meals around. i am totally a control freak, and i like to have my meals planned out for the week.

can anyone point me in the direction of an article that goes over a nice well balanced paleo diet? how much should i be eating of what? and when?

i feel like this is always my downfall. i dont plan enough, and end up giving up.

[BestBetter]

Thing is, this way of eating is mainly about eating high quality (as much as possible) real foods. Everyone does paleo in a different way, so there really isn't one way of eating that applies to everyone. Some people are eating extremely high levels of fat and are super carb phobic. Others have a more moderate approach, and have higher levels of carbs and lower levels of fat in their diets. Some people are eating super high protein, and others are trying to keep protein lower. Others are avoiding certain types of foods (i.e. nightshades, dairy) and others aren't. Some people are eating a diet that is really vegetable heavy, and others (like me) can't due to digestive issues. Some people are all about fruit (like me) and others have a panic attack if they eat one grape.

Personally, I like the freedom of NOT having to overplan every meal, but if that's your thing, maybe it would be easier to keep a master list of foods from which you can plan your meals. For example, you could list the categories of foods you want to eat (fruit, veggies, starches, meats or simply fat/carbs/protein) and brainstorm all the foods in that category you'd want to eat, so you have a list to choose from.

[Damiana]

You're overanalyzing it, which is a great way to set yourself up for failure. People survive on a crappy CW diet. If you mostly eat right according to paleo/PB principles, which is to say no processed foods, healthy meats, healthy fats, vegetables, you will be fine nutritionally since those foods are already nutritionally dense. After a few weeks, look at how you feel, then supplement if you need to.

[Moll]

A good base is to figure out your protein needs (.7-1 gram per pound of lean body mass). Once you get that, you can determine what amount of carbs you'd like to be getting per day. The Primal Blueprint Diagrams | Mark's Daily Apple
After that, the remainder of calories would come from fat.

It's harder to plan out your meals if you don't know your nutrient goals. Once you have that info, it's easier to fit foods into your particular pattern.

If you need help figuring those out, I kind of get weird pleasure from doing this type of math lol so lemme know.

[Amber]

i have been on a completely raw/vegan diet for the last two weeks. it started as juicing and evolved into a fresh fruit and vegetable fast. it did it mainly to get off all of the processed foods i was eating, not becasue i thought it was a healthy diet.

but now i am ready to maintain a consistent lifestyle change, and i want to make sure that i am eating the right amounts to ensure weightloss. moll i would love if you could help me figure that out.

[Damiana]

For weight loss, you're going to want to keep the carbs low, and the fats/protein high. Aim for .8 grams of protein per pound of body weight. Start off with this, if you over analyze it, things will seem too complicated and you will want to quit.

[gopintos]

For weight loss, you're going to want to keep the carbs low, and the fats/protein high. Aim for .8 grams of protein per pound of body weight. Start off with this, if you over analyze it, things will seem too complicated and you will want to quit.

I was thinking per lean body mass. If it is based on your current weight, I have way been under doing protein.

[Moll]

To calculate your caloric needs I need your age, height, weight, activity level - if you don't know your lean body mass (from a scale or calipers or something), I can estimate it and the formulas will be pretty close.

[Moll]

For some people, "over analyzing" this type of thing does make them feel crazy and like it's too complicated. But there are other types of people (like me) who want all of the figures and formulas to give some type of structure to our knowledge base. I'm quite impressed by the people who can just eat primal foods and not worry about their nutrient ratios, but that definitely doesn't work for me.

[Damiana]

I admire that, but wow, how do you enjoy food when it's broken down into macronutrients and numbers? I apologize if I come off as patronizing, I'm just thinking its very difficult to consume every nutrient one's body needs and eat around that. I'm concerned about nutrition and getting enough vitamins to keep my body running, but the way I do it is the way I mentioned above.