Rebalancing macros: Less meat, more veggies, help? page

[merryish]

I'm trying to rebalance my macros. Since I started PB in February, I've been eating very low carb, with high fat and high protein percentages. But lately I've been leaning too hard on the protein.

I could basically survive on nothing but meat, eggs and fat without any mental anguish whatsoever. Unfortunately, I'm very conscious of my meat's sourcing and I'm not a fan of organs/offal - which makes life as a carnivore hard on my budget. Plus, it's probably not the healthiest way to eat.

What I want to try to do is keep my fat percentage high, and stay low-carb, but eat less meat overall. Before anybody worries, I eat a LOT of meat, and I'm not talking about going vegetarian (god forbid). I have a healthy appreciation for our succulent furry (or scaly!) friends. I just want to hit a rational balance that isn't as meat-heavy as what I'm doing right now.

From what I've read, it's entirely possible to decrease protein while increasing my vegetable intake without sacrificing fat. I'd just have to make sure I'm cooking my veggies in (and saucing them with) plenty of good fats/oils, right? My favorites are broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower, kale, cabbage, carrots, peppers/onions, butternut squash, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, etc. So if I just cook these in butter, ghee, bacon grease, coconut oil, olive oil... I'd be on the right track, right?

I like a lot of vegetables and I'm willing to try new ones. I'm also quite fond of the big-ass salad meal, though I tend to eat the top off the salad (any meat/cheese/tomato/pepper/cucumber/carrot/nuts/berries/dressing) and leave the lettuce behind. It's just that until recently my entire vegetable skill-set started with "locate can-opener" and ended with "bring to a simmer".

Will I completely derail myself if I try to rebalance in this way?

[otzi]

From what I've read, it's entirely possible to decrease protein while increasing my vegetable intake without sacrificing fat. ... I'd be on the right track, right?

It really is that simple. Just eat more veggies and less meat.

I could basically survive on nothing but meat, eggs and fat without any mental anguish whatsoever. Unfortunately, I'm very conscious of my meat's sourcing and I'm not a fan of organs/offal - which makes life as a carnivore hard on my budget. Plus, it's probably not the healthiest way to eat

However, unless you do something about this, you are still in the same boat. You may want to spend some time on FitDay or another nutrient calculator and make sure you aren't missing out on vital minerals and vitamins. Sometimes simply adding a bit of liverwurst, chicken livers, nuts, cheese, or certain fruits and veggies can get you where you want to be. Oysters are very nutrient rich and make up for a lot of bad eating.

What you are describing is basically Atkins--low carb/high fat w/o much thought to nutrition. It looks like you got the right oils figured out, but you could still use a few more high-impact foods.

[Neckhammer]

You need liver pate.....very tasty way to introduce some liver to your diet. Lots of good fats too.


Here https://www.marksdailyapple.com/forum/thread65193.html

I make mine with a ton of butter, onion, garlic, and various seasonings. Seriously good stuff.

[Daemonized]

What would lead you feel that protein is causing you problems? My advice would be that if you're going to eat less meat then just add in more veggies without trying to add a lot more fat to them.

[Damiana]

If you're trying to lose weight, I don't know if mindlessly adding fat for the sake of eating more fat is a good solution.

[peril]

If you won't eat organs then eat more seafood, especially molluscs

[ryanmercer]

You could always add some organ meats by doing the hack where you freeze it raw, cut it up into tiny pea sized pieces, then swallow it frozen. I'm probably going to give this a go next payday, going to order it from us wellness though and not risk whole food's selection.

I'm trying to add more veggies myself but their textures violently trigger my gag reflex and in some cases considerable mucus production so I feel you. Just do like me and keep trying stuff till you find something you like that has the nutrient profile you are kinda looking for

[merryish]

Thanks, everyone -

@Damiana, your point is good, but I'm not just mindlessly adding fat for fat's sake. I'm trying to maintain a fat percentage that's been working for me for the last 100 lbs, while replacing some of the meat I eat with vegetables -- to increase the variety in my diet and build a better nutrient profile. In essence I want to trade kinds of fat already in my diet, not increase fat.

@Daemonized, my only real concern about the amount of protein I eat is that it crowds out other nutrients (at least, the kinds of protein I naturally gravitate toward seem to crowd out other nutrients). And I want to maintain the level of fat I currently eat because it's the sweet spot for me for weight loss. Hence the attempt to add vegetables but cook them in fats.

@otzi - that's it, in a nutshell. I've been making sure that the protein I eat is cleanly sourced (free range, grass fed/finished, wild, etc) but within that matrix, I haven't had enough variety to be sure I'm getting the full benefits of the blueprint. I seem to recall from my distant grade school past that I enjoyed liverwurst sandwiches... maybe I should try that again (without the bread, naturally!)

@peril - I eat sooooo much sea food. So I'm doing all right there, I guess! I love salmon and shrimp and scallops. But molluscs I haven't really tried yet. I'll put that on my list.

@ryan and @neckhammer, thanks for the suggestions! I've read about the frozen-offal idea but never really considered it. And liver pate might work, because it's not recognizably liver.