High Protein/Low Fat Diet...

[BobTheKing]

I have been watching a lot of "Scooby" fitness videos. If you haven't seen him, look up scooby1961 on youtube (Thanks Victor). He really is informative, and is a crusader. He doesn't ask for any money, just genuinely wants to help people get into shape and stay away from wasting money on gimmicks and garbage.

Anyway, one CHALLENGE I have been having is the High Protein/Low Fat diet he proposes, and I was hoping for some help. Scooby says that my meals ( in order to gain muscle and lose fat for my weight) should consist of 6 meals of 310 calories each with 26 grams of protein per meal, and no more than 10% fat content. Well, being that I have a full time job and go to school full time, I usually eat out or frozen/canned foods. I cannot find any good meals that fit the criteria, besides a can of Dennison's 99% fat free beef chili. Any suggestions?

BTW Fat content as defined by Scooby is calories of fat in ratio to total calories, not the 95% 98% or 99% fat free you see on labels. Believe it or not, I just ate 97% fat free turkey chili, and the total fat was approximately 20% of the calories. Interesting isn't it?

[BENNY]

yep, sounds like u just don't have enough time. if u really want to fallow that program closely, u just have to squeeze out some time to cook them meals. maybe u can cook one huge meal, and eat that 6 times a day for one or 2 days, or get lots of coffee and forgo sleep lol :)

[Austin]

Drink skim milk.

[Beretta]

Hmm. 10% fat is extremely low. The generally recommended breakdown for calorie ratio is:

30% fat
30% protein
40% carbs

I'm not an expert, or even close, but I've had roommates and friends who were way into this stuff, so I picked up bits and pieces here and there.

First things first, not all fat is bad and you need fat in your diet. Some kinds of fat will be burned before carbs for energy (MCTs, medium-chain triglycerides, are an example). Additionally, your brain is made of fat and in order to keep it healthy, you need lots of fatty acids, especiallly Omega-3.

Analyzing your macronutrient ratio is a good approach to diet. The amount of calories you consume and what kind of calories they are, go a long way to determining the results you get from diet and exercise. However, the most effective plan is the one you stick to. So, make sure you're setting yourself up for success.

There are software programs that will help you figure out your macronutrient ratio, I'd suggest finding and downloading one. Then, eat as you have been for a week and use the program to track your ratio and other markers. After that week, look at where you're at and make some small changes from there to get closer to where you want. If you're consuming 4000 calories a day and want to lose weight, then drop to 3000. If your ratio of C/P/F is 50/20/30, then try to get to 40/30/30. When you're comfortable at 3000 and 40/30/30, reassess and drop to 2500 or 40/40/20 if that suits your goals.

Over the years, I've seen a lot of people burn out on exercise and diet programs because they made drastic initial changes and they couldn't keep up with their own stringent demands. Just like our progress in PK, fitness and diet should be incremental and progressive. Don't do a diet faceplant by trying to kong to level precision to front flip on your first day!

/end rant

Hope that was helpful, not too rant-y. Good luck!

P.S. I know how hard it is to eat right doing work & school. I try to keep my nutrition and training goals modest, so that I can actually get to them!

[BobTheKing]

Thanks for the good advice Beretta.

I am curious, you seem to be in pretty good shape, what does a typical day of food consumption consist of in your household? You know from start to finish. Do you have to watch what you eat...or were you just blessed with good genes? :smile:

Hmm. 10% fat is extremely low. The generally recommended breakdown for calorie ratio is:

30% fat
30% protein
40% carbs

I'm not an expert, or even close, but I've had roommates and friends who were way into this stuff, so I picked up bits and pieces here and there.

First things first, not all fat is bad and you need fat in your diet. Some kinds of fat will be burned before carbs for energy (MCTs, medium-chain triglycerides, are an example). Additionally, your brain is made of fat and in order to keep it healthy, you need lots of fatty acids, especiallly Omega-3.

Analyzing your macronutrient ratio is a good approach to diet. The amount of calories you consume and what kind of calories they are, go a long way to determining the results you get from diet and exercise. However, the most effective plan is the one you stick to. So, make sure you're setting yourself up for success.

There are software programs that will help you figure out your macronutrient ratio, I'd suggest finding and downloading one. Then, eat as you have been for a week and use the program to track your ratio and other markers. After that week, look at where you're at and make some small changes from there to get closer to where you want. If you're consuming 4000 calories a day and want to lose weight, then drop to 3000. If your ratio of C/P/F is 50/20/30, then try to get to 40/30/30. When you're comfortable at 3000 and 40/30/30, reassess and drop to 2500 or 40/40/20 if that suits your goals.

Over the years, I've seen a lot of people burn out on exercise and diet programs because they made drastic initial changes and they couldn't keep up with their own stringent demands. Just like our progress in PK, fitness and diet should be incremental and progressive. Don't do a diet faceplant by trying to kong to level precision to front flip on your first day!

/end rant

Hope that was helpful, not too rant-y. Good luck!

P.S. I know how hard it is to eat right doing work & school. I try to keep my nutrition and training goals modest, so that I can actually get to them!

[Austin]

I personally try to go with PFC 40 20 40
Anything below 20% of calories from fat is unhealthy for a variety of reasons. Just know that fat has a little over twice the amount of calories per gram as carbs or protein, so you don't need so much in comparison. An ideal meal has around 60 g protein, 60 g carbs, and 15 g fat. That fits the 40 20 40 ratio and will provide a little over 600 calories, which is reality a pretty small meal, more like a snack for me. =)

[Austin]

I personally try to go with PFC 40 20 40
Anything below 20% of calories from fat is unhealthy for a variety of reasons. Just know that fat has a little over twice the amount of calories per gram as carbs or protein, so you don't need so much in comparison. An ideal meal has around 60 g protein, 60 g carbs, and 15 g fat. That fits the 40 20 40 ratio and will provide a little over 600 calories, which is reality a pretty small meal, more like a snack for me. =)

[BobTheKing]

Thanks for the reply Austin. Yes, it did not seem plausible to do the 10% or less fat content trial. I did try. I looked all throughout Costco, Sam's Club, and local supermarkets. I think the 20% benchmark is much more realistic. :biggthumpup:

I personally try to go with PFC 40 20 40
Anything below 20% of calories from fat is unhealthy for a variety of reasons. Just know that fat has a little over twice the amount of calories per gram as carbs or protein, so you don't need so much in comparison. An ideal meal has around 60 g protein, 60 g carbs, and 15 g fat. That fits the 40 20 40 ratio and will provide a little over 600 calories, which is reality a pretty small meal, more like a snack for me. =)

[MadScience]

I think an important distinction needs to be made about different KINDS of fat. Hydrogenated whatever and deep fried crap are obviously bad for you, but many of your naturally occurring fats (nuts, eggs, avocado, etc) are very healthy. Good fats and cholesterol are more than good for you, they are essential.

It works for me to concentrate more on the quality of my food on a daily basis than any long term commitment to a diet. Outlining an ideal diet with the expectation that it will always be available is setting yourself up for failure. But if you pay attention and look at your options you can always choose the healthiest thing available. And stay away from crappy fats and sugar, no good comes from them.

[Beretta]

Thanks for the good advice Beretta.

I am curious, you seem to be in pretty good shape, what does a typical day of food consumption consist of in your household? You know from start to finish. Do you have to watch what you eat...or were you just blessed with good genes? :smile:

Um, good genes? I think so, but I've also been working out hard and consistently for about four years now. One of my roommates Steven, who knew me back then, described me as scrawny to my other roommates who met me more recently. I fully believe nature and nurture work together and play off eachother. If you work hard and utilize the resources out there to help you plan intelligently, you can improve, however I do think we are all born with different maximum potentials. I will never be David Belle, or Michael Phelps, etc.

My commitment to nutrition varies. Sometimes I eat tons of fresh, or dried, fruit and raw nuts (and.... go with the jokes!) and veggies and fish and cook a lot. Other times I get strung out on Taco Bell and frozen pizza and Chef Boyardee. I'm taking five classes (13.5 units) and working thirty hours, so it's hard, as you know, to maintain a steady and disciplined diet. So, I try to be realistic. When I shop, I make sure I get plenty of good, healthy stuff I can cook myself, and stuff that I can nuke and scarf in less than five minutes between work and school. Also, I can't afford to eat as healthy as I'd like to. Overall the guiding principal for me is to get some raw foods, some fruit and veggies, lots of protein and still indulge my vices, hopefully in moderation!

[2nd Chance]

in moderation!

More key words have never been spoken. It's all about moderation. Really, I don't watch what I eat at all. I just know eating fast food and cookies will be bad for you, while a good balance of fruits, veggies, meat, wheat, etc will be good for you. I'm really hesitant to go with a percentage diet, or any systematized form of eating. Everything in moderation, nothing in excess, and a good balance of it all.

[Corndogg]

Same here. I try and:

- Don't go crazy on calories.
- Watch fat and sugar intake.
- Watch starch and carb intake.
- Aim for natural, less processed foods.
- Eat veggies, lean proteins, fruits.
- Supplement with general, multi-use supplements including fish oil, vitamin b complex, turmeric, and sometimes vitamin c and grapeseed.
- Listen to your body.
- Eat when you are hungry, and stop just before you are full.

For me it's about making good decisions. I KNOW that the soda or dessert or candy or fast food etc is bad. So make sure that more often than not you are making the right choice, and get better about it, and if you do go for that "bad" thing make sure it's occasional and not a regular habit.

[2nd Chance]

Another big part is how much you eat, and not just what it is. You can eat too much of a good thing. I like what corn said in his last bullet: stop just before you are full. That's a good one. Don't engorge yourself, obviously. Eat until you aren't hungry, not until you are full.

[BENNY]

I don't watch what I eat at all. I just know eating fast food and cookies will be bad for you, while a good balance of fruits, veggies, meat, wheat, etc will be good for you. I'm really hesitant to go with a percentage diet, or any systematized form of eating. Everything in moderation, nothing in excess, and a good balance of it all.

yeah, doing a percentage thing to regulate food is too hard. i eat lots of bad foods, and alot of caffine to help burn it off lol. :laugh:

[2nd Chance]

yeah, doing a percentage thing to regulate food is too hard. i eat lots of bad foods, and alot of caffine to help burn it off lol. :laugh:

And as such, we all know not to follow Benny. :thefinger:

[BobTheKing]

...since you all seem to be in pretty good shape, I will compile your advice and try to incorporate something that works for me. So far I have lost 25 pounds, but I wanted to take it to the next level. That is why I have been seeking advice from some of the most fit people I know: SFPK!

[Bagheera]

Man, way to go, Bob.

[Beretta]

Goooooooooooooo Bob!!!!!!!!!!!!