First, congratulations on starting over--it sounds like you're off to a great start!
I usually run at over 50% carbs, and I was looking back at my fitday.com diaries and saw a 27% fat day. Now, what you have to look at, though, is what kind of fat. I eat at least .5 ounces of walnuts each day (the dietician told me to) and on this day I ate 1 ounce. So the quality of fat was very good, but it looked bad when you looked at the percentages. Also, if you're eating a lot of fiber-rich, complex carbohydrates, to me that's a good thing. Now if it's white and refined, then that's a different story!
Personally, I love fish so I try to eat a lot of that. Pork is also a great protein source if you like meat. Reduced- fat cottage cheese, low-fat string cheese, eggs (although not too many), soy products like garden burgers and vegetarian chili are great alternatives. A taco salad with really lean ground beef that you rinse before you eat and salsa for dressing is a great idea, too.
Do you have a Trader Joe's in your area? I love that store! It's got some really great prepared food like sweet and sour shrimp stir fry and roasted veggie enchiladas.
sorry gals.. hate beans and hate all fish! yuck! but steak.. now I like that!
I try to bring more nuts into my diet - I eat soy nuts and sun flower seads.
So what are fiber rich, complex carbs?
most of my carbs come from fruit and breads...
my subway sandwich was 118 carbs today.. holy cow!
Protein: YOGURT! and tofu/tempeh/soy milk. Just give it a try. I seriously love tofu. It's part of my teenage rebellion. I come from a town where only "those hippie college kids eat tofu" so, I especially enjoy horrifying my dad with it.
Fiber Rich Complex Carbs: Vegetables. Leafy ones. The greener the better. Yummmm.
Would strongly suggest you get a good book that summerizes some of the latest research on eating. What you're asking about can get complicated.
I read the Harvard Guide to Heathy Eating, also recommend Prevention magazine.
Don't forget, you don't have to do all this at once -- we mix our brown rice with white rice, if we have pasta, it's part vegetable spaghetti, part regular spaghetti, and part whole-wheat spaghetti.
Another good source of protein is eggs= I eat a few a week, because I'm getting older, but you younger ones can have more.
Good luck -- I'm actually getting attached to eating healthy -- in fact, for more, eating right and working out is the main enchilada. Losing weight is just the bonus (Lord, I almost said the icing on the cake!)
You can even have a little cake once in a while. It's all about balance.
I second the eggs and the lowfat cottage cheese and the yogurt. I also make my own beef jerky from lean eye of round -- much less expensive than store-bought jerky and I can control the salt. I use it for an after-work snack during that danger time where if I don't eat something, an hour later I'll eat EVERYTHING.
Fish is a great protein boost. Smoked whitefish, flaked and mixed with just enough lowfat mayo or sour cream to hold it together, on wheat crackers, is one of our favorite cold dinners. And it's a change from tuna or the little frozen squares of baked fish we also eat a lot of. Ease of preparation and quick cooking time are high priorities in our household. /grin
Protein shakes are good, too, for a boost on a day when you haven't had much protein. You can get protein powder at most bodybuilding/nutrition stores, or even at WalMart sometimes. Get a neutral flavor, then add your own pizazz. I add frozen fruit, instant coffee, or flavored syrups or extracts, depending on my mood. My fave right now is banana-strawberry with chocolate powder.
You may hate beans, but have you tried pulses lately? Different family, so if you don't like the texture of beans, you might be able to tolerate pulses. My husband is like that. Pulses include peas and lentils. Try some Indian dal, or a good lentil soup. Or DH's fave, split pea soup with lots of lean ham.
Okay, here's what I had for breakfast this morning. A low carb tortilla spread with TJ's smoky black bean dip (okay, it's beans, but it's not really like beans if you know what I mean!), a scrambled egg + 1 egg white, topped with salsa. I also had .5 oz. of walnuts before I went to the gym. I get nauseous if I don't eat something before I lift.
The protein on my breakfast is 29%, the carbs 11% and the fat is 60%. The fat sounds scary, but it's from the walnuts and it is "good" fat. Sometimes I add soy sausage, which should give even more protein.
You do have to watch the nuts because they are so calorie dense. If I were you, I'd stick with soy, walnuts (which the dietician said was most heart healthy) and almonds. I also make a smoothie with yogurt, frozen berries and soy milk (to add more soy into my diet--another nutritionist idea).
Do you like veggies? Big salads with lots of different kinds of veggies are great, and full of good stuff. Add some lowfat cheese (I like pepperjack because it's spicy) or low-fat deli meat for protein.
Originally posted by slimdown sorry gals.. hate beans and hate all fish! yuck! but steak.. now I like that!
I try to bring more nuts into my diet - I eat soy nuts and sun flower seads.
Steak can be good--just make sure you get tenderloin. If you're @ Pick N Save, they will even cut it into 4 oz steaks for you.
You could prolly do lean pork, too. I hate pork, but I hear the butterfly chops are good. And of course, treat yourself to the occasional beer brat.
As for nuts, I like raw whole almonds, they come in a can w/a green lid from Walgreens. A serving of them is 36 nuts!!!
it's the processed carbs that'll kill ya. everyone says [and i'm only just starting to believe them!!!] that the whole grains are the way to go. and limit yourself to like 4 servings and see how that works for you.
and then fill up on any kind of veggie except for white potatoes. ya gotta have the most vitamin punch per mouthful that you can get!!!!!
crazy carbs
Oh wait, that is fish. 
