Trying lower carb/higher protein
 

I'm going to give a lower-carb, higher-protein regimen a try this month -- not for health reasons, but to see if it can improve my satiety. On a meal-by-meal basis I haven't found any difference in satiety when I eat protein vs. carbs, but I'd like to see if adopting a consistent regimen will make a difference.

As I've mentioned a few times on these boards, hunger (or appetite -- hard to distinguish between the two sometimes) is my biggest struggle. I don't have a problem with junk food and I like high-quality home-cooked foods. I just never feel satisfied on the 2,000 calories per day it takes for me to maintain my weight. So I'm prepared to give this regimen a try. (I'm not prepared to eat extremely low-carb, go into ketosis, etc. -- it just doesn't feel right for me.)

Basically I'll be cutting my carbs in half (by eliminating grain-based products and starchy vegetables) and doubling my protein intake. This will leave me with approximately equal contributions from carbs, protein & fat -- each about 31% of daily caloric requirements -- with the remaining 7% of calories coming from the alcohol in my 6-oz glass of wine.

I plan to keep things simple and rather boring, with just three options for each meal (all foods I enjoy):

Breakfast: veggie omelette OR apple/pear with cheese slices OR Greek yogurt & berries
Lunch: tuna/edamame salad OR large Greek salad OR quinoa taboulleh
Dinner: grilled fish & veggies OR veggie stirfry with seafood or tofu OR veggie stew (based on either lentils or cauliflower/tofu).

Edited to add: I'll also have either apple sauce, veggies with dip, or a handful of almonds as snacks.

What do you guys think? Anything I'm missing?

Freelance

High protein is AWESOME for satiety. I try for 100+ grams/day. I don't track fat or carbs but I also rarely eat grains.

I like to stuff myself with protein at dinnertime after a workout - we're talking a protein shake immediately followed by a huge serving of meat with veggies and a Greek yogurt for dessert. Often I find I have no room for the Greek yogurt. And I think we are alike in our hungry hungry hippo appetites.

I've had my best luck with feeling full on between 30-40% protein. I don't do it for the sake of doing "lower carb" but of course the carbs end up being lowered when the protein is higher. I try and aim for my body weight in protein grams on workout days and at least 120 on non-workout days.

Personally, when I go lower carb... actually, going higher fat and keeping protein moderate, although probably still higher than minimum RDA's... helped the best with satiety and overall meal satisfaction... made it pretty easy to maintain without much difficulty...

This is essentially what I do to maintain. Feeling full is absolutely my biggest challenge and it's a lot better if I skip the grains and go heavier on protein.

Is there a reason that you list almost no fruit? Personally, I don't worry about the carbs in fruit or vegetables and eat an awful lot of both. As you're not worried about getting into ketosis, I wonder why you don't fill up more on fruit. Apples, bananas, etc. go a long way towards keeping me full without adding much to my daily calorie total.

this is how I eat and how I lost my 100+ pounds. I still stay under 30g of carbs a day usually under 20g.

good luck~ low carb has been a lifesaver for me and my husband:D

Yeah, consider also higher fat. I find that higher fat is what keeps me satiated the best. Low fat makes me want to overeat. For sure though, lower carb (and/or slow digesting carbs) plus higher protein and fat has made it easier for me to stay on plan and stick to a diet without feeling hunger.

Well, I have fruit in 2 out of 3 breakfast options. I also have 1/2 cup pulpy fruit juice with soda water every time I work out, which is 4 times per week, so I won't be totally fruitless. That said, when I'm not overeating I don't have much of a sweet tooth and generally find savoury/salty foods (like seasoned veggies) more satisfying than fruits.

F.

I should add that I've done a 40/30/30 approach in the past and found that to be very "doable"... didn't really seem like I was restricting carbs much at all... and now since I maintain at around 2400 calories a day I can eat 100g to 120g of carbs a day... I go by the AAFP guidelines for low carb which is 20% or less of total calories instead of a set number of grams of carbohydrate...

Another echo for giving a slightly higher fat ratio a try. It doesn't generally fit as well for older women as other groups doing low carb (many find lower fat, in the 50% of daily calorie range, much more comfortable, whereas most others doing low carb hit their best satiety and losses with 60-70% of calories coming from fat) but too much protein might be counterproductive for satiety. I do just fine with eggs for breakfast, sardines for lunch, and a rib eye for dinner, but not everyone does :)

Good luck with the experiment! I have yet to find something better for satiety than low carb/moderate protein/high fat. It's just excellent for my health, body composition, AND appetite!

I support going higher with healthy fats.

Starchy carbs greatly contribute to satiety issues for me, so I cut those out completely and increased leafy green veggies to at least five servings a day. And no more than one piece of fruit per day as well. But when I increased protein too high (like over 35 - 40 gm/meal), my body treats the extra proteins just like a carb and that negatively affects my satiety as well.

When I make healthy fats about 60% of my macros, 30% protein and 10% carbs, my satiety is controlled and my blood sugar behaves. It's closer to a ketogenic diet, but it works for me.

I hesitate to go higher-fat because fats are so calorie-dense and I want my volume! I think I need a certain number of bites per day to feel satisfied.

Freelance

I would definitely agree with others who have said that higher protein and fat help with satiety. I have insulin resistance, which is all the more reason to limit carbs, and I've been really satisfied with both how I feel and the movement of the scale when I eat similar to the meal plan that you have laid out. I think your plan looks good - of course, you'll have to tweak for eating out and holidays and that kind of thing but it sounds like you have a good basic blueprint for eating. In terms of how much fat - you'll feel your way into that answer. I personally find that a little avocado goes a long way towards a yummy meal experience, satiety, and overall well-being.

Glad to see you're still getting your glass of wine in. We do need our little pleasures in life, after all. :)

As with threekidsandasheltie, this is where I've found most of my weight loss success.

Satiety was a huge issue for me before. And when I go off plan, it comes roaring back. Meat and small servings of vegetables fill me up and keep me in my calorie range, whereas if my carb level is up - particularly with bread products, I can eat an entire pizza in one sitting and still go grazing.

I'm still on the fence about carbs vs protein but one thing I know for sure is I LOVE FAT! I feel more full and satisfied with higher fat ratios. Which for me means cheese lol.

You may also want to look into South Beach Diet. The GI/GL generally helps me even on a high carb diet. The guidelines are generally good though and at least in the beginning, it is lower carb.

100 grams of protein per day does not seem very high to me. It seems rather low. A 6oz chicken breast has about 60g of protein in it. I wouldn't consider two chicken breasts (120g protein) to be high protein. Am I missing something?

My fitness pal said 6 ounces boneless skinless chicken breast had 36 grms of protein.

Wow, what brand of chicken do you use? I get 40-45g of protein for a 6oz chicken breast (according to the nutrition label on my packages.) I read somewhere that there is approx. 7 grams of protein per oz of chicken. I dunno if that is true, though.

I weigh 125 pounds...

I aim (LOOSELY) for the "1g protein per pound bodyweight for muscle retention/building" rule.

A typical day's food would be

Lunch: Fage Greek yogurt (20g) + 2 hard boiled eggs (14g) + can of tuna (30ish)+ salad with cheese on it and sesame oil or olive oil based dressing
Snack: Protein bar or shake (20-25g)
Dinner: Chicken or salmon or turkey burger (22-40g) + veggies cooked with oil or peanut butter + dessert/munchies

So I guess that puts me at or just under target

I totally get that! Play around with it, you may find you can keep both carbs and protein fairly high. For me,mi get my volume with lots of different little dishes. Yesterday for lunch, for example, I had a bowl of berries with mascarpone, a salad, and a plate of hot wings with dip. None of these items was ridiculously high calorie, and together made a meal, but I also had a very filling spread before me with plenty of protein AND fat, as well as my bulk, because of how I planned the meal.

Most of my meals, I'd say, are lots of things in bowls. I find my calories seem to go so much further when I'm not making soups or casseroles, but several smaller-ingredient dishes. Even with the same amount of food I feel more full :o

Plating/presentation/serving makes a huge difference! I love Japanese food for this reason:

http://www.matsumi.de/AA-Fotos/P9301514.JPG%20Kopie.jpg

Yes indeed. My only high carb splurge of the past year, immediately after having Holly, was sending my husband out for sushi and a bento box. It's about the only food I miss going low carb!

Ain't that the truth. I'd feel like royalty eating the meal in your picture.

F.

So would anyone, that's probably $150+ per person for that meal :P

How are you liking higher protein so far? I would think it might make you feel fuller, although the menu you described seems like a small amount of food (although higher calorie), compared to mine:

Breakfast: egg (or fat-free yougurt) / piece of fruit
Lunch: can of tuna / salad w/ lo-cal dressing
Dinner: Fish / cooked veggie / fruit

This morning I experimented with a new breakfast, in keeping with my lower-carb and no-grain regimen this month. I sliced a banana, dipped the slices in egg and sesame seeds, and fried them. Over-the-top delicious! I think I'll add it to my list of breakfast staples and may also try it with ground almonds.

Freelance

So far so good. I do find I have fewer cravings for carbs, though it's hard to tell if it's physiological or mental (i.e., I've made the decision not to eat grains so don't crave them).

I'm not eating a small amount of food. When I say Greek salad or stirfry or lentil stew, I mean a LARGE portion. I prefer to have larger portions of one item than tiny portions of several items.

My BIG test will come on Saturday. We're having a party for my hubby's 60th birthday, immediately following a community theatre production he's acting in. I'll be ordering sushi and Belgian chocolate for a fountain -- two of my very favourite foods. There will also be nuts and vegetable chips. I've decided to have NONE of the sushi or chocolate. In my experience it's easier for me to abstain than to moderate with these items. Wish me luck!

F.

Freelance, I am very interested in how this works out for you. I don't eat reduced carb either, but I've always wondered if I should for at least part of the week. I do notice that I seem to have a bit more energy when I lay off the carbs for a bit (carbs seem to make me more lethargic). Also, I have a major sweet tooth, and that is definitely diminished when I reduce my carbs.

Update: Yesterday took me by surprise. Having spent a difficult day with demanding clients, I grabbed two fistfuls of honey-coated peanuts (which I'd bought in preparation for our big party tomorrow) shortly before supper, followed by two fistfuls of Triscuit crackers.

I don't think my lapse came from a place of pure weakness or self-indulgence. On some level I feel that my body (or mind) really needed those carbs. Although it's obviously early in the game, there's a little voice telling me that low-carb may not be for me.

For the past few days I've felt like I'm "eating in black-and-white" -- like a colour-blind person watching a sunset. I can easily go without potatoes or rice, but without artisanal bread, whole-grain tortillas, and lovely baked things like carrot-zucchini muffins, the eating universe seems flat and uninspiring to me.

I don't have any lipid, glucose, insulin or blood pressure abnormalities. If I don't NEED to box myself into this flat universe for health reasons, why should I? That's the question I'm grappling with right now.

Also, I didn't notice any great difference in my satiety levels. The truth (for me) seems to be: I have to choose between being slim and feeling fully satisfied with the amount of food I eat. I can't have both.

Freelance

This is completely anecdotal and probably doesn't mean anything (even to my body), but i ate a bagel for breakfast today and it's the first time in a long time that i wasn't hungry by lunchtime.

Honestly, I would die without carbs. I know that sounds horrible, but I would find it to much of a pain to limit myself in such a way when I do not need to. Yes, maybe I'd have more energy or maybe I'd not be as hungry, but I would always feel like I had to watch every little thing I ate.

I can understand that. That's why YMMV is such an important thing on diet boards. Some people lose steadily on a low-fat regimen. Others find that they need to lower carbs instead. (usually it's one or the other, although when you lower food intake (calories), you lower both)

Personally, I've found great freedom in choosing to avoid starches and sugars. But for me, it has to do with insulin and sugar issues. When I eat carbs, I have to check my blood glucose regularly to make sure I'm not eating so much that I'm spiking my sugar. When I eat lower carb, I know I'm not spiking, so I have more freedom from my meter. And freedom from hunger and cravings and that after-meal sleepiness that comes when I eat more than a serving of carbs.

It's an attitude thing. I'm not depriving myself of carbs. WHen I eat carbs... THAT is when I'm deprived of energy and health and weight loss. When I choose not to eat carbs, I free myself to burn fat more easily.

But that's what works for me -- someone with Insulin resistance, PCOS, and pre-Diabetes. I definitely have metabolism issues, so lower-carb/higher-fat works better for me than lower-fat/higher-carb.

I hadn't really thought about it, but I've been doing both calorie counting and watching carbs and realized that I'm never hungry any more. Still have cravings, but that's a mental issue, not a hunger issue.

Lately I just upped my carbs a little bit. I was trying to stay under 75g/day. However, I was tired all the time and just had no energy. I upped it to 100g/day -- which for the true low carb dieter is close to blasphemy -- but I feel a lot better and am still losing weight. Since you're maintaining, it will probably just take a few days or even weeks until you find what your sweet spot is. But, I've definitely found that the higher protein/lower carb approach keeps me from wondering when the next meal will be served before I even leave the table!

Well, I'm back to my high-carb (300 g/day) diet. Low-carb just wasn't doing it for me. While I may never be able to eat enough to feel physically satisfied, psychological satisfaction also counts for something -- well, a lot -- and high carb makes me a lot happier, without making a noticeable difference in satiety or ability to maintain my weight.

Freelance

I'm very much like Synger on this - and of the same mindset, too. Not everyone needs low carb (like my husband, he does just fine with ridiculous amounts of carbs and junk, stuff I couldn't stomach without weight gain AND sensitivity reactions!). It is very much a spectrum of tolerance, and some people tolerate and every thrive on vastly different diets than others.

This is what makes finding an 'ideal human diet' almost impossible - different bodies have different needs. It was worth a shot for your satiety, but go with what is most comfortable for you. I, myself, took several weeks to acclimate to a low carb diet and feel better on it (it was miserable for the first few weeks - exhaustion and cravins like crazy!) but if you're seeing no benefit at all, not even more fullness or mental satisfaction from your food choices, I wouldn't bother with it any longer :)

I did consider the possibility that I might be bailing prematurely, but sometimes you just know, y'know? That little voice inside me was getting pretty insistent, so I listened.

F.

And it's not like you were stalled out or otherwise failing on your previous dietary intake, either! It really could just be that your struggle with maintenance will be satisfaction on less food than you'd like. I love eating, quantity wise, and it has been tough to balance calories with 'full'. Low carb has made that easier, but the struggle hasn't completely gone away.

Bummer, that. But a fairly minor thing to manage, compared to being obese!

I'm not saying you should try again, but - if you're going to try again you may want to go much higher on the fat side and see how that works.

For me personally, protein doesn't do much for saiety but protein + fat does.