Protein Question

[jhhayes]

I'm back to this WOE after a little over a year off the wagon, gaining back everything I had worked so hard to lose...

Anyway, I'm a week into induction and I've lost 10 pounds. I've been lurking around the forums and I've seen something twice now that caught my eye. I don't recall seeing this in DANDR and was wondering if someone could verify and point me to a chapter for reference.

I keep seeing something to the effect that we should keep our protein to 30% of total calories. Is this true? According to FitDay I've been running more in the 40% range and I want to make sure I'm not sabatoging myself.

[not2late]

Re: Protein Question

That's from the Duke University study that was done when Dr. Atkins was alive. There's also a mention about the protein percentage in Atkins Diabetes Revolution (the book Dr. Atkins was working on when he died) to the effect that Atkins diet is okay for people with diabetes eventhough protein was in the 30-35% range for total calories.

Excess protein is converted to sugar and whatever isn't used is stored as fat. So be careful about the amount of protein you eat on this diet.

[jhhayes]

Re: Protein Question

Thanks Megs! At least I know I'm not going crazy! I've pretty much been reading that everything here is "by the book" (meaning DANDR) and I didn't think I had read anything about this protein percentage in that book.

I'll start paying more attention to that in FitDay.

[Jackie Blue]

Re: Protein Question

Good to see you back, my fellow Tar Heeler!!!

You've been successful on this WOE before and I KNOW you can do it again!

[2big4mysize]

Re: Protein Question

you can also anyalize the sample menues and see the %s too. Some of us that couldn't figure out exactly how much was too much protein from Dr Atkins warnings or too low fat again from his DANDR warnings called his med practice back when he was alive and got told those numbers too 65% fats and 30% proteins for induction. as we up our carbs our fats come down a bit but the protein stays the same.

[not2late]

Re: Protein Question

you can also anyalize the sample menues and see the %s too. Some of us that couldn't figure out exactly how much was too much protein from Dr Atkins warnings or too low fat again from his DANDR warnings called his med practice back when he was alive and got told those numbers too 65% fats and 30% proteins for induction. as we up our carbs our fats come down a bit but the protein stays the same.

That's what I essentially did. I looked through the menues and looked at the referenced recipes in the back of the book to figure out the portion sizes and get an idea of the kind of menues I should be eating.

Basically, if you add a tablespoon of fat to your meal, you'll be right on target. If you eat leaner meats, like lean chicken or pork cuts or fish, you'll need to add about 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of fat to your meal. Too often people think Atkins is a protein diet and eat 20 ounce steaks for breakfast, lunch and dinner.