Help me "balance" my TF diet!

[Sihaya]

Background:
Due to some eating issues I have (I don't exactly get hungry and unless I am really trying, tend to eat 800-1200 calories/day), I pay very close attention to my intake of calories, carbs, protein and fat. This is even more true while TTC, pg, and breastfeeding. I am currently using SparkPeople to track everything.

In reading a few threads here, especially the High Fat Thread from this fall, I've decided that a 60% (or more) fat, 20% protein, 20% (or less) carbs diet is probably the way to go. Due to my own personal preferences, I feel it's important for me to get 100-150g of protein/day. DH helped me figure out the other ratios and that leaves me needing about 133-200g fat and 100-150g carbs.

After aiming for those levels for one day, I am feeling extremely discouraged. I ate no bread or grains yesterday and still ended up eating 20% protein (98g), 45% fat (103g), and 35% protein (178g). I am having a heck of a time getting fat and protein from foods without also eating a significant amount of carbs.

My sources of carbs are healthy, TF-friendly foods: avocados, raw milk, brewer's yeast, and a banana/berries in a smoothie. I also drink 2 cups of orange juice a day to help me get down a couple of powdered supplements. I know that's not encouraged, but it's the only way I can get them down. I hate orange juice, but feel like the supplements are important enough to make it worth it.

Those of you who have kept track and are getting roughly 60% (or more) fat, 20% protein, and 20% (or less) carbs:

• How are you doing it?
• What do you eat from day to day?
• Can you share any strategies for avoiding carbs while keeping your fat intake high?

Those of you aren't necessarily eating those exact ratios, but are still eating low-carb and high-fat diets:

• Can you recommend some high-fat foods that are low in carbs?
• Are there any other tips and tricks you use?

[Sihaya]

If this isn't helpful, please ignore, but in case it helps anyone, this is everything I ate yesterday along with basic nutritional info.

Breakfast:
New Chapter Perfect Prenatal Vitamin, 1 serving: 0 cal, 0 carbs, 0 fat, 0 protein
Lewis Labs Brewer's Yeast, 4 tbsp: 232 cal, 26g carbs, 0g fat, 32g protein
Orange Juice, 1 cup: 110 cal, 25g carbs, 1g fat, 2g protein

Snack:
Beef liver, 0.5 oz: 27 cal, 1g carbs, 1g fat, 4g protein
Milk - Raw Cow, 1 cup: 146 cal, 13g carbs, 8g fat, 8g protein

Lunch:
Omega Nutrition Pumpkin Seed Protein Powder, 30 gram(s): 110 cal, 2g carbs, 2g fat, 20g protein
Orange Juice, 1 cup: 110 cal, 25g carbs, 1g fat, 2g protein

Snack:
Avocados, California (Haas), 1 fruit without skin and seeds: 289 cal, 15g carbs, 27g fat, 3g protein

Dinner: (Coconut Smoothie from EFLF and CLO taken separately)
Egg Yolk, 2 large: 107 cal, 1g carbs, 9g fat, 5g protein
Vanilla Extract, 1 tsp: 12 cal, 1g carbs, 0g fat, 0g protein
Banana, fresh, 1 medium (7" to 7-7/8" long): 109 cal, 28g carbs, 1g fat, 1g protein
Coconut Milk, 0.5 cup: 223 cal, 3g carbs, 24g fat, 2g protein
Quantum Cod Liver Oil, 1 tsp: 0 cal, 0g carbs, 0g fat, 0g protein

Bedtime: (Custard and a glass of milk)
Egg, fresh, 1.33 large: 99 cal, 1g carbs, 7g fat, 8g protein
Honey, 1.33 tbsp: 85 cal, 23g carbs, 0g fat, 0g protein
Coconut Milk, 0.33 cup: 147 cal, 2g carbs, 16g fat, 2g protein
Milk - Raw Cow, 1 cup: 146 cal, 13g carbs, 8g fat, 8g protein

Ideally, I would have liked to eat another meal or two worth of food, but it just didn't happen yesterday.

I'm also worried about how I'm going to get enough fiber to stay regular and how I can eat any fresh fruits or veggies if I continue to aim for so few carbs.

[Brigio]

1

[Sihaya]

I've accepted that I'm not going to enjoy eating. Eating has always been a chore for me. But, eating without enjoying it is far better than not eating enough. Not eating enough meant I couldn't exclusively breastfeed my son and had to supplement with donor milk for months. I believe not eating enough (or not eating the right balance) caused my miscarriage in November. If I followed your advice, I would get 800-1200 (mostly empty) calories a day. While TTC. Do you really recommend that?

I'm asking for specific advice and you don't seem to have anything helpful to add. "Just Relax" is as helpful to me as to women who are told that when they've been TTC for months on end without getting pg.

[crunchy_mama]

Well, I would say eat lower carb fruit ie berries if you are eating fruit and cut out the juice and reduce the honey or keep it to a more rare thing. ARe you avoiding meat for a reason as I don't see anything but a tiny bit of liver. The easiest thing to do is to eat more meat- all cuts not just lean ones and eat more veggies and w/ those veggies eat fat- ie a good helping of homemade dressing w/ your salad or veggies sauteed or roasted in various good oils.

I don't count exact macros these days but here is what I ate yesterday:

lunch- Huge spinach salad w/ ham (low carb) about 4 oz and then bell pepper(1/4), avocado(1/3), olives, onion and sunflower seeds w/ a nice helping of homemade vinagriette
supper- roasted chicken leg quarter w/ skin- kale and leeks sauteed in bacon grease and roasted eggplant
today-
b-fast 4 eggs and 4 bacon
snack- coco oil, cocoa and stevia and pecans
lunch- leftover chicken, kale and eggplant
supper- lamb, sauteed asparagus and ??

[Sihaya]

Thanks, crunchy_mama. Thanks a ton for sharing what you ate, too. I see now that part of my problem is that I am scared of kale, spinach, and other cruciferous veggies due to past thyroid issues.

Originally Posted by crunchy_mama

Well, I would say eat lower carb fruit ie berries if you are eating fruit and cut out the juice and reduce the honey or keep it to a more rare thing.

The honey was a new thing and the recipe definitely called for at least twice as much as I should have used. I cut sugar (including honey, maple syrup, molasses, etc) after Christmas and just started reintroducing natural, TF sugars this week.

Originally Posted by crunchy_mama

ARe you avoiding meat for a reason as I don't see anything but a tiny bit of liver. The easiest thing to do is to eat more meat- all cuts not just lean ones and eat more veggies and w/ those veggies eat fat- ie a good helping of homemade dressing w/ your salad or veggies sauteed or roasted in various good oils.

The liver is raw and frozen and I take half an ounce daily in lieu of eating it cooked once/week. I don't eat meat every single day, but I usually either have some with dinner or bacon for breakfast. Yesterday was the exception to that due to being out of bacon and not making a real dinner.

I also want to clarify in general that I don't keep track of my diet this closely 100% of the time. I'm in the research and transition phase of going from high-protein to high-fat. It's intense right now, but after a couple of weeks of tweaking, I will have a general idea of the kinds of things I need to eat from day to day and will only have to enter my eating into Spark People once every week or two just to make sure I'm still on track.

[deditus]

I eat about 3/4 lb meat a day and usually have 2 veg sides with each meal (topped with or cooked in a generous amount of fat - I aim for 1 T/serving). Fruit/coconut/nuts for snack. I am not super low carb but I need a good serving of meat at each meal and lots of fat. We do eat some carby veg, but not a ton and no grains. I try to stick w/less starchy beans, too, for the bit of those we eat.

Breakfast: bacon, almond flour pancake, leftover brussels sprouts fried in bacon grease

Snack: I ate something but I don't remember what? Probably leftover veggies

Lunch: leftover bratwurst, cut-up raw veggies (cuke, carrots, turnip, bell pepper, celery, cauliflower, broccoli), hummus

Snack: avocado/banana/coconut milk chocolate smoothie

Dinner: meatballs in homemade tomato sauce, salad w/green leaf lettuce, purple cabbage, cherry tomatoes, roasted beets, walnuts, cuke, broccoli sprouts, avocado, and homemade acv/evoo/celtic sea salt dressing

Snack: nuts and apple

Have you considered supping zinc? Zinc deficiency can cause loss of appetite. Do you have white spots on your nails, acne or hair loss?
We are dairy intolerant here, but if you want the benefits of raw dairy w/o the carbs switch to using more cream and butter.

[TonyaW]

Originally Posted by deditus

I eat about 3/4 lb meat a day and usually have 2 veg sides with each meal (topped with or cooked in a generous amount of fat - I aim for 1 T/serving). Fruit/coconut/nuts for snack. I am not super low carb but I need a good serving of meat at each meal and lots of fat. We do eat some carby veg, but not a ton and no grains. I try to stick w/less starchy beans, too, for the bit of those we eat.

Breakfast: bacon, almond flour pancake, leftover brussels sprouts fried in bacon grease

Snack: I ate something but I don't remember what? Probably leftover veggies

Lunch: leftover bratwurst, cut-up raw veggies (cuke, carrots, turnip, bell pepper, celery, cauliflower, broccoli), hummus

Snack: avocado/banana/coconut milk chocolate smoothie

Dinner: meatballs in homemade tomato sauce, salad w/green leaf lettuce, purple cabbage, cherry tomatoes, roasted beets, walnuts, cuke, broccoli sprouts, avocado, and homemade acv/evoo/celtic sea salt dressing

Snack: nuts and apple

Have you considered supping zinc? Zinc deficiency can cause loss of appetite. Do you have white spots on your nails, acne or hair loss?
We are dairy intolerant here, but if you want the benefits of raw dairy w/o the carbs switch to using more cream and butter.

Would you mind sharing your smoothie recipe?

[weliveintheforest]

Even if you need the orange juice for your supplements, can you cut it down? could you do a smoothie instead, with raw egg and milk or cream?
Do you like boiled eggs? having a bunch ready to go in the fridge might be helpful so it's an easy thing to grab. You could just eat the yolk if you wanted, or even deviled eggs with good mayo.
I love liverwurst and pates, which can be high fat and low carb. Also raw cheeses.

I don't know if that helps but I'm here for ya

[crunchy_mama]

check out the grainfree tribe for meal ideas, your right once you get a hang of it things will be a lot easier. I have at different times tracked my macros and such on different diet site to get an idea of how I am doing- nothing wrong w/ that I don't think it also helps to see how you are doing in various nutrients. Trying to be as healthy as possible is not bad just be easy on yourself, you are making a big transition.

[Sihaya]

Thank you, deditus! It's very clear I'm not eating as much veggies as others are, and I know I couldn't afford to eat a lot of them until our garden produces more, which could be five years away. I also can't afford to eat meat at every meal. Maybe once we're putting 50 chickens/year in the freezer, along with rabbits, sheep, and a cow every now and then, but again, that is still a few years off.

Originally Posted by deditus

Have you considered supping zinc? Zinc deficiency can cause loss of appetite. Do you have white spots on your nails, acne or hair loss?

Really? I've never heard that. I don't have white spots but did have pitting during my last pg that stopped once I upped my protein. I do have acne, and I'm not sure about the hair loss. What level of supplementation would I need? Right now I'm getting 100-150% RDA of zinc daily, 50% from my prenatal & 40% from Brewer's Yeast, and then whatever I get from food.

Sheila, thank you! I absolutely have to have 1 cup of OJ to wash down the Brewer's Yeast. I have tried it in milk, smoothies, yogurt, different fruit juices, everything. This is the only way I can get it down and I really think it's important for me to take. I can definitely cut out the other cup of OJ if I can cut out the protein powder, which based on today's intake, I probably could manage.

I do love hard-boiled eggs, deviled eggs, and egg salad. When our chickens are laying, I can easily go through a dozen eggs/day by myself between yolks for smoothies, scrambled eggs/omlettes, and hard boiled eggs of some kind. Unfortunately, they are laying about 1 egg/day right now and I can't justify buying 7 dozen eggs/week

Raw cheeses are too cost-prohibitive, but I'll look into pates again. I'm a bit intimidated by the thought of making them myself, but I should probably give it a try.

cruncy_mama - That's a fantastic suggestion! I will go give that thread a look. I just don't think of myself as grain-free since we don't have allergy issues, but it looks like grain-free recipes would be a great place to start.

[AJP]

If that day's food you listed above is anything like a typical day, none of that seems like a meal to me. I got hungry just reading it. Juice with supps or a small smoothie for all 3 meals? The snacks seem quite small to me, also, especially considering the non-meals. If you just don't enjoy eating, I can see how it would be hard to take in enough quality calories, but simply adding a bit of actual food at breakfast, lunch and dinner might help. For instance, add an egg or two scrambled in butter or coconut oil at breakfast, or egg, tuna or salmon salad (mashed with homemade mayo and olives) with some greens at lunch. Getting fat levels up to what you mention as your target without upping carbs would be tough without upping the eggs and fatty meats. Meatballs made from fatty ground meat and seasoned to your preferences can be versatile and easy to eat. How about adding cream to your smoothies? Creamy soups made with bone broth can be an easy way to get in good calories, too.

Persistent lack of appetite seems to me like indication of a constitutional imbalance that should be addressed. In that situation, I would try to consult with a practitioner of one of the healing arts that recognizes individual variations and emphasizes restoring personal balance, like Traditional Chinese Medicine or Ayurveda, or at least get some books and try to help myself.

I don't know what your specific reasons are for wanting to be low carb, but personally I wouldn't focus on that if lack of calories was an issue, and would eat liberally of any whole, properly-prepared foods available. Percentages be damned.

[Sihaya]

Thanks, AJP!

Part of the problem is that we're currently out of eggs, bacon, and chicken stock. That changes things considerably. Cream costs way too much to buy on a regular basis. We already spend $12/week on milk (half raw, half organic) and we could easily go through twice that. We couldn't possibly buy cream on top of that.

If my insurance covered TCM or Ayurveda and my husband didn't think it was a scam, I'd do it in a second. But, unfortunately, it's just not an option for me

I came to the decision to be low-carb kind of backwards, first increasing my protein intake, then deciding to increase my fat intake. Something's gotta give and it end up being carbs. I started eating TF over three years ago and lack of calories has always been an issue. I don't anticipate it stopping being an issue any time soon, so I would really like to strive to get enough calories and eat roughly the percentages I'm aiming for. Also, if I'm buying/eating those percentages, my DH and DS are more likely to eat them, too.

[rhiandmoi]

I eat a lot of nuts. In fact, I pack about 1.5 cups of nuts in my lunch and I just snack on that from about 10:30 until 2. Most nuts are going to naturally fall into those percentages, and they have a lot of calories. Right now I am eating cashews and almonds.

ETA: Are you subtracting fiber from the carbs?

[AJP]

Originally Posted by Sihaya

If my insurance covered TCM or Ayurveda and my husband didn't think it was a scam, I'd do it in a second. But, unfortunately, it's just not an option for me

I think I've seen quite a bit of helpful Ayurvedic info online, you might be able to get some good ideas that way to determine your own constitutional needs to achieve more balance with simple dietary adjustments. Do you have access to a decent library? There's a book called Eat, Taste, Heal that's a pretty good intro and overview of Ayurveda and how to apply it to yourself. Maybe it's available through inter-library loan or something. I'm sure there are others, and about TCM also (although that strikes me as less friendly to apply without the help of a practitioner).

[ktmeyer]

Honestly, if money is a large part of the problem, I would think it would be better for now to buy less raw/organic foods, and buy more food period. Your menu doesn't have much actual food in it at all. We can't afford raw milk most of the time, so we buy whole milk that is organic, but if I couldn't afford enough of that I'd buy non organic whole milk before I'd cut calories. Same with veggies and such, organic is best, but non organic is better than none.

[Sihaya]

Originally Posted by rhiandmoi

I eat a lot of nuts. In fact, I pack about 1.5 cups of nuts in my lunch and I just snack on that from about 10:30 until 2. Most nuts are going to naturally fall into those percentages, and they have a lot of calories. Right now I am eating cashews and almonds.

Nuts are another thing that are hard to squeeze into the budget. I no longer keep them around to eat plain as DH will eat them all up in no time at all and leave none for me. I now only eat them in other things. However, I will probably make an excepti0n once I'm pg again because they are such a good thing to snack on during the first tri. I'll just have to hide them from DH

Originally Posted by rhiandmoi

ETA: Are you subtracting fiber from the carbs?

Nope. I haven't read any low-carbs books or websites and am not getting this info from anywhere except my own head and this thread at this point. I have heard of doing this, but don't know why or how.

Originally Posted by AJP

I think I've seen quite a bit of helpful Ayurvedic info online, you might be able to get some good ideas that way to determine your own constitutional needs to achieve more balance with simple dietary adjustments. Do you have access to a decent library? There's a book called Eat, Taste, Heal that's a pretty good intro and overview of Ayurveda and how to apply it to yourself. Maybe it's available through inter-library loan or something. I'm sure there are others, and about TCM also (although that strikes me as less friendly to apply without the help of a practitioner).

That's a good idea. I requested that particular book from my library and should get it next week. Thanks for the recommendation!

[chattyprincess]

Sihaya, I have some days like the one you posted...especially now that I am pregnant where I don't eat much food but more or less "graze" all day. I would second the thought of a zinc definciny great site explaining zinc http://www.nutritional-supplements-h...-symptoms.html .
Are you located in the states or elsewhere? The reason I ask is for cost reasons. Like for nuts I cannot/will not buy them organic same reason I don't buy organic bananas, I cannot validate the cost on something I don't eat the skin/shell of. I buy raw unsalted/unroasted nuts by the bulk at our wegmans grocery store. I pay less then $7/lb for cashews, walnuts, almonds, hazlenuts etc. it might sound like a lot of $ but a lb of nuts is a in truth a TON, especially if mix with pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. I would wish my dh would eat them all, nuts are just SO good for you!

Right now Dh and I are in a "war" over organic eggs so we are buying plain ol' eggs. And while I love farm fresh raised eggs when ttc and be pregnant the extra protein/nutrients is worth it just to eat something. kwim? For us the same goes for organic/free range meats I would love to eat an amazing diet of lovingly raised animal meat but its not going to happen because its really expensive. So for the time being we eat normal meat.

I think its a fantastic thing you are aiming to do by eating so well and raising your own food but the reality of it is that if you cannot afford what you want to eat you have to either find a way to afford it or do it differently. There are a ton of women on here who have amazing advice on streching the dollar on organic meat in intresting/new ways (really its so inspirational!!!).
I know dairy is expensive but could you fit in cottage cheese? Do you think you could contact your local raw dairy and see if they sell their about to expire milk for really cheap? If so you cold try to make your own cheeses etc...maybe barter some kind of service in exchange for your milK?
for your juice intake could you cut your juice half water half juice? I actually prefer my juice diluted I find it overwhelming otherwise.
I have to say I am intrigued...why do you eat brewers yeast? I have heard of it/seen it places but never thought anything of it....what is it? whats it taste like???

[chattyprincess]

I wanted to add could you add coconut oil to your smoothies??? if you melt it first and slowly drizzle it in while the blender is going it won't go all "chunky". (lol found that out the gross way) do you guys like beans or lentils? there are some GREAT recipes out thier using these things.

[FairyRae]

Originally Posted by ktmeyer

Honestly, if money is a large part of the problem, I would think it would be better for now to buy less raw/organic foods, and buy more food period.

I agree w/ this--not sure if you're focussing on grassfed etc. at the moment, but I might look into the foodstamp challenge thread for some ideas on how to save $ on food...

My typical day is:

2 eggs fried in ghee, w/ a green smoothie (1+ cup of greens, .5 cup frozen berries, .5 banana, coconut milk, Concentrace mineral drops)

Lunch: leftovers (typically meat and veggies of some kind--maybe 3-4 oz of meat?) and the other half of my green smoothie

Snack: nuts, fruit w/ nut butter

Dinner: meat (4+ oz I think--porkchops, chicken legs, ground beef, etc.) w/ greens or veggies (1 cup or so) w/ lots of ghee and probably a starchy veggie (potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, etc.) often w/ coconut milk or ghee. Sometimes fruit for dessert--sometimes baked goods made of nut/seed flours or coconut flour...

HTH!!!