And speaking of diets, I have a specific diet question that I hope someone can answer or at least, direct me to a source for answers. You all know how I’ve struggled with my diet since I decided to stop the Keto diet. The Keto diet has you counting macros or, in other words, the grams of the three major categories of nutrition, carbohydrates, protein and fat in grams. The number of grams needed of each is determined by your caloric need divided into 75% fat, 20% protein and 5%carbs. No, I’m not a mathematical genius, I had an app for that. Since going off Keto, I’ve tried to have my carbs at 40%, protein at 35% and fat at 25%.  That sounds easy enough on paper but here is the dilemma and the question. When I get the 90grams of protein required to make certain I’m burning fat and not muscle and to assure I’m helping to feed my muscles as they grow and strengthen through working out, my daily fat grams always exceed that 25%. In fact, they are usually always in the lead with my macro breakdown looking more like C30-35%, P25-30%, F35-40%. Here is what I had for breakfast:

2 fresh, organic, farm raised (my friend, Ginny’s) eggs

A cup to cup and a half of spinach sautéed in just a little extra virgin olive oil

A tablespoon of real bacon bits (only adds 2 grams of fat)

Handful of cherry tomatoes 

Half a large grapefruit 

With all those carbs, you might think this meal was carb heavy or maybe that the two eggs would make it protein strong but here is the actual breakdown:

50% fat/27%protein/23%carbs. 

Tell me how that happens? And it seems every meal works out this way. 

When I was in my early thirties, I lost about thirty pounds that I’d put on following a miscarriage. I did that by limiting both calories and fat and exercising like crazy. It was easy to limit fat in those days because I used a lot of manufactured foods that were low or no fat. Now, I’d like to eat cleaner and try to avoid foods with ingredients I can’t pronounce or that sound like they belong on the pharmacy shelf instead of in the grocery aisle. I know that means more fat in my diet but I think it’s far healthier for me in the long run. I know a lot comes down to preparation techniques but when I do choose to sauté, rather than bake, steam or roast, I try to use either spray or a minimal amount of healthy fat such as olive oil. Because of my desire to eat more cleanly, I realize I can’t expect to keep my fat grams below 20-24 a day like I did in my thirties because there are just too many naturally occurring fats. That brings me right back to my original question, how do I get at least 90 grams of protein a day, have a diet high in healthy-non starchy carbs (striving for 110-120 grams a day) and still keep my fat below 30% and 50 grams? That question is driving me bonkers so if anyone has an answer, please let me know.