Help not eating enough calories but at my fat/protein limits!

[jax006]

Does the protein in rice count towards our LE limits? ( My 250g of rice today had 6.7g protein.)

Today is my first day on the LE diet. I'm already at my fat and protein limits for the day and I'm only at 923 calories.
After both my meals my macros are: 120g carbs, 26g fat, 55g protein.

Meal #1 Lunch: frozen chicken burrito: 390cals, 47g carbs, 12g fat, 22g of protein.

Meal #2 Dinner: 250g of rice, 3oz chicken breast, 2 TBSP of spicy dynamite sauce (basically a spicy mayo which has 3g carbs, 12g fat, 0 protein. My dinner totals 533 calories!

What am I doing wrong here?

[Flowergirl]

Hi Jax, I count everything incl. protein in rice. At first glance what I’d say you’re doing wrong is eating chicken. True LE is vegetarian, your protein will be much lower if you don’t eat meat.

[jax006]

That isn't practical for me to do. I know I can consume meat (I'm only eating chicken) and succeed on the LE. I guess I'll figure it out.

[Flowergirl]

Fair enough! You need to do what works for you :) I’m just super mindful of chicken being low in cals but high in protein because one of my best friends competes in body building bikini competitions and lives off it!

[jax006]

What are you eating in a day? What do you calories and macros look like?

[MsDashwood]

It gets easier to do as you go on. Just relax into it - I was surprised how much easier it got.

I eat lots of chicken within the limits but I usually do one meal a day. So chicken with dinner OR chicken at lunch - not both meals.

For lunch I make a Vege and haloumi bake and freeze, or like a vege bake, or whole grain toast with lots of yummy toppings and popcorn. I have all my afternoon snacks together with lunch - I get so full! So lunch with popcorn, no sugar yoghurt and maybe a few crackers and hummus.


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[Flowergirl]

I’m quite relaxed about my sway this time round so don’t track every day but I’m eating between 1500-1800 cals, 40g fat & 60g protein a day.

A typical day for me is:

7am coffee with almond milk & aspartame sweetener

11am whole grain bagel with butter & low sugar strawberry jam, 1 pear and 1 full fat Greek yoghurt

2pm a vegetarian salad/roast veg with sprinkle of feta or vegetable or lentil soup with 1 piece of toast & butter

Afternoon: Diet Coke

7pm: low carb vegetables (eggplant, zucchini, cauliflower, mushrooms) cooked in tinned crushed tomatoes with a cup of brown rice and topped with Parmesan cheese followed by a pear and full fat Greek yoghurt and a dollop of whipped cream!

[Flowergirl]

And I agree, you’re only day one it will get so much easier even after a week :) remember it’s like turning a dial so if you’re even tweaking your diet to be more girl friendly in baby steps it’s helping, it will get much easier

[jax006]

How many calories are you consuming? I get so full eating 1000 calories in two meals since I normally dont eat refined carbs.

[Flowergirl]

How many calories are you consuming? I get so full eating 1000 calories in two meals since I normally dont eat refined carbs.

I’m eating between 1500-1800 cals a day, I tracked the first few days to make sure I was on track and haven’t tracked since because I’m sticking to pretty much the same thing most days. You’re lucky you get full on 1000 cals, I was starving when I first dropped to 1500-1800!

[Flowergirl]

I should add I’m consuming pretty much the same as I did with my last successful girl sway except I’m going the whole grain bagel and brown rice instead of a white bread bagel and white rice. Atomic recommended the PCOS LE diet this time round for me.

[jax006]

I was thinking of doing the same since I told her i suspected i might have pcos and she recommended it to me. But I've succeeded 2 years ago losing weight after my first son eating a lot of carbs so w'll see how I do the first week or 2 on the white rice etc and if I need to I'll switch to whole grains.

So it looks like you are totally staying away from meat, right? I think I could do it short term with a chicken cheat here and there if needed. I see you are getting your protein from yogurts and cheeses? I've heard about a lot of successful girl swayers eating yogurt but I'm wary of all the "good stuff" in it swaying boy. Ugh....why does girl sway diet have to be so difficult? :nails:

[Flowergirl]

I found it to be a huge adjustment my first sway. This time round is so much easier for me, I think I never went back to a full boy diet after my daughter so I’m not struggling as much this time.

I’ve been pescatarian for 20 years so eating vegetarian isn’t a big stretch for me. I probably eat some prawns once a fortnight but that’s about it. Yes definitely getting most of my protein from dairy which is what I did last time and it worked for me so I’m happy to go that way again.

I have dropped all my vitamins, supplements, protein products etc. so I’m not too worried about the “good stuff” in yoghurt.

You’ll get the hang of it. Even if it takes you the first month to adjust to less chicken etc. it will get much easier, the beginning is always challenging because you’re changing lifelong eating patterns.

[Flowergirl]

Also I was thinking, protein keeps you fuller for longer so you’ll find it easier to eat the 1500 or so calories if you have less chicken because you’ll get hungrier. I could be wrong but I know friends that have tried to go vegetarian saying they couldn’t sustain it because they were hungry all the time. Food for thought.. no pun intended haha!

[atomic sagebrush]

Yes, the protein in rice counts.

You need to eat more fat and then add in things like fruit and higher carb veg that will help you get some cals without adding protein.

this is the trouble with focusing on meat. You will go over on protein and have not consumed many cals at all. meat is fairly low in cals and high in protein so it's easy to hit the protein limit and have eaten only a few hundred calories.

so let's also up protein to at least 70 g for now and then you'll be able to fit in the limits.

[atomic sagebrush]

Hi Jax, I count everything incl. protein in rice. At first glance what I’d say you’re doing wrong is eating chicken. True LE is vegetarian, your protein will be much lower if you don’t eat meat.

That's not exactly true. All foods are allowed on LE Diet. It's just that when you eat meat you'll quickly go over on protein and then have not eaten that many calories. So for some people who really need a more protein-rich diet we will up protein to 50-60 g or even more . Others can get by with less.

[atomic sagebrush]

How many calories are you consuming? I get so full eating 1000 calories in two meals since I normally dont eat refined carbs.

Go to three meals and you should not be eating refined carbs. whole grains, fruit, and veg only for you since you have trouble with weight gain on a higher carb diet.

[atomic sagebrush]

I’m quite relaxed about my sway this time round so don’t track every day but I’m eating between 1500-1800 cals, 40g fat & 60g protein a day.

A typical day for me is:

7am coffee with almond milk & aspartame sweetener

11am whole grain bagel with butter & low sugar strawberry jam, 1 pear and 1 full fat Greek yoghurt

2pm a vegetarian salad/roast veg with sprinkle of feta or vegetable or lentil soup with 1 piece of toast & butter

Afternoon: Diet Coke

7pm: low carb vegetables (eggplant, zucchini, cauliflower, mushrooms) cooked in tinned crushed tomatoes with a cup of brown rice and topped with Parmesan cheese followed by a pear and full fat Greek yoghurt and a dollop of whipped cream!

remember flower if you're on the alternate diet you'll want 50-60 g fat

[atomic sagebrush]

I was thinking of doing the same since I told her i suspected i might have pcos and she recommended it to me. But I've succeeded 2 years ago losing weight after my first son eating a lot of carbs so w'll see how I do the first week or 2 on the white rice etc and if I need to I'll switch to whole grains.

So it looks like you are totally staying away from meat, right? I think I could do it short term with a chicken cheat here and there if needed. I see you are getting your protein from yogurts and cheeses? I've heard about a lot of successful girl swayers eating yogurt but I'm wary of all the "good stuff" in it swaying boy. Ugh....why does girl sway diet have to be so difficult? :nails:

You need the whole grains. Regardless of whether or not you have lost weight in the past without them, given what you've told me about your trouble shifting weight on higher carb intake you need the whole grains.

jax, PLEASE just up protein totals and eat more meat. The rules have to be different for you than for other people. but do be sure you're getting in the 50-60 g fat and having whole grains as well.

[jax006]

You need the whole grains. Regardless of whether or not you have lost weight in the past without them, given what you've told me about your trouble shifting weight on higher carb intake you need the whole grains.

jax, PLEASE just up protein totals and eat more meat. The rules have to be different for you than for other people. but do be sure you're getting in the 50-60 g fat and having whole grains as well.

Thanks Atomic I'll go ahead and make the necessary adjustments. Can I confirm a few things with you....
What are your thoughts on yogurt? Greek yogurt? I feel that would be a good way for me to get in fat and protein especially if I'm wanting to slowly eliminate meat. I'm just worried about all the "good stuff" in greek yogurt?

Thoughts on whole milk? I love milk but I'm wondering again if it's too nutrient dense for LE diet?

And I believe I've seen your post regarding sodium that it dosen't sway, correct? As long as we stick to under 2300mg I should be okay? I love savory foods and if I'm going to be eating a lot of rice dishes I would like to jazz it up with some sauces. Thoughts?

[jax006]

Also I forgot to mention regarding the LE diet my understand the longer you are on it (12 weeks ideal) the better it is. But I thought maybe it would be better if you were on it shorter when conceiving to shock your body to tip your odds into favoring girl? If you are on the le diet 12+ weeks you arent shocking your body much. Idk I'm just confused on which is best ....

[atomic sagebrush]

No, it is not better, and we have the results to demonstrate this very clearly. Even when very strict people got poor results with under 6 weeks of diet, and success rates rose with time on diet (higher at 6, then 8, then 10, hten 12 weeks after which point they stayed high).

the "shock your body" idea has not panned out.

[atomic sagebrush]

You MUST use whole milk (and whole milk yogurt) because skim dairy is the devil for blood sugar and that's why it's forbidden for those who have a history of blood sugar issues (do better on the keto-type diet for instance) It is not too much "good stuff" because it is in limits. It is only the types of highly fortified foods like cereal and vitamins that are the problem.

Please, please just follow the instructions I have given to you. I promise I am basing these instructions on many years of observations. If I say do the PCOS diet, do the PCOS diet. If I say use full fat dairy, use full fat dairy. Do the diet 12 weeks. I am not saying this because I don't want to answer your questions, ask me as many as you have. It is because all this second guessing everything simply serves to aggravate control freakishness and that is something that really does affect your chances.