How Much Protein Should I Eat? (It's confusing, right?) 🥩 🍳 🥚 🧀
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You may have heard the ketogenic eating protocol described as many things: "high fat," "loads of protein," "overly restrictive," "unbalanced," or the ever-popular and rather unscientific: "wackadoo." While some of these terms may be more subjective than others, none of them are correct. And while we humans glom onto labels for all sorts of things, labels can be misleading. Just look at descriptions for homes for sale, or those on dating apps, or just about anything on social media. Representations of happy, smiling, shiny people on Instagram can be featured on Dateline next month with Keith Morrison uttering, "Oh, my," after hearing a detective describe what one of those happy people did to the others.
Anywho, referring to keto as a diet as one of vast quantities of protein or oceans of fat consumed is misinformed. The protocol, as I learned it, mentions nothing about grams of protein or how much fat to eat. The only instruction is to limit carbohydrate intake to 20/g/day or fewer. That's it regarding numbers. (The other parts require listening to the body, learning actual hunger cues instead of habit cues, and dealing with pressure from others. That's where the "wackadoo" tag factors in. Some think laying off bread, chips, and desserts is beyond crazy. That's a topic for another post.) But how does all this tell us how much protein is enough or too much? That's the point: it doesn't.
BEYOND KETO (with Casey)
PHoTO CREDIT @JAMES______rios
Even recommended protein intakes vary greatly. A respected source on the topic is Dr. Stephen Phinney. When asked how much protein one should eat, he said he wouldn't offer a suggested amount unless the person asking were his twin or clone—or something to effect. Here's a quick clip of Dr. Phinney breaking things down more technically, and here's another. If you catch it, you'll hear that the accepted range of protein intake varies a lot. One's gender, age, height, body composition, and exercise level all impact that range. So, what's a person to do?
I’ve written about an adventure My Lovely Mate and I have embarked upon. We just spent many days in our little house on our little coffee farm in Colombia. I’m still getting my metaphorical sea legs regarding the differences between what I’ve known all my life and what life is like in my husband’s native land. The farm is about a fifteen-minute drive along mostly unpaved, winding, and rutted roads into the pueblo of Apia. To say that the streets and lanes are hilly in the town does an injustice to the word ‘hills.’ Whoa. One walks up steep ‘calles’ to get where you need to go, whether for a cup of coffee, going to the carniceria for chorizo and carne de cerdo, or to church service.
Somehow, it seems the return trip is also uphill. The place is a geographic oddity!
The photo above shows the starting—or stopping— point of a set of wide steps that lead from one block to the next. You’ll note that there appears to be a total drop-off beyond the benches. That’s because it’s a TOTAL DROP OFF beyond the benches. Steep steps, going straight down.
Before keto, I resisted even considering getting out of my comfort zone and into this grand adventure, having feet in two worlds. Some days, I barely got up from a seated position. And I certainly would not have been able to get up the danged hills in Apia. Granted, I’m not jogging from one incline to the next. But I can manage to navigate to where I’m going without feeling a myocardial infarction coming my way.
Before keto? Nope. After keto? Apia, here I come.
Thankfully, our bodies come equipped with a unique system that guides us in determining the right amount of protein for our individual needs. Personally, I've noticed that I don't feel my best when I consume excessive protein. This underscores the crucial role of individual body response in the context of the ketogenic diet. Think of eating a couple of hard-cooked eggs and a glass of water. Now, think about how a third egg would feel. "Cook Hand Luke" and John Candy's character in "The Great Outdoors" notwithstanding, we shouldn't force-feed ourselves 50 boiled eggs or a 96-ounce steak. It's not going to end well if we do. I always start eating the fatty source of protein on my plate and may or may not get around to vegetables. And over time, my fuel requirements, in general, have diminished (hello, aging!), and therefore, I eat less protein. But just by a bit. I don't measure.
What I do do is to eat slowly, putting utensils down between bites. It may sound hokey or like old-fashioned etiquette, but taking more time allows leptin, the satiety hormone, to send the signal to the brain, "That's enough food, friend. Get on with the rest of your day." Take this step as a pro-tip. Taking more time to eat helps me feel satisfied for longer, so I eat less for the next few hours after that meal.
Try being intuitive about how much protein works for you. Many of us feel we've lost our instincts about food. They've been sapped from us after generations of being told when and how much to eat or what to avoid at all costs. Newborns know when they need to eat, and they let us know in no uncertain terms. But we've gotten things all mixed up between what we need, what we want, and what a lifetime of habitual eating has done to us, followed by dozens of attempts to return to eating only when hungry. Perhaps start by serving yourself a smaller portion of pork chop or eggs, hamburger patty, or cheese, and then eat that serving slowly. Pay attention and give your system about fifteen or twenty minutes before deciding whether a second helping is warranted.
After several meals, you may find your protein 'sweet spot,' you should pardon the expression. You may still not know how many grams or ounces exactly you're eating, but you may be able to stop fretting about it. That would be one more thing to check off your stress list.
And that's a victory in itself. 💪 🎉
Disclaimer: I’m not a medical doctor, researcher, or Ph.D., but instead, I’ve been fortunate to have had the time and resources to research the ketogenic diet, also known as LCHF (low carb/high fat). The information I share is based solely on my understanding of that research. We are all responsible for our own choices, including what we put in our mouths, and there’s no substitute for each of us checking things out ourselves. And I’m not a medical professional in any way. Go Keto With Casey is not a medical site. “Duh,” you might say. But best to make it clear to all. I welcome questions, comments, and even civil criticism. I’m still learning. So, if you have something to add, go for it. Links in this post and all others may direct you to affiliate links, where I will receive a small amount of the purchase price of any items you buy through those links. Thanks!
