BAWDY
Thanks SO MUCH that does help for now and I will read the book for sure!

WENDY- I really appreciate your input. Thanks for taking the time to look at my stats. Before I had children 4 years ago I weighed 130. I am built super sporty and athletic (i.e. flat chest, super narrow hips). I always wore a size 0/2 and am just determined to be back where I was or at least close. (I am not shooting for the size zero now, though, forget that after kids ) Right now I fit into some 2s and all 4s. I really should just put my previous size 2 as my goal because you are SO right about the fact that some people weigh more but are the same size as before. At this weight before LC and pilates, I wore a size 4/6. I attribute the difference to this WOE AND to doing pilates, which has built so much lean muscle throughout my body.

Thanks agin and good luck to you in reaching your goal!

Hey BW...if you're still posting, I'd like to know my numbers...I'm 5'4 and I weigh 188...
Thanks!

Does PP allow highfat cheese or do they recommend lowfat or nonfat cottage cheese and mozzarella? Thanks, Terry

Sorry I didn't answer sooner. It's been pretty hectic at work and I'm working longer hours.

Sybs, at 5'4" and 188 pounds, your MINIMUM protein requirement is 34 grams of protein PER MEAL. That means 102 grams per day. 34 grams of protein is equal to about 5 ounces of meat (beef, poultry, fish, etc.). You can easily have more than this.

Flower51, high-fat cheese is fine. PP is described by the authors as an adequate protein, moderate fat, low carb plan.

The beauty of PP is that there are not many restrictions regarding what you can eat and what you can't eat. They advocate whole, unprocessed foods. But if you want a small portion of pasta with your dinner, it's fine as long as you count the carbs. Alcohol is fine, too, as long as you count the carbs (hard liquor has no carbs, dry red or white wine has a few -- counts differ in different sources).

If I don't answer a post within a day, please send me a PM. I don't always look at all the posts. I subscribe to the most active ones, so it's easy for me to miss some.

"minimum" amount of protien....the Eades go on to say dont worry bout eating too much protein..worry more about not eating enuff....so really in essence as long as u know how much u need to eat to sustain your muscle mass...then u really dont need to think or worry bout it.....I think that the info presented in "protien power" does kinda get ppl confused...they think that its about calcuations and what have u...when truly these are just informative bits of info to help u succeed....I for one am greatful for the info the book presents...it has helped me to determine alot of things much more specifically in my weight loss goals......

Bawdy, I am 5'3". How much protein do I need? I come up with 26 grams. Thanks.

Black, the numbers were somewhat revised in the PP Lifeplan book, but yours are close. The new book says 27 grams per meal for your height and weight.

I'm 5'6" 140 lbs, how many grams of protein? Is milk limited?

A minimum of 27 grams per meal, keeping in mind that meat/fish contain an average of 7 grams protein per ounce.

No milk. Some people are fans of the Hood Carb Countdown milk.

For anyone reading this, and easy way to calculate your protein requirements per meal is to take your body weight and divide it by 6. That will give you the minimum amount per meal.

If you use kilos divide your weight by 2.7.

If you weigh more than 250 pounds, use 250 as the weight in your calculation.

Karen

Hi Bawdy, I have to clarify this.

Hard, "normal" (not low-fat) cheese - like cheddar, Jack, asiago, etc. - are fine as a supporting source of protein. Curd cheese - cottage cheese, ricotta, Farmer's - is fine too.

The Eades' say that, soft cheeses like Brie, and Camembert; and hard cheeses are too high in fat to be counted as a sole source of protein.

For anyone who has the PP book, the Protein Equivalency charts begin after page 153.

Karen

Right again, Karen! I gave a quick answer; you provided the full correct answer. Thanks for clarifying!

I giggle a little when I read everyone's concerns about the math. I am a former science and math teacher and I always told my students there really were real life examples of applying math and this is one of them!

Please do not be put off by the math, this program really works and it’s not hard to do. I found that though I love Atkins research and supplement information, I lost more weight on a pure PP program and I live well on it. It’s really easy and it’s not nearly as restrictive as South Beach. (I am not giving up butter for anyone!)

First don’t get all frustrated by a gram or two protein. Just take your weight and round it to the nearest factor of five, then divide that number by five. Use your calculator, no one is watching. It really is true, the more you weigh the more protein you have to eat to lose, this is something the other diets fall to emphasize and I believe the number one reason people gain back the weight so fast, not just because they start including too many carbs back into their diet but because they do not maintained adequate protein levels.

For example when I started I weighed 200 lbs. I ate 40 grams of protein a meal and 10 carbs of veggies. I lost so much weight at first people thought I was ill, because I was snacking on protein things all the time and not gaining weight. Truth is I felt WONDERFUL! I was eating healthy with both protein AND healthy veggie carbs.

I think now in terms of protein portions and vegetable portions, and though I am not crazy about it, I do try to eat mostly really good fats like olive oil and nut oils but I have found no problem eating butter (maybe it's just my genes?).

When I shop I have a protein group in my cart, veggie group, and a fat group. At the end I buy a few fruits and low carb products (very few because so many are just junk!). I can formulate my menu even as I shop, it is EASY.

I do not think so much about ‘reducing carbs’ because I have eliminated grains and sugars from my diet for the most part. I think about adequate protein levels, that is my main focus and it is what keeps me where I want to be. When I start to move away from that formula I gain, it’s that simple. Also when I am eating all the protein I am not craving carbs, saying no is not as difficult because I simply do not want them.

I think if more people used the Eades approach to the low carb WOE that there would be less criticism of low carbing, but Bawdy is right, it scares off people because of the math.

Everyone is different. I have the deepest respect for Dr, Atkins (may he rest in peace) and have learned a great deal about supplements from his books, but I believe the Eades have the best eating approach for me.

The Eades calculation of protein requirements in their frist book (PP) was unnecessarily complicated - and their new formula/table in PPLP is much simpler (like yours, it does not rely on calculating LBM).

I am intrigued by this though;

Butter is very much on the 'healthy' list on Protein Power, in fact over reliance on unsaturated oils (such as olive) would not be encouraged over healthier more saturated choices such as butter, lard or coconut oil.

Cheers,

Malcolm

This is a great board, Thank you for all the great advic e Wendy. I love cheese and wonder if I could get most of my protrin from cheese. What else is good for breakfast if eggs are not so good with the (acid)? i thought they wee the perfect food.

My stats are wrong. How can I change them? They should be 130/125/112