Not enough protein!? Too much protein!?

This week I was less than pleased with my results. I still kept my carbs to about 60% of my total calories, which I try so hard to do because of course my trainers think I'm having way too many carbs. Let me say that my carbs are all healthy carbs, not sugar and bread and such. In fact I rarely eat bread or pasta, relying mostly on beans, lentils, whole grains, fruits and veggies. I've been attending group training 4 times a week, and this past week my average daily calories was like 1450. With that number of calories and working out so much, I should be losing big numbers. But this week I lost .2 kg - yes that's only 200g (or .44 lb). So my total loss to date is 5.4kg (11.9 lb). It's been 2 months, I should have lost more than that.

I know my trainers want me eating more protein -- but this time I've decided to consult people who actually promote plant-based diets. I've sent out a couple of email inquiries to vegan dietitians (who think I'm on the right track with my diet) and a vegan body builders (no reply yet) and I even asked Dr McDougall directly for his opinion. I told him what my trainers advise, and asked if he thought athletes or people in training require more protein. In a nutshell, he replied:

You are getting typical but bad advice - and you need to follow a starch based diet better. Diet (not exercise) is the key to weight loss. My guess is you have not been following my recommendations closely enough (too little starch and too much oil).

Read my articles:

• Sept. 2003 newsletter on athletes

• High protein diets are dangerous

• Protein needs are easily met

I appreciate his input and I love that if you write him he will actually write back. I do not use any added oil, but I do put a small amount of tahini in my home made hummus. Well no more. This week I'm going back to McDougall basics -- which means the percentage of carbs will go up in the coming week, but the percentage of fat will come down. I pre-plan my meals a week ahead, so my average daily totals for the coming week are 1365 calories, 73% carb / 15% protein / 12% fat. We'll give it try and see what works for me. Wish me better luck next week. :)

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I wish that were the case!

Thanks, but I'm only averaging 1.2 pounds per week.  I've lost nearly 12 pounds, but it's taken me 10 weeks to do it.  I know I should be happy with that, but at my size and with the number of calories I'm taking in, it should be coming off faster in these early months.  But yes, as long as it's going down, even if it's not as fast as I'd like, I should be happy. :)

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Everyone loses at their own rate. I'm glad you checked with a dietitian and got sound advice. There's nothing worse for someone who is exercising, than a low carb diet. Averaging 1.2 pounds per week is great! I don't know how old you are, but if you are over 35, it's a very respectable amount to be losing. As you have seen, trainers can give you leadership for exercise, but they don't know much about nutrition, though they think they do!