Protein Intake

Nutrition Q&A [Moderated]
1

First off my stats:
34yo male
5’ 11"
~192lb
33.5" waist
15" neck
16-17% estimated bf by navy calculator

I follow a modified keto diet for more than a year because of a medical (mental health) condition and IBS. Most of my dietary intake is animal product based (probably around 75% of caloric intake. The majority of the other calories are olive/avocado oil and limited leafy greens/broccoli/cauliflower/carrots/mushrooms) mostly because of digestive issues when eating too many vegetables/fruit. Let’s just say that the toilet is not my friend, nor am I its friend when eating too many plant-based foods.

Right now, I’m getting ~250-300g of protein per day, so a decent chunk of my calories, but i’m staying in ketosis so I don’t think I am converting too much of it to glucose, but still am nervous of breaking the threshold where my body is using too much protein for energy.

I am eating ~2800-3000 calories per day and mostly maintaining weight if not gaining a pound or so per week. That said, protein makes up 40-45% of my calories per day. (carbs normally ends up being <5%)

Should I try to decrease protein and increase fat? Or since it doesn’t seem to be affecting my medical conditions, should I just stay the course?

Also for further medical information, my January lipid levels (~9 months keto):
Total C: 168
HDL: 54
LDL: 100
Trig: 71

blood pressure: 126/70

Fasting Glucose: 95

I am slowly reducing psych meds that raise my glucose level, and will be getting a physical in a couple weeks to make sure everything’s still on track.

2

Ken,

Thanks for the post and I hope you’re doing well.

I think you could lower your protein level, yes, but this is mainly because I don’t see any advantage to eating that much protein and you may prefer to get your calories in from another source.

I would not expect your protein intake to affect your medical conditions either way, so really it’s personal preference.

Finally, I would recommend keeping your doctors in the loop about all medication changes you plan on making and working together as a team so everyone is on the same page.

-Jordan

3

Yes, I am working with my psychiatrist to lower my meds. So far we have worked together to half the dose of the one. I am seeing her every 3 months until we find the minimal effective dose with this way of eating. I will be informing my general practitioner of the current medication changes when I get the physical.

And yes, I am doing well especially considering the illness. I have been symptom free since I started keto. Which is saying a lot because I was having symptoms and gradually increasing medication every 6 months for several years prior to changing my diet.

I think I will try to find a cost effective way to have a lower protein intake while raising fat (maybe incorporate more eggs while reducing some of the meat?). But, if there’s no real concern, then I might not change too much at all.

4

That’s great! Happy to hear it.