Kristina K. Carlton:
> I wanted to try to eat less protein but have a hard time with it. I 
> also have food intolerances and there are certain veggies I can't eat. 
> I avoid fruit - used to eat avocadoes but am intolerant to them now. 
> So basically my meals consist of animal protein, naturally occurring 
> fats plus cod liver oil, olive oil, and grapeseed oil, lots of 
> lettuce, non-starchy veggies like kale, collards, celery, spinach, and
> occasionally some Brussels sprouts. I love cauliflower but it 
> makes me swell up like a balloon within 5 minutes of eating 
> it. Not sure what my ratios are right now but when I tracked 
> it last it hovered around 35 % protein, 3 - 5 % carbs, and 
> the rest in fat.
> 
> I rarely eat nuts and I drink green tea or decaf when I get up. And as 
> is evident by the decaf I am not 100% paleo - I chew gum on occasion, 
> I had soy creamer in my decaf this morning, etc.
> 
> I wish this diet would make me lose weight...it used to. My body just 
> feels totally out of whack.

OK, so let's go over the data and see if this helps you figure anything out.
So you're eating about 35% protein, 3-5% carbs and 60-62% fat. Do you know
what that translates into in terms of % of calories?

Here's some of the data I'm aware of: 

The average protein intake in the U.S. is about 15% of the normal daily
caloric intake. The typical hunter-gatherer protein intake would have fallen
between 19 and 35% of total energy, according to Cordain. Those Inuit Eskimo
who ate a 98% meat and organ diet had to get at least 70% of their energy
from fat to avoid rabbit starvation. Given that omega 3's are hard to come
by these days, even with cod liver oil supplements (you would have to take
so much cod liver oil supplements to match the Inuit omega 3's that it would
result in toxic levels of vitamin A), your diet is probably much lower in
omega 3's and higher in saturated fats than the Inuit diets were, unless
you're eating lots of fatty fish or sea mammals. ;-)

Also, the Inuit were able to get some vital nutrients through meats and
organs that are more easily available in fruits and vegetables by following
some practices that were passed down for many generations. They knew to eat
things like raw muktuk (whale skin and blubber) and raw caribou liver,
adrenal gland and thymus gland, which are high in vitamin C. I wonder if you
are getting sufficient nutrients like vitamin C without consuming much
fruits or vegetables and not eating the foods that were available to the
Inuit.

I said in a previous post that fats are very satiating, but I forgot that
protein is supposed to be more satiating than fat. It makes sense, given
that it's much easier to eat a lot of premium ice cream than it is to eat a
lot of lean steak or chicken. I was reminded of this when I got very full
tonight eating a large chicken breast.

From: The Evolutionary Basis for the Therapeutic Effects of High Protein
Diets
Loren Cordain, PhD
Journal of Nutrition & Athletic Excellence

"The weight loss superiority of higher protein, calorie restricted diets
over either calorie restricted (low fat/ high carbohydrate) diets or calorie
restricted (high fat/low carbohydrate) appears to be caused by the greater
satiety value of protein compared to either fat or carbohydrate (97,
100-103)."