> I weigh 185 pounds, so 185gr. = .4 lb. or 6.5 oz.
> and at 13% body fat,      165gr. = .36 lb. or 5.8 oz
>
> So if meat is mostly protien then I should eat about .5 lb. of meat a day.
> Hmm, I currently (on atkins induction level, about 10 gr. carbs a day.)
> eat probably 3 pounds of meat a day.

But most meat *isn't* mostly protein.  Lots of meats are more than
50% fat, and meat also contains moisture (unless you really cook
it to death, but then who wants to *eat* it???).  Check a food count
book.  A half pound of meat a day would definitely not give you the
protein you need.  But I think that 3 lbs a day might be a bit more
than you need, too.  ;-)

The question I have is:  at 13% bodyfat, how much *more* do you
want to lose??  Are you a competing body builder?  Otherwise, if
you lose much more, you will be sacrificing lean body mass along
with bodyfat, which IMHO is the wrong way to go about it.

> I may cut back meat considerably.  Where did you arrive at the 1gr x
> body weight formula?

From the folks on the lowcarb-exercise list.  It is a place where
lowcarb weight lifters hang out, and they *know* their science.  If
you don't exercise much, you might want to go for the lower end of
the range.  Another guide to protein needs would be the Eades'
Protein Power book, which provides a way to figure out minimum
protein requirements.  For me, the lower end of the range I gave
earlier was somewhat higher than my Protein Power minimum.  I
try NEVER to go below my PP minimum, which was about 120 g
protein last time I checked the PP book.

> I have noticed that I first lost lots of weight on Atkins, then gained
> back on Paleo, then am now loosing some on Atkins again.  Also I seemed to
> loose rapidly at first and then slow down. Atkin's book says this is
> because much of the initial loss is water weight.

The initial weight loss during Atkins induction *is* mainly water.
Ketosis is a natural diuretic.  But once you lose the easy water
weight, loss slows down.  Another part of the equation is just
individual body chemistry.  Some bodies need to regroup after a
period of weight loss before they will start losing again.  Some
people lost lbs first, then inches, then more lbs, then more
inches....  Progress is seldom linear.

As for regain on paleo, did you go a little wild with the higher-carb
foods, like fruit?  I try to follow a paleo version of Atkins (not
perfect, but seems to work pretty well for me).  I get plenty of
regular exercise, drink about a gallon of water a day, and eat 2100-
2500 cals/day with 60-70% from fat, about 5% from carbs, and 25-
35% from protein.  A 2500-cal day at 25% protein would give me
156 g protein, which is right where I like to be.  1 g x LBM for me is
145, 1 g x BW is 195.  This usually works out to between 1 and 2
lbs of meat, depending on what kinds of meat I'm eating that day.
Of course, if I was eating buffalo, which has almost NO marbling
within the muscle tissue, it wouldn't take anywhere near as much
meat to get in my protein.  But I also like rib steaks, and they are
definitely higher in fat than protein (by weight).

Check a food count book that lists calories, protein, carbs, and fat.
I use Corinne Netzer's Complete Food Counts.  You will see great
variation in protein/fat ratios.  If you calculate the weight of the
nutrients listed and subtract from the original weight of the meat,
you can also get an idea of the moisture content of that cut of
meat.  Food has a lot of water in it, which must be taken into
account when you are deciding how much meat to eat to get your
protein.

Hope this helps explain what I was talking about a little more.

Lisa

> >>> Lisa Sporleder <[log in to unmask]> 03/05/99 12:08AM >>>
> <<I even tried R. Audette's suggestion of all meat and nothing else
> from Thanksgiving through Christmas of last year only to gain 10
> pounds (while in ketosis I might add).>>
>
> If you were eating extremely high levels of lean meat, and not
> much fat, I have one hypothesis.  The gurus on the lowcarb-
> exercise list report that 58% of consumed protein is converted to
> glucose in the body.  If you overdo the protein, you could
> conceivably (and I've done this myself) convert enough to glucose
> naturally that you are actually promoting the release of insulin,
> which could really mess with the weight-loss part of the equation.
> What works for me is keeping protein to 1 gram x bodyweight in
> pounds as an upper limit, 1 gram x lean body mass as a lower
> limit, and making up the rest of my calories from fat.
>
> Lisa Sporleder
> Ester, Alaska