Set a minimum number for grams of protein, set a calorie limit, let the rest fall into line.
Learning how to balance your macros and food intake is super over whelming when you first get into it. That’s why when I started out, I simplified things for myself. I knew I needed to lower my sugar intake and increase my protein intake, so I focused on that. I thought if I focused on increasing protein while limiting calories my carb intake would naturally lower. More protein would keep me full longer meaning I wouldn’t pass my calorie limit as often. Before I even tried to change my eating habits I tracked my diet for about two weeks, I was eating around 40-50 G protein daily at most and my average daily diet was 70% carbs.
I’m sure you all could find some kind of flaw with my method but it’s working for me. I’m down ~30 pounds, and my weight loss has increased with speed as I increase my protein intake, probably because I don’t go over my calorie limit as often. I figured if I could hit my protein goal while staying within my calorie budget I would be eating pretty healthily. I was eating so little protein before that I could easily eat 3000+ calories a day and still feel hungry all the time.
This method may not work as well for non-vegans as animal products tend to be a bit more protein dense. I’m not really sure how that would affect things. (I monitored my sugar intake as well and tried to decrease it, now I don’t worry about it as much as most of my sugars come from fruit and it’s hard to track separately from refined sugar.)
I started with the goals of 60 G protein and 1700 calories. Now my goal is 90 G protein and 1500 calories. I increased my protein goal once I was consistently hitting it for about a week. I lowered my calories as I lost weight. I’m currently averaging 88 G so I haven’t quite gotten to 90 yet. My final goal is to get to 100 G protein and stay at 1500 cal until I hit my goal weight. After that I’ll be eating around maintenance and lifting weights trying to build some muscle, and getting 100+ G protein daily should be pretty easy now that I’ve changed what I eat!
When I first started out and read that weight lifters eat at least 0.6 g of protein per pound of body weight I was like holy crap that’s impossible! I was ~195 lbs and eating 50 g of protein. That’s around 0.25 g per pound. Now I’m up to 0.5 g/lb, almost there!
So yeah I guess my advice comes down to this, calorie limits are important and increased protein intake is vital to staying within that limit. You’re never going to stay inside your calorie limit eating 70% carbs. As a vegan this was an extra struggle for me but I’ve got it down now.
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