From skwigg's journal:
"Based on your lunch it seems like you don't concern yourself with having a certain portion of protein at each meal, am I right?"
Nope, I don't concern myself. Or, I guess I should say that I don't concern myself if I know the meal has enough calories and fat to comfortably last 5-6 hours. I wouldn't have eaten just the Cranberry Walnut & Brie sweet potato, for example. It needed that rich cheesecake to go with it, or a piece of fatty meat, or quite a bit of peanut butter on the side, or something with a whole avocado.
Fat is more important to me than protein, which is probably blasphemy, but I experience zero benefits from overdoing protein and all kinds of benefits from eating a rather freaky amount of fat, so I just go with it. When I eat enough fat, my stomach and brain are content for hours after a meal. I don't think about food and I eat less overall. But give me 40g of protein in a nice salad with maybe 15g of fat, and an hour later I'd be willing to punch somebody in the face for a peanut butter sandwich.
Generally, I do eat some protein with every meal, but I don't stress about the amount, and I don't worry if some meals are light. There are enough steaks, chickens, and meatloafs happening that I'm in no danger of becoming weak and deficient. Looking at the big picture over time has helped me to be way less crazy. Trying to balance each meal or hit certain gram targets kept me cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. Though I do realize that someone else may find that approach helpful.
From skwigg's journal:
Here's a thought. I have lots of friends who still track macros, count, and weigh their food, many of them happily, some not so happily. I realized that the ones who are enjoying it are doing exactly what I'm doing: They're eating just enough to support a fit body. They're generally healthy eaters who include all of their favorite foods regularly. They make it easy, automatic, and low stress by using a flexible template for their meals.
The all-or-nothing part of my brain wanted to come up with reasons why my way was right and they're doing it wrong. (You know, like to justify my way if I'm feeling insecure about it.) Then I realized, d'oh! We're doing the same thing! We're all eating in a way that meets our energy needs, preferences, and goals. I'm just doing it without the math and software.
I don't know if that will make any sense to anybody but me, but it makes me feel closer to my favorite clean eaters and IIFYMers. They don't need saving or educating, and I don't need a baking intervention. We're all eating in a way that works for us and produces great results.