There is no question that meat, in comparison with protein alternatives like tofu, pack quite the caloric punch. However, not all meat is bad for you, in fact some meats contain health benefits that can reduce your chances of getting heart disease and even prolong your life expectancy. The trick is knowing what to eat, how much to eat and when to eat it.
Recommendations
The United States Department of Agriculture recommends that a sedentary person over the age of 18 eat between 1,800 and 2,400 calories per day, depending on your age and sex. Of those calories, 30 percent should be fat and 10 percent should be saturated fat. If you are active, your calorie intake recommendations can jump as high as 3,200 calories; however, the fat percentages remain steady at 30 and 10 percent respectively.
Protein
It's no secret that most meats contain a high amount of protein, and that protein can be essential to muscle growth and maintenance depending on your activity level. The USDA recommends that body builders eat as much as 0.8 g of protein for every pound of body weight, which for a 180-lb. man equates to almost 145 g every day. Thus, for some people it may be difficult, maybe even impossible to cut back too far on meat intake. What you can do however, is change the kinds of meat you eat so that you're taking in less fat while still keeping your protein levels high.
Considerations
The calorie content in meats varies considerably. Ballpark jumbo beef franks run 240 calories, have 33 percent of your daily fat intake and 40 percent of your daily saturated fat intake. Naturally, if you eat several hot dogs in a sitting, and you're grilling them up with some regularity, you may very well lose weight just by eliminating these from your diet, or, moving to turkey dogs. In comparison, Ballpark bun-length smoked white turkey franks contain only 45 calories and are 100 percent fat free.
Misconceptions
The stereotype that red meat is generally bad for you is true, to an extent. Grain-fed beef is extremely high in fat, especially the saturated kind, which, though it may make a juicier burger, also greatly reduces your chances of losing any unwanted flab. Grass-fed beef on the other hand is significantly lower in fat, as much as 65 percent lower, and 40 percent lower in saturated fat. What's more, grass-fed beef contains omega-3 fatty acids, high amounts of vitamin D and E, and beta carotene.
Verdict
Whether or not cutting meat from your diet will make a difference in your weight, greatly depends on whether or not you're following the current USDA guidelines. Cutting meat entirely from your diet may not be the easiest and most effective solution. If you're eating bratwurst, grain-fed beef burgers and pork chops every week, you are most likely going well above and beyond what your body needs in terms of calories and fat. Replacing those with turkey dogs, grass-fed beef burgers and salmon rich in omega-3 fatty acids, you will almost certainly witness a positive change in your waist size.
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