chkflyn

im trying to figure out how many grams of carbs/fat/protein i should eat a day. someone told me i should up my protein to 1 gram/lb of body fat. what about carbs and fat?
i am 156 lbs, want to lose 28 lbs, 5'4", female, 49 yrs old, if any of this helps.
thanks for any advice!
chickie

01gt4.6

it should be 1g of protein per pound of lean body mass, I prefer at least 1g per total pound of body weight.
Everyone is different and exercise routes will require different macros as well. I chose a 20%fat, 35% protein, 45% carb ratio. But I'm a guy I was trying to loose fat and add muscle at the same time with my diet and exercise routine. I did recently change it up to a 50% protein, 25% fat, 25% carb ratio. After 3 days I had enough and went back to my 25/35/45 split. Try to stay 500 cals deficient per day, and find what works best for your body as far as macros.

tandoorichicken

gt, what did you eat to get 50% protein a day? I have trouble pushing 30%!

chkflyn, you'll have to figure out what works best for you depending on how your body tolerates the different macronutrients and your activity level. I get incredible brain fog and lethargy at 50% carbs or more, so my typical split is 40-50%f — 20-30%p — 20-30%c. Most of my carbs come from fiber and complex starches and my fat is mostly monounsaturated and saturated. Literally "every body" is different so you'll have to tweak your own diet to find your "magic" ratio and stick to it.

Good luck!

-Nik

01gt4.6

hopefully this will show up, if not I'll do a screen shot.

01gt4.6

damn I saved it to a .pdf, it was too large, and it wouldn't let me post a screen shot.

I can't figure this out
I had...
1 egg white, 2 whole eggs scrambled w/ .3 tbsp of spary balance
1 piece of wheat toast
1 premier Nutrition Protein Bar
227 grams chicken breast (boneless skinless), grilled on george forman grill
1 slice Sargento Reduced Fat Pepperjack cheese
1 serving of Le Seur Baby Carrots (canned)
1 serving Greek Yogurt (plain non fat)
6" Subway oven roasted chicken breast
.5 slice cheese
1 serving Starkist Lunch to go
120 grams chicken breast (boneless skinless), grilled on george forman grill
23 grams Casein protein (ON Gold Standard)


cals=2068
fat=58.6 (26%)
carb=119.7 (24%)
protein= 214.7 (50%)

tandoorichicken

Wow. I guess that'll do it

-Nik

01gt4.6

yeah, and the 23g of protein powder was only 16.7 grams of protein... so close to 95% of my protein intake for that day was actual food. It can easilly be done you you really have to make a conscience effort to take in that much. So it's easy, but doesn't happen by accident.

DaddywithMuscles

I like Tandoor i have a hard time getting that much protein and actually have a pretty similar breakdown in macros as he does...this is do to my snacks being almonds and pistachios instead of a higher protein snack..That and I don't eat as much meat as that...

yauncin

@chkflyn
I think this really depends on what you are trying to accomplish. Are you trying to maintain lean mass or are you trying to build muscle?

I think there was a study which determined that just to maintain the human body you need about .36g of protein per pound.

If you are just trying to maintain then:

protein = weight in lbs * .4-.6g

If you are trying to build muscle:

protein = weight in lbs * .6-.8g

I think this should be about right for your age/sex.

A lot of bodybuilders try to do 40%p/40%c/20%f diet.

Protein powder is a great source of protein but too much can put a strain on your liver and kidneys.

Disclaimers: You should consult a physician before starting a diet or exercise program. I am not a certified trainer or dietitian.

tandoorichicken

It's really hard to eat enough protein to do this. As it is, the body has very tight control over protein intake (try to eat more than one plain, dry chicken breast). Only people that have pre-existing kidney conditions need to be concerned about protein intake even at low levels. Ordinary folk increase their filtration rates with increased protein intake, but that doesn't necessarily translate into real kidney damage unless you're getting more than 2-3g of protein/lb bodyweight (something that is easily achieved on the SAD diet with a couple grease-tastic burgers a day, but I think we're all better than that). I shoot for a minimum .75g/lb but my goal is 1g/lb.

Also, protein isn't metabolized in the liver at all, so there's no risk there. If you want to protect the liver then watch out for excessive fructose consumption. It's about as bad for your liver as alcohol is. Check out this lecture by Robert Lustig, an endocrinologist from UCSF about the dangers of fructose.