Calories, Carbs, Fat and Protein: HOW MUCH?!
 

Obviously I'm an extremely new member-just joined today! But I thought I'd dive right in and start asking questions so that I could be as prepared as possible.

Recently, I saw someone posting about their diet in a manner that I've never come across. Although I don't eat a lot of calories regardless, I'm interested in the idea of "40/40/20" or any variations.

First of all, which comes first, second and third? (lol) Carbs, Protein then Fat?

Secondly, what's the best combination for someone not necessarily looking to loose a ton of weight, but simply start being healthier. Although 15lbs wouldn't really hurt, I really want to start running distances as well as eating better and living a healthier lifestyle.

Any help?

Welcome!

This is my first post, but I've doing the nutrition thing for a while (FitDay for a little over a week).

When presented as XX/XX/XX, it does go carbs, protein, fat. I am sticking to the 40/40/20.

The ratio will depend on your activity level, and I think overall calories will be what you are looking at. If you are extremely active, 50/30/20 might be a good place to start. Your body will need the extra carbs to draw energy from, especially for a long, sustained run.

My advice would be to find the number of calories that you want to consume each day and work backwards from there. Meaning, have a number in mind, divide that into each category using the 4/4/9 ratio and see how many grams of protein you're looking at. From there, see how you can meet your protein goal first, because honestly, fats and carbs are easy to come by...protein is a little tricker. With most protein sources, you get a little fat and a little carb. So you may be surprised out how quickly those two categories can outpace protein if you're not careful....

Example:

You want to consume 1500 calories on a 50/30/20 plan.

1500 * 0.3 = 450

450/4 = 112.5g of protein

Do the same thing for fat and carbs and you'll have a good base to start from. Hope that helped and wasn't a meaningless ramble...

Carbs/Protein/Fat ratios
 

I think the easiest ratio to follow and the most common is 50/30/20. It's easier to see this on a plate. Here are the basics:

1 - Carbs should make up 2/3 of what's on your plate - veggies or salad w/brown rice (1/2 C) or sweet potato - and the rest protein.
2 - Fat can come from your salad dressing and 1/2 avocado in salad, oil for stir frying veggies or a little (tsp) butter w/yogurt (2%) on sweet potato.
3 - Use a dinner plate for lunch and a salad plate for dinner with same ratio as discussed in #1.
4 - Another trick - split your biggest meal into two and eat each half 2 hrs apart to keep insulin stable which will help burn more fat and keep metabolism going.

Keep in mind that good fats will help you burn fat - I have 1/2 avocado every day in a sandwich (your liver cleanses itself w/good fats) and also satisfy you for longer. Butter is a natural food w/vitamins - as long as you keep the serving small, it will not hinder fat loss. Also keep in mind that no-fat products like yogurt have more additives so it's best to choose one like 2% b/c it hasn't been overly processed.

Thanks to both of you. Definitely helping a lot. I want to be sure I'm not eating foods that will hinder what I'm doing physically. I generally eat 4-5 small meals per day, so this should actually be pretty easy.

How do we feel about eggs in the morning? On a general basis, I'm either eating two fried eggs in the morning (in a half tsp of butter) and a piece of whole-grain toast or oatmeal in the morning to keep me going until lunch time. Although, I've heard a negative response from eating eggs. Anyone have input?

Your breakfast is very hearty and I wouldn't skip on the eggs. If you want to save on fat though, make it scrambled with one whole egg and one white. Eggs are very good for you and do not cause high cholesterol - it's the white carbs and processed sugars that cause high cholesterol.

These helped me.
 

I used the calculators on this website to help give me an idea on what I should be aiming for.

Free Diet Plans and Weight Loss Programs

They help to estimate how many calories you should be taking in, and also provide a idea on what would make up your macronurtrients for your diet.

I personally use a 40C/30P/30F breakdown and have gotten fantastic results with it.

Ok, according to this 40/30/30 ratio, I eat WAY too many carbs. But when I try to eat more protein, my fat percentage skyrockets. What do you guys eat to get all this protein, without getting so much fat?

Soy protein is good! Whey protein has a little bad fat but is still the leanest meat protein you will find. If you want a slower digesting protein you could try casein. That's whey based(whey is derived from milk fyi). I have no experience with casein, but because it absorbs slowly bodybuilders drink some before bed so their bodies can use it overnight for tissue repair.

I'm a soy fan though, it actually has good fats, good cholesterol, and it's a complete protein.

If your not a powder fan, most jerky is high in protein, low in fat but high in sodium. Canned tuna is an easy one, most fatty fish is actually heart healthy. I think fish in general is good lean protein, so long as you don't soak it in butter or deep fry it. I recommend broiling with lemon pepper seasoning. I'm no cook, but I do fish, and sometimes I have to cook it myself :)

Running distance is just a matter of doing it! I'm a fat guy, when I started running I could barely make it out of my yard, but I ran as far as I could every other day, then walked the rest of a mile. Within one month I was running the whole mile, then walking another one. Then I started to run as much of the second mile as possible and walk the rest..about the time I hit the two mile mark I realized I could run 5, then went from 5 to 10, all in about 4 months. It's pretty amazing how fast your heart and lungs will adapt. I imagine my 5-10k calorie per day eating habit kept me big through all of that, but it's a testament to running that I can hang out with my skinny friends and do any activities they do and have them get exhausted before me :)

Now I'm dieting too, so lets see what a running+healthy weight combination will do.

I supplement with Whey protein powder. I will usually have a shake made with 1% milk for breakfast, and one in the afternoon (usually after I work out) with some frozen fruit. Also fish, protein bars, lots of eggs, chicken breast meat, etc.

I don't know about the carb, fat, protein ratio, but I do know there is a recommended daily allowance for protein per my text book, The Pathway to Healthful Living.

For a sedentary person, take your weight, divide it by 2.2 to get your weight in kilograms, then multiply that number by 0.8. This will give you the number of grams of proteins you need per day.

If you exercise or are physically active, you should multiply your weight in kilograms by 1.2.

Too little protein can lead to muscle atrophy, and increasd chances of becoming ill.

Too much protein is not good either, though I am not sure about the possible negative consequesences, maybe higher LDL cholesterol levels.

I am confused about this as well...
 

I have seen that formula before and tried to apply it. However, at my weight, that gives me about 17% protein for the day. That means either my carbs or my fat will be higher than what I want (using the 1.2 multiplier). I have seen that regular exercisers can go up to multiplying their weight in kg by 1.8, which would put me at about 28% protein, but I don't really feel comfortable being at the very high or very low end of anything :confused:.

The RDA is the minimum daily recommended amount, not what may be optimal. Like with vitamins, it's the bare minimum needed to stave off disease.

easy rule of thumb
 

For an active person (working out 3-5 days a week) I have found that the best way to determine my protein intake is simply eating 1 gram of protein per lb of lean body mass.

That means you take your body-fat percentage * your weight to determine your lean body mass. I have been on a cut since about November, and doing this has allowed me to drop fat while maintaining muscle tone.

It is an easy rule of thumb that I have seen recommended on a number of body building and weight loss threads.

Okay, so I'm not a math person, but how does multiplying your body fat percentage times your weight give you your lean body mass? Wouldn't that give you the number of pounds that is fat?

If I do that (at 115 pounds and 24% body fat), that gives me 27 grams of protein a day...that seems really low.

I'm sorry if this is a dumb question, but I am really trying to focus on protein these days and I wish it made intuitive sense! ;)

You should be trying to get your protein from as many natural sources as possible, and should also be eating COMPLETE protein with each meal (lean meats(chicken, tuna etc), eggs and dairy) incomplete proteins are things like beans and legumes. I have a protein shake after my workout, but only one a day because liquids don't increase your metabolism (thermic effect) like wholefoods do.

This is what I read anyway and it's working. I aim for about 55/30/15 :o

["Burn The Fat, Feed the Muscle by Tom Venuto"]

my bad...it should be

your weight - (your weight * body fat percentage) = lean mass

Awesome! That is the simplest way yet. Looks like I'm on track...bonus! Thanks for this calculation.

no problem...just make sure that in trying to get that amount of protein in you are still staying within your daily calorie limits...that will be what pushes you towards weight loss. The protein will just insure that your muscles don't get used as energy as you are losing weight.