Protein, fat, and fiber

Colt1835

I've been thinking about keeping a closer eye on the protein, fat and fiber in my diet and I guess I'll go ahead and ask about carbs. What is the minimum amount you will consume each of these and why?

Just a little about myself that I figure people will ask about: I run about 2 miles 2-5 times a week and I do very little body weight workouts 1-3 times a week. I'll probably never do much more with running since I have a bit of trouble with my knees and I won't do any serious lifting until I at least hit my goal weight of 200 pounds.

My current weight is 233 and I'm 6'1". I also plan on sticking to a daily calorie goal of 1500 (which has worked pretty well lately)

pinggolfer96

Generally what I go for
1 gram of protein per lb of body weight
.4-.6 grams of fat per lb
Fill rest of calories with carbs

Colt1835

pinggolfer96 wrote: »

Generally what I go for
1 gram of protein per lb of body weight
.4-.6 grams of fat per lb
Fill rest of calories with carbs

I'm guessing the average healthy man is around 150-190ish pounds (could be more with bodybuilders). I've had my protein goal at 113g a day for a few days now and it's hard for me to get all the protein and stay at 1500 calories. Maybe may calorie goal makes it harder to meet it? What types of foods do you usually go for to get that much protein?

BTW I like how you figure up protein and fat and just whatever is left is carbs. That keeps things simpler.

mochachichi

Hey OODone...at 113g of protein it looks like you are around 30% of your daily intake as protein. For protein you want to be between 10-35% of your daily intake, which you are. At 1500 calories a day you could be between 38 and 130 grams

So, here's the scoop. You want your macros to look like this: Carbs-45-65% of your daily intake; Fat-20-35% and protein 10-35%. As you can see that's nice spread that's healthy and and can fit a wide range of eating styles. Oh, and for the record you asked about fibre and carbs. Fibre is a carbohydrate so to make sure you get enough just ensure you are eating lots of fresh fruits and veggies and make at least half your carb intake from whole grains.

And now for the why...No one food provides all the nutrients you need so you need to eat a variety. Your body runs on carbs as fuel so you need the biggest portion of your diet to be carbs. In fact your brain and central nervous system use almost exclusively carbs as an energy source. Your body needs protein to build and repair cells and fat to protect your organs, provide energy and help transport fat soluble vitamins like Vitamins A, D, E and K. Your body is going to use exactly what it needs of each macronutrient and store the rest as fat...including protein. Increasing your protein intake doesn't suddenly unleash some magical, hidden muscle building reservoir.

Just want to mention that there is a general calculation that says .8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight...not per pound of body weight.

Colt1835

mochachichi wrote: »

Hey OODone...at 113g of protein it looks like you are around 30% of your daily intake as protein. For protein you want to be between 10-35% of your daily intake, which you are. At 1500 calories a day you could be between 38 and 130 grams

So, here's the scoop. You want your macros to look like this: Carbs-45-65% of your daily intake; Fat-20-35% and protein 10-35%. As you can see that's nice spread that's healthy and and can fit a wide range of eating styles. Oh, and for the record you asked about fibre and carbs. Fibre is a carbohydrate so to make sure you get enough just ensure you are eating lots of fresh fruits and veggies and make at least half your carb intake from whole grains.

And now for the why...No one food provides all the nutrients you need so you need to eat a variety. Your body runs on carbs as fuel so you need the biggest portion of your diet to be carbs. In fact your brain and central nervous system use almost exclusively carbs as an energy source. Your body needs protein to build and repair cells and fat to protect your organs, provide energy and help transport fat soluble vitamins like Vitamins A, D, E and K. Your body is going to use exactly what it needs of each macronutrient and store the rest as fat...including protein. Increasing your protein intake doesn't suddenly unleash some magical, hidden muscle building reservoir.

Just want to mention that there is a general calculation that says .8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight...not per pound of body weight.

Thanks for all the information. I didn't know fiber is a carb, but I was starting to think that it might have been because I noticed that my carbs went up quite a bit when I increased my fiber. I'll play around with the numbers you gave me and see what kind of nutrition plan I can come up with.

Christine_72

I've got my macros set at 40/30/30, C/P/F and I try and make sure i get over 30g of fibre everyday. I'm 147lbs and on 1750 calories a day.

ivanfawcettgibson

Thought I'd interject, even though I expect a bashing. Your body doesn't 'need' carbs. Yes, it's the body's preferred source of energy but many are lowering their carb intake and raising dietary fat - cream, olive and coconut oil, nut butter, cheese and other whole foods to good effect.
Personally, my ratios are more like 10% carbs, 20% protein and 70% fat. I rarely hit the carb goal and they come from veg grown above ground.
BTW, I lift and play soccer.

mochachichi

There are all kinds of schools of thought on how to eat and move and for the most part it creates healthy debate. As long as it supports metabolic fitness then I support each person's way of life. But please I beg anyone reading this thread to NOT do the 10%-20%-70% ratio. There is just no science to support this kind of thing.

And please...before you get your health information from Youtube or Dr. Google ask a professional in the field that you trust.

By the way Ivan...no bashing from me, people do what they do and think what they think...it doesn't make them bad people or less smart or anything...it just means people have different opinions. All viewpoints are welcome in my world

cronus70

6ft, 182lbs, 47 years of age and my macros are set to 35 carbs/40 protein/ 25 fats and resistance training 6 days a week at the mo. I make sure I'm hitting at least 182g of protein and at least 50g of fats, carbs are really secondary in consideration after those two macros.

Colt1835

cronus70 wrote: »

6ft, 182lbs, 47 years of age and my macros are set to 35 carbs/40 protein/ 25 fats and resistance training 6 days a week at the mo. I make sure I'm hitting at least 182g of protein and at least 50g of fats, carbs are really secondary in consideration after those two macros.

That sounds awesome. Are you at maintenance now?

ivanfawcettgibson

mochachichi wrote: »

By the way Ivan...no bashing from me, people do what they do and think what they think...it doesn't make them bad people or less smart or anything...it just means people have different opinions. All viewpoints are welcome in my world

That's a welcome relief, those of us that have found success on low carbs appear to attract mockery and distain.

cecsav1

OODone wrote: »

pinggolfer96 wrote: »

Generally what I go for
1 gram of protein per lb of body weight
.4-.6 grams of fat per lb
Fill rest of calories with carbs

I'm guessing the average healthy man is around 150-190ish pounds (could be more with bodybuilders). I've had my protein goal at 113g a day for a few days now and it's hard for me to get all the protein and stay at 1500 calories. Maybe may calorie goal makes it harder to meet it? What types of foods do you usually go for to get that much protein?

BTW I like how you figure up protein and fat and just whatever is left is carbs. That keeps things simpler.

With a calorie goal of 1364, I logged about 143 g of protein today. Typically, I eat a lot of chicken, cottage cheese, egg whites, and protein powder. You can make your numbers work, it just takes some time and practice good luck!

cronus70

OODone wrote: »

cronus70 wrote: »

6ft, 182lbs, 47 years of age and my macros are set to 35 carbs/40 protein/ 25 fats and resistance training 6 days a week at the mo. I make sure I'm hitting at least 182g of protein and at least 50g of fats, carbs are really secondary in consideration after those two macros.

That sounds awesome. Are you at maintenance now?

Not yet, I'm still fighting to reduce bf%, especially around my stomach so I'm seeing how I progress at 1900 calories.

Packerjohn

mochachichi wrote: »

Hey OODone...at 113g of protein it looks like you are around 30% of your daily intake as protein. For protein you want to be between 10-35% of your daily intake, which you are. At 1500 calories a day you could be between 38 and 130 grams

So, here's the scoop. You want your macros to look like this: Carbs-45-65% of your daily intake; Fat-20-35% and protein 10-35%. As you can see that's nice spread that's healthy and and can fit a wide range of eating styles. Oh, and for the record you asked about fibre and carbs. Fibre is a carbohydrate so to make sure you get enough just ensure you are eating lots of fresh fruits and veggies and make at least half your carb intake from whole grains.

And now for the why...No one food provides all the nutrients you need so you need to eat a variety. Your body runs on carbs as fuel so you need the biggest portion of your diet to be carbs. In fact your brain and central nervous system use almost exclusively carbs as an energy source. Your body needs protein to build and repair cells and fat to protect your organs, provide energy and help transport fat soluble vitamins like Vitamins A, D, E and K. Your body is going to use exactly what it needs of each macronutrient and store the rest as fat...including protein. Increasing your protein intake doesn't suddenly unleash some magical, hidden muscle building reservoir.

Just want to mention that there is a general calculation that says .8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight...not per pound of body weight.

And that calculation is considered a bare minimum. The 10-35% of calories is recommended by the USDA, Harvard Med, etc.

JeromeBarry1

@mochachichi"Just want to mention that there is a general calculation that says .8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight...not per pound of body weight." The EU updated their recommendations recently to 1g/kg due to recent good science.