Confusion with carbs and proteins!!!

nat_g83

Hi all, I'm really confused which is best, some advise a high protein diet, some advise meat is a way to gain weight, carbs are bad, carbs are good... ARGHHH help lol. I would like a nice healthy diet that's balanced but I'm a complete novice!!!

cerise_noir

The only way to gain weight is to eat more calories than you need to maintain your current weight, (eat more calories than you burn throughout the day). There are no foods that cause weight gain or weight loss. It is all about energy balance. Just eat your mfp calories to lose weight. For satiety, some prefer higher protein, but for me, personally, I need a balance of protein, fat and carbs as well as consume enough fiber and drink enough water, and I have not cut any foods out of my way of eating...none. I still eat chocolate. I just make sure to eat everything in moderation.

Carbs are not bad. Ever.

kommodevaran

nat_g83 wrote: »

Hi all, I'm really confused which is best, some advise a high protein diet, some advise meat is a way to gain weight, carbs are bad, carbs are good... ARGHHH help lol. I would like a nice healthy diet that's balanced but I'm a complete novice!!!

It's easy to become confused, but the basics are also easy:
Eat and burn the appropriate amount of calories for weight management. Calories come in the form of protein, fat and carbohydrate. You need to consistently eat fewer calories than you burn to lose weight, but not so few that you harm yourself or start to struggle with sticking to eating less.
Sufficient protein and fat usually will helps with satiety, but satiety is a subjective feeling. If you choose to go low carb, you'll also be eating high fat.
"Sufficient" does not necessarily mean "as much as possible".
No diet is "best"; looking for a "a healthy diet" is like chasing your tail - a good diet for you is one that provides you with all you need and not too much of anything, and one you can and will stick to.
No foods are "good" or "bad", it's all about dosage and context.

nat_g83

Well I eat a lot of fruit and that seems to be taking me way over my mfp sugar intake, I definitely know I'm doing it wrong now, I need to start from scratch!!!! I've been reading that I should be weighing my food which I haven't been doing so there's another factor

cwolfman13

nat_g83 wrote: »

Hi all, I'm really confused which is best, some advise a high protein diet, some advise meat is a way to gain weight, carbs are bad, carbs are good... ARGHHH help lol. I would like a nice healthy diet that's balanced but I'm a complete novice!!!

You want both...if you're wanting to put on mass eat around 1 gram per Lb of LBM in protein (more than that is pretty much useless) and load up on carbs...carbs are king when you want to bulk and put on mass.

Gaining weight has nothing to do with anyone particular macro...to gain weight you need to be in an energy surplus.

singingflutelady

nat_g83 wrote: »

Well I eat a lot of fruit and that seems to be taking me way over my mfp sugar intake, I definitely know I'm doing it wrong now, I need to start from scratch!!!! I've been reading that I should be weighing my food which I haven't been doing so there's another factor

If you are eating within your calorie goal it's fine to ear lots of fruit. And yet food scale

kommodevaran

nat_g83 wrote: »

Well I eat a lot of fruit and that seems to be taking me way over my mfp sugar intake, I definitely know I'm doing it wrong now, I need to start from scratch!!!!

You don't have to worry about your sugar intake unless your doctor has told you to, and in that case you should (already) be under supervision by a registered dietician. Amount of fruit should only be a concern if you are eating it instead of other foods you should be eating.

I've been reading that I should be weighing my food which I haven't been doing so there's another factor

If you aren't losing weight, weighing food is a great way to make sure you are eating the right amounts. Also doublecheck entries in the database - there are lots of incorrect (or just not just right) items.

nat_g83

Thank you so much everyone, I'm not under any medical advice or have any issues so I'm safe in that department

NancyYale

You said it. A nice balanced diet. A nice amount of protein and a nice amount of filling carbs, and some healthy fat. Foods you like, in moderation. Tweak it until your calories are in the right place, and you aren't starving. That's it. The balance that works for YOU between carbs protein and fat will work itself out over time.

LAWoman72

I had to find my own sweet spot. I was coming down off multiple low-carb attempts so any significant amount of carbs (say, greater than 30 g/day gross, not net) felt crazy high to me and made me feel I was doing something "wrong."

Then gradually I began to tweak and to find the best way to do it for me. That means (again...for me) about 120-150-ish grams of carbs/day, and about the amount of protein MFP wants me to have...this ranges from 60-ish to 80-ish depending upon the day. This combo just works really, really well for me.

Like I said, for you...you'll need to play around and see what works best.

CattOfTheGarage

The myfitnesspal nutritional goals (carbs, sugar etc) are only guidelines and you set them up to suit your own approach. Personally my approach is to ignore them.

As far as health is concerned: the only guideline most would agree with is "eat plenty of fruit and veg". A few people even with that, though not many. Apart from that, you need some protein in your diet, you need some fat, you need some calcium, and most of all you need variety to let your body pick up all the vitamins, minerals etc that it needs.

Most other diet differences, like balance of things like carbs and fat, are to do with what fills you up, and that's very personal. Carbs do not make you fat, but a lot of people find carbsy foods are not filling, so they reduce them when they're on a diet. But there are lots of approaches and you need to experiment to find what works for you. It's absolutely not something to worry about.

trigden1991

Calories are the most important thing. Macronutrients are by preference.