macros help
butterfountain
Posts: 14 Member
I am a 51 yr.old female, 4'11, active, but don't work out. 162.5 lbs. I have settled comfortably into a 15%carb, 60% fat, 25% protein, in 1270 calorie day. Pretty doable for me. Is this low enough carb to support the fat intake? Is there a better ratio I should look at? I'm happy here, but I feel like my protein and fats might be too high. I'm not sure I want to go full keto . I Thought I'd just lower my carbs (a change from my fast food/bagel habit), but it seems everything I'm eating is fat or protein, lol, and I'm headed that way. Thanks for advice!
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Unless you're eating very low carb for a medical reason, you can up your carbs if that would be more appealing, be more comfortable in your choices and more inclined to adhere to calories.
If your purpose is weight loss, that will be accomplished via a calorie deficit. Macro allocation is generally for satiety, cravings, fitness goals, medical issues, personal preference.
I lost my excess 60+ pounds eating an average of 128 carbs per day. Today I eat fewer carbs because fat provides better hunger suppression and I have only so many calories to work with.
Are you getting enough variety? Nuts, seeds, avocados, eggs, cheese, cottage cheese are a few good sources (for me) for protein and fat. Meat is tasty but it doesn't interest me 3 meals a day.0 -
I need to lose weight... at least 30lbs. I do not like to snack, I prefer large meals. Portion control does not work for me... hence low carb. That said, I have been doing more snacking, all the stuff you mention. It's not the way I like to eat, but it's ok. Eggs for breakfast, tuna, chicken cold cuts=salad etc. for lunch, hamburger/steak/fish, chix veggies for dinner, and with but not limited to protein shakes, low glyc.kind bar, parm chips, for snacks etc. I prefer to count carbs more than calories... but the app makes it easy to do both. Think I am at a comfortable level, but was just wanting validation. Thanks for your response!0
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butterfountain wrote: »I am a 51 yr.old female, 4'11, active, but don't work out. 162.5 lbs. I have settled comfortably into a 15%carb, 60% fat, 25% protein, in 1270 calorie day. Pretty doable for me. Is this low enough carb to support the fat intake? Is there a better ratio I should look at? I'm happy here, but I feel like my protein and fats might be too high. I'm not sure I want to go full keto . I Thought I'd just lower my carbs (a change from my fast food/bagel habit), but it seems everything I'm eating is fat or protein, lol, and I'm headed that way. Thanks for advice!
You probably are mostly keto right now.
15% of 1270 kcal is 190 kcal or 47.6 g of carbs. Keto is usually thought to be under 50g. If you have insulin resistance you may need to go lower carb to stay in ketosis all the time (under 30g), but the average person will probably be in ketosis at 50g.
You could go lower if you wish. Technically, you could go to zero carbs (all animal products) and stay healthy - there is no minimum carb level. As mentioned by @kpk54, you could also go higher carb if there is no medical need for low carb. Do whatever works.
Your protein is definitely not too high. 25% of 1270 kcal is 317 kcal, or 79 g of protein. That is an okay amount but you could go even higher, and may want to, if you are active and wanting to preserve as much lean tissue as possible while losing. I would try not to go any lower though.
As for fats, that just fills in the rest. If you are less hungry one day, eat fewer fats and let your body use your fat stores. KWIM?
There is no perfect ratio. Do what works for you. And even that will change over time. My carbs have gone from 5% to 15% to 0% over the last few years. I now know that 0-5% is best for me. Protein also went from 20% to 30% to 25% - it changed a lot with my calorie totals. Others may do better with 30% carbs and 35% protein. Some do best with 0% carbs and 20% protein.
If you end up eating lost of fat and protein because that is working for you, I would go with it. It sounds like your food choices are very healthy whole foods. If you enjoy it, stick with it. 4 -
OMG thank you. That is really helpful. I thought 50g of carbs might be too high, but there are certain things- like lo carb wraps, craisins/apples on salad (I hate salad), stupid stuff like that that take me a bit higher than 30g, but lessen my psychic pain. I've hit 30g more than a few times, though. Just want the wiggle room. Thanks for taking the time to go over it with me.0
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butterfountain wrote: »I need to lose weight... at least 30lbs. I do not like to snack, I prefer large meals. Portion control does not work for me... hence low carb. That said, I have been doing more snacking, all the stuff you mention. It's not the way I like to eat, but it's ok. Eggs for breakfast, tuna, chicken cold cuts=salad etc. for lunch, hamburger/steak/fish, chix veggies for dinner, and with but not limited to protein shakes, low glyc.kind bar, parm chips, for snacks etc. I prefer to count carbs more than calories... but the app makes it easy to do both. Think I am at a comfortable level, but was just wanting validation. Thanks for your response!
I don't snack either. My nuts, seeds, eggs, cheese, avocados, etc are added to my salads (most often) as a meal. Sometimes I'll add a protein like s/b chicken breast or canned tuna.
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butterfountain wrote: »OMG thank you. That is really helpful. I thought 50g of carbs might be too high, but there are certain things- like lo carb wraps, craisins/apples on salad (I hate salad), stupid stuff like that that take me a bit higher than 30g, but lessen my psychic pain. I've hit 30g more than a few times, though. Just want the wiggle room. Thanks for taking the time to go over it with me.
If you don't like salad, don't eat it. Save your carb allotment for something else that you DO enjoy eating.1
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