Nutrition Ratios

hilton9

Ok, so in an attempt to lose weight I have tracked everything I've had to eat and drink for the last couple weeks. The first week went great. I loosely followed the Happy Herbivore meal plan, I had a ton of fruits and veggies. I lost weight consistently every single day and ended the week down 6 pounds. I looked at my nutrition information and pretty much every day I hade 70% carbs, 15% fat and 15% protein. The second week I haven't done as well with the fruit and veggies and haven't lost any weight. None. I looked at my nutrition information and its more like 50% carbs, 40% fat and 10% protein. I guess my question is: does 70% 15% 15% seem weird? Or unhealthy? It seems to be the magic ratio I need to lose weight... Thoughts?

EvanKeel

I don't think you lost 6lbs of fat in 1 week. Or, put another way, I think the comparison you're drawing conclusions from may be misleading you a bit. I also think a comparison over 2 weeks isn't enough to compare one set of macros to another.

For me, that seems low for both fats and proteins (the two of those three macronutrients a body actually needs).

My non-professional advice would be to up your fats and proteins a bit, keep eating fruits and veggies because micronutrients are important, and stick with something for 4-6 weeks. If you want to compare that will another set of macro %s, then try the new set for another 4-6 weeks.

Oh, and be patient

AJ_G

Ok, so in an attempt to lose weight I have tracked everything I've had to eat and drink for the last couple weeks. The first week went great. I loosely followed the Happy Herbivore meal plan, I had a ton of fruits and veggies. I lost weight consistently every single day and ended the week down 6 pounds. I looked at my nutrition information and pretty much every day I hade 70% carbs, 15% fat and 15% protein. The second week I haven't done as well with the fruit and veggies and haven't lost any weight. None. I looked at my nutrition information and its more like 50% carbs, 40% fat and 10% protein. I guess my question is: does 70% 15% 15% seem weird? Or unhealthy? It seems to be the magic ratio I need to lose weight... Thoughts?

First off, your macronutrient ratios have absolutely nothing to do with WEIGHT loss. All that matters for weight loss is total calorie intake. For FAT loss on the other hand, macronutrient ratios are important because you want adequate protein intake to preserve muscle so most of your weight loss is fat. You asked if 70/15/15 sounded unhealthy, yes, it sounds extremely unhealhty. It's hard to tell just by the ratio, as the real important thing is the mass quantities of macronutrients that you're consuming, and I can't see your diary, but if I had to guess, your protein and fat intake is too low, and your carb intake is too high. The single greatest cause of non communicable diseases like heart disease, high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes is insulin resistance due to a low fat, high carb diet. Take the time to calculate proper macronutrient intakes.

diannethegeek

I don't think you lost 6lbs of fat in 1 week. Or, put another way, I think the comparison you're drawing conclusions from may be misleading you a bit. I also think a comparison over 2 weeks isn't enough to compare one set of macros to another.

For me, that seems low for both fats and proteins (the two of those three macronutrients a body actually needs).

My non-professional advice would be to up your fats and proteins a bit, keep eating fruits and veggies because micronutrients are important, and stick with something for 4-6 weeks. If you want to compare that will another set of macro %s, then try the new set for another 4-6 weeks.

Oh, and be patient

^This. Your first week of weight loss likely saw a decrease in water weight. Since there was no more water to lose in the second week, your weight loss slowed.