Plant based

mbuit123

Anyone know what % should be used for weight loss on a plant based lifestyle?

MikePTY

mbuit123 wrote: »

Anyone know what % should be used for weight loss on a plant based lifestyle?

Not sure what you mean by %? A person on a plant based diet should follow similar calorie and macro recommendations to someone not on a plant based diet.

mbuit123

% meaning Pro: carb: fat split. I know the carbs are going to obviously be higher. I am looking at p35 c50 f15 now.

MikePTY

mbuit123 wrote: »

% meaning Pro: carb: fat split. I know the carbs are going to obviously be higher. I am looking at p35 c50 f15 now.

That seems unnecessarily high on protein and low on fats. You'd probably be better off with 50/25/25

cathipa

Weight loss comes from a calorie deficit and not macro splits.

grimendale

I've been on 50/30/20 as a long-term veg, but 50/25/25 would probably be reasonable (although as others have stated, macro splits aren't really relevant to weight loss).

AnnPT77

Vegan/vegetarian/plant-based nutritional needs are no different than omnivore nutritional needs. All that differs is what food choices we make to meet those needs. (I'm not vegan or 100% plant-based; I've been vegetarian for 45 years.)

Personally, while losing weight, I shot for 0.6-0.8g protein per pound of healthy goal weight, 0.35-0.45g of fats per pound of healthy goal weight (both of those as minimums), and let carbs fall wherever they ended up. Since I only use free MFP, I just set my goal percents to come close to those gram values at base calorie goal, but in paractice ate to get myself the number of grams I wanted. If that resulted in a combination of red & green totals on my MFP diary page, I just pretended it was Christmas.

There are a range of opinions about macro needs; that's just my opinion. But I'd caution about some especially hard-charging vegan advocacy sites that suggest that USDA/WHO protein recommendations are excessively high: I think they're letting their ethical principles (plus wishful thinking) bias their reading of nutritional science. But my opinion about protein is nearly double the USDA/WHO minimums: That's because my reading suggests it's conservative to get more protein grams when losing weight, being active, if aging (I'm 63), and maybe also when eating substantial amounts of protein from plant sources (because of issues related to protein completeness, i.e., balance of the essential amino acids).

Calories are the weight loss determiner, whether eating plant-based or not. There's nothing magical about vegan/vegetarian/plant-based when it comes to weight loss, unless you personally happen to find one of those particular ways of eating extra satiating.

That said, nutrition is important, and that's where macros come in. I haven't found it hard to hit my protein goal as a vegetarian, and think I could do it without great difficulty 100% plant-based. Other people may differ. IMO, where we non-meat/fish-eating people may need to pay a little more attention to get good nutrition is on the micronutrient side of things (B12, calcium, iron, . . . .).

apullum

The default macro settings on MFP are generally fine to start. Some people prefer to eat more protein for various reasons, including feeling more satiated when they eat protein. However, macros aren't directly relevant to weight loss, and eating a plant based diet doesn't change your body's macro needs.

kshama2001

mbuit123 wrote: »

% meaning Pro: carb: fat split. I know the carbs are going to obviously be higher. I am looking at p35 c50 f15 now.

Agreeing with others that that seems high on protein.

I believe several vegans here have mentioned C 60 F 20 P 20. But if you're not 100% plant based 50/25/25 might be doable.

liz0269

I don't eat plant based but I do eat high carb low fat. 15% fat is fine. I have yet to see a study which has determined how much fat the body actually needs. And there are plenty of traditional cultures who eat low fat with excellent health.

gonzoflex1

I'm keeping to the 50/25/25 split.

I'm eating a little less rice than I normally would, and am preparing more lentil dishes (not just tofu), but I find it easy to follow.

Between steps and exercise average around an extra 1,000 calories a day.