What % of Carbs, Fat & Protein?

Mystina50

Hi... What % is the best for healthy eating and sustainable weight loss? I don’t want to be having too many carbs, but don’t want to go Keto... Thanks x

apullum

The MFP defaults are fine for most people to begin with. Macros are not directly relevant for weight loss; they are for health and satiety.

Diwrecktor

I second Apullum. MFP benchmarks do a pretty good job. I would use them at first and then dial it in as your going to see what works best for you.

LyndaBSS

I use the defaults. I don't pay much attention to the macros. I focus on staying in a calorie deficit.

erickirb

damonmccune68 wrote: »

The Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Ranges are:

Protein: 10-35%
CHO: 45-65%
Fat: 20-35%

This is a general guideline for overall health and weight management. The bottom line for weight loss is calorie consumption. Create an appropriate calorie deficit for your age, height, gender, activity and weight loss goal. I would not recommend losing more than 2 lbs/week, otherwise you will lose a lot of lean body mass (muscle). Unfortunately, MyFitness Pal's calorie recommendations are not very appropriate for most people because they arbitrarily subtract 500-1000 calories per day. That came from weak research and is most likely too much of an adjustment.

Use the Mifflin St. Jeor equation to calculate your BMR and apply an activity factor based on how active you are. Eat that amount and track your weight. Take an average weekly weight to monitor changes and adjust food intake accordingly. I would also recommend taking circumference measurements since the scale can be deceiving.

I would say the ranges differe from that:
15-40% Protein
20-70% carbs (lower if on Keto)
15-45% fat (higher if on Keto)

kimny72

damonmccune68 wrote: »

The Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Ranges are:

Protein: 10-35%
CHO: 45-65%
Fat: 20-35%

This is a general guideline for overall health and weight management. The bottom line for weight loss is calorie consumption. Create an appropriate calorie deficit for your age, height, gender, activity and weight loss goal. I would not recommend losing more than 2 lbs/week, otherwise you will lose a lot of lean body mass (muscle). Unfortunately, MyFitness Pal's calorie recommendations are not very appropriate for most people because they arbitrarily subtract 500-1000 calories per day. That came from weak research and is most likely too much of an adjustment.

Use the Mifflin St. Jeor equation to calculate your BMR and apply an activity factor based on how active you are. Eat that amount and track your weight. Take an average weekly weight to monitor changes and adjust food intake accordingly. I would also recommend taking circumference measurements since the scale can be deceiving.

<snip>

MFP doesn't "arbitrarily" subtract 500-1000 cals, it subtracts the calories needed for the weight loss pace the user chooses. I agree that it would be better if MFP gave more guidance on appropriate goals, but it will give a deficit of as low as 250 cals (0.5lbs) assuming the user chooses that rate of loss. Considering many people come here with 50+ lbs to lose, a 500 calorie deficit, or even more, is perfectly acceptable and realistic for them.

I'd also argue that 10% protein is way too low to be considered "acceptable" for someone eating at a deficit.
Typical recommendations are 0.6-1g of protein per lb of goal body weight.

sijomial

Why use percentages at all OP?

I found minimums goals for protein and fat far more flexible - it also works much better when you add a load of exercise calories.

J72FIT

Mystina50 wrote: »

Hi... What % is the best for healthy eating and sustainable weight loss? I don’t want to be having too many carbs, but don’t want to go Keto... Thanks x

Personally, I would start by getting .8grams per pound of goal weight in protein. .35 - .45 grams per pound of goal weight in fat. I would then fill in the rest of your calories (dependent on your goal) with carbs while aiming for 15 grams of fiber per 1000 calories consumed. IMO, it's a good starting point. See what kinds of results you get, figure out your personal preferences and make the needed adjustments.

RealWorldStrengthLLC

I do 1g of protein per lb of estimated lbm, fats at half that in grams, and carbs make up the rest, but I also strength train rather heavy so your protein may not need to be that high.

damonmccune68

erickirb wrote: »

damonmccune68 wrote: »

The Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Ranges are:

Protein: 10-35%
CHO: 45-65%
Fat: 20-35%

This is a general guideline for overall health and weight management. The bottom line for weight loss is calorie consumption. Create an appropriate calorie deficit for your age, height, gender, activity and weight loss goal. I would not recommend losing more than 2 lbs/week, otherwise you will lose a lot of lean body mass (muscle). Unfortunately, MyFitness Pal's calorie recommendations are not very appropriate for most people because they arbitrarily subtract 500-1000 calories per day. That came from weak research and is most likely too much of an adjustment.

Use the Mifflin St. Jeor equation to calculate your BMR and apply an activity factor based on how active you are. Eat that amount and track your weight. Take an average weekly weight to monitor changes and adjust food intake accordingly. I would also recommend taking circumference measurements since the scale can be deceiving.

I would say the ranges differe from that:
15-40% Protein
20-70% carbs (lower if on Keto)
15-45% fat (higher if on Keto)

These are the Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Ranges (AMDR) established by the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institutes of Medicine (IOM).

damonmccune68

kimny72 wrote: »

damonmccune68 wrote: »

The Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Ranges are:

Protein: 10-35%
CHO: 45-65%
Fat: 20-35%

This is a general guideline for overall health and weight management. The bottom line for weight loss is calorie consumption. Create an appropriate calorie deficit for your age, height, gender, activity and weight loss goal. I would not recommend losing more than 2 lbs/week, otherwise you will lose a lot of lean body mass (muscle). Unfortunately, MyFitness Pal's calorie recommendations are not very appropriate for most people because they arbitrarily subtract 500-1000 calories per day. That came from weak research and is most likely too much of an adjustment.

Use the Mifflin St. Jeor equation to calculate your BMR and apply an activity factor based on how active you are. Eat that amount and track your weight. Take an average weekly weight to monitor changes and adjust food intake accordingly. I would also recommend taking circumference measurements since the scale can be deceiving.

<snip>

MFP doesn't "arbitrarily" subtract 500-1000 cals, it subtracts the calories needed for the weight loss pace the user chooses. I agree that it would be better if MFP gave more guidance on appropriate goals, but it will give a deficit of as low as 250 cals (0.5lbs) assuming the user chooses that rate of loss. Considering many people come here with 50+ lbs to lose, a 500 calorie deficit, or even more, is perfectly acceptable and realistic for them.

I'd also argue that 10% protein is way too low to be considered "acceptable" for someone eating at a deficit.
Typical recommendations are 0.6-1g of protein per lb of goal body weight.

The 500-1000 kcals become arbitrary because weight loss is not linear due to metabolic adaptation.

I agree that the 10% of protein is likely too low for some as far as protein. The term "acceptable" is not mine. It comes from the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institutes of Medicine who established the "Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Ranges" (AMDR). That is why as dietitians we prefer to calculate protein based on grams per kilogram of bodyweight, however, the AMDR's can still be appropriate if someone is consuming the appropriate amount of calories. For most active, healthy adults that would range between 1.2 - 2.6 g/kg of bodyweight.

seska422

damonmccune68 wrote: »

The 500-1000 kcals become arbitrary because weight loss is not linear due to metabolic adaptation.

Let's say that someone has metabolic adaptation so that their calorie level for weight maintenance with their current stats is 120 calories lower than expected. That just means that they would subtract from their actual maintenance calorie requirement rather than what online calculators say should be their calorie requirement.

It takes an overall deficit of 3500 calories to lose one pound of fat no matter what your maintenance baseline is.

Track your calorie intake and output for a while so that you get a feel for your personal maintenance. If you want to lose an average of one pound per week, shave off 500 calories per day (3500/7). If you want to lose an average of two pounds per week, shave off 1000 calories per day (7000/7). As you lose weight, occasionally recalculate since smaller bodies burn fewer calories and you need to subtract from actual maintenance.

Fluctuations of things like water weight can mask fat loss. Maintaining a deficit amount over time will result in weight loss over time.

kshama2001

Mystina50 wrote: »

Hi... What % is the best for healthy eating and sustainable weight loss? I don’t want to be having too many carbs, but don’t want to go Keto... Thanks x

As you see, there is no one best way. It's whatever fills you up best for less calories, and is sustainable for you.

I prefer slightly more protein and fat than the MFP defaults, and I take that away from carbs.

damonmccune68

seska422 wrote: »

damonmccune68 wrote: »

The 500-1000 kcals become arbitrary because weight loss is not linear due to metabolic adaptation.

Let's say that someone has metabolic adaptation so that their calorie level for weight maintenance with their current stats is 120 calories lower than expected. That just means that they would subtract from their actual maintenance calorie requirement rather than what online calculators say should be their calorie requirement.

It takes an overall deficit of 3500 calories to lose one pound of fat no matter what your maintenance baseline is.

Track your calorie intake and output for a while so that you get a feel for your personal maintenance. If you want to lose an average of one pound per week, shave off 500 calories per day (3500/7). If you want to lose an average of two pounds per week, shave off 1000 calories per day (7000/7). As you lose weight, occasionally recalculate since smaller bodies burn fewer calories and you need to subtract from actual maintenance.

Fluctuations of things like water weight can mask fat loss. Maintaining a deficit amount over time will result in weight loss over time.

Actually, a pound of fat contains between 3,436-3,752 calories (Wishnofsky, e.t, al. 1958). This is the study that everyone bases the 500-1000 calorie reduction from which is flawed. Simply removing 500-1000 calories from the diet does not mean that the body will only burn fat because of that reduction. There are many energy systems that are perpetually fluctuating.

When you under-consume to this degree the body responds by down-regulating metabolism and completely alters the IGF-I axis creating an environment in the body that promotes muscle wasting (Nindl, et., al. 2001, 2003, and 2010; Baxter, et., al. 1995; Roberts, et., al. 1997; Cheng, et., al. 1996; Estivariz, et., al. 1997; Kraemer, et., al. 2010). This is why, over time, weight loss is not linear and along with metabolic adaptation, one of the reasons weight loss will slow. The person is then in a position where they are now required to consume less calories just to avoid weight gain and they cannot adjust their intake lower because they are already starving themselves. Eventually, their body responds by increasing urges to binge. That is why recidivism is over 90% in the first 3 years following initial weight loss and they gain the weight back and in some cases more (McGuire, et., al. 1999; Phelan, et., al. 2003 and 2007; Thomas, et., al. 2014).