General Percentages, 1500 cal diet

AmGrab

I know it varies, see a doctor, etc. Please dispense with the obvious.

I would really appreciate a general sense of what my macro percentage goals should be to reduce very high cholesterol (600) and triglycerides (1800).

Doctor has put me on a statin and is monitoring lipids.

I am also exercising. 6’1, 222. Aiming for 160lbs. Signs point to this being a hereditary problem more than a lifestyle issue.

Thank you.

maureenkhilde

So when your Dr. did chat with you. Did he/she by chance suggest any type of nutrition plan?
Reason I ask that prior to making any type of suggestion about macro splits is with those type of numbers. I would have guessed that a Dr. office would be suggesting a type of diet, or sending you off to see a dietician.

MFP has default numbers for macros, you of course can change them. Depending on what type of food eating plan you are following.

I say this from the sideline of being a type 2 diabetic, and yes it does run in my family. However my eating habits helped it happen sooner. And I now eat low carb no not keto. And that has helped with the diabetes as well as bringing my triglycerides down to normal numbers, as well as Cholesterol being normal. Both had been high. But nowhere near your numbers. I went to low carb, to get my blood sugars in line and to help me in losing weight. Which it has helped. So in my case I have changed the default numbers, I still use MFP to come to calorie amount daily. But then change the macros to the grams I am to eat, which will drive the percentages.

amusedmonkey

I know it's the obvious, but you do need to see your doctor for recommendations. What you will get here is general info that may or may not work well for your condition. With that said, an equal split for macros could be a good start. Lower carb can help with triglycerides but some foods that help with total cholesterol are carb-heavy (like beans, oatmeal, high fiber diet, fat coming primarily from plants like nuts...etc, garlic-heavy Mediterranean diet in general), so an equal split may help with that balance until you see your doctor (and don't ignore that just because it's obvious).

apullum

When you say “signs point to this being a hereditary problem,” does that mean your doctor has diagnosed you with familial hyperlipidemia or a related condition? Many people assume their high lipids are genetic just because a relative has it too, but that is not necessarily accurate.

Most people do not have familial hypercholesterolemia. For this majority of people, regular exercise and getting to a healthy weight if overweight have far more impact on blood lipids than diet does. Diet has little to no effect on blood cholesterol for people without familial hypercholesterolemia. For triglycerides, reducing alcohol intake if one drinks is also helpful.

For triglycerides, are you diabetic or have you been tested for diabetes? I would get checked out, because very high triglycerides can accompany uncontrolled diabetes.

TeaBea

You might look into something called the DASH Diet. This is for cholesterol and blood pressure management.

https://www.webmd.com/cholesterol-management/ss/slideshow-dash-diet

Apullum brings up many good points though. Often diet alone isn't the most effective. A proper diagnosis will point you in the right direction.

AmGrab

Guys, as I said, I’ve seen my doctor. I’ve been given a generic form emphasizing lean protein, low carb/sugar to address the triglycerides. Statin on board to address cholesterol. All I am asking for is a general non-medical opinion on macro percentages for the app. I go to a doctor for doctoring. This is a community of peers, yes? Hence the preface of my original post.

cmriverside

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets/p1

https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/ask-the-dietitian-whats-the-best-carb-protein-and-fat-breakdown-for-weight-loss/

https://www.webmd.com/cholesterol-management/tlc-diet#1


The thing is, your doctor is the only one who can really dial this in and if s/he already gave you a plan, use that.

Your best therapy is going to be sustainable steady weight loss. The three links above will help you with macros.

Nony_Mouse

Did your doctor set your calorie goal? It seems very low for a tall, active male. I'm a 5'6" female, almost completely sedentary due to a chronic health issue, and losing on 1500.

AmGrab

Problem solved. Good grief.

http://my.americanheart.org/idc/groups/ahamah-public/@wcm/@sop/@smd/documents/downloadable/ucm_425988.pdf

Avidkeo

OP I was diagnosed with high cholesterol at 22. At the time it was thought to be familial as my whole family has high cholesterol and I don't eat much of the worst offending food (animal fats etc).

That was 15 years ago. I refused statins.

2 years ago I finally lost 45lb that I'd been carying my whole life. No special macros or anything. I just moved more and ate less. My cholesterol went down and has stayed down for 2 years.

Granted I'm just one person, but generally the best way to reduce cholesterol is to lose weight, the specifics don't matter.

AmGrab

Thanks. No intention to stay on statins. Levels as high as mine warrant intervention according to the Doc. I have 60lbs to lose and working toward it.

Avidkeo wrote: »

OP I was diagnosed with high cholesterol at 22. At the time it was thought to be familial as my whole family has high cholesterol and I don't eat much of the worst offending food (animal fats etc).

That was 15 years ago. I refused statins.

2 years ago I finally lost 45lb that I'd been carying my whole life. No special macros or anything. I just moved more and ate less. My cholesterol went down and has stayed down for 2 years.

Granted I'm just one person, but generally the best way to reduce cholesterol is to lose weight, the specifics don't matter.

lorrpb

Use the default MFP macro split 50/30/20

cmriverside

AmGrab wrote: »

Problem solved. Good grief.

http://my.americanheart.org/idc/groups/ahamah-public/@wcm/@sop/@smd/documents/downloadable/ucm_425988.pdf

So....that says the same thing the links I gave you said.

Not sure why you spent the next five hours on this and got frustrated. Generally when we answer you with links, the answer you want is in those links. I would read those anyway, they're good.

It's the same recommendation as healthy people, and that document doesn't talk about macros really, just general guidelines on fats, sugar, and saturated fats - which, if you use the default MACROS on Myfitnesspal it will keep your sat fat and sugar low which is what your document sort of says. It does give a fat recommendation of 25-35%, and that falls exactly into MFP's default goals.

MFP's defaults are 50%C 30%F and 20%P.

AmGrab

I didn’t spend five hours searching, it took a few minutes. My article pointed to 50% carbs, 25-30% fat. Why the community feels that it is some big ask is beyond me (though fairly typical of any forum where regulars can live out their fantasies of grandor). Groan.

Thank you for the info on defaults.

cmriverside wrote: »

AmGrab wrote: »

Problem solved. Good grief.

http://my.americanheart.org/idc/groups/ahamah-public/@wcm/@sop/@smd/documents/downloadable/ucm_425988.pdf

So....that says the same thing the links I gave you said.

Not sure why you spent the next five hours on this and got frustrated. Generally when we answer you with links, the answer you want is in those links. I would read those anyway, they're good.

It's the same recommendation as healthy people, and that document doesn't talk about macros really, just general guidelines on fats, sugar, and saturated fats - which, if you use the default MACROS on Myfitnesspal it will keep your sat fat and sugar low which is what your document sort of says. It does give a fat recommendation of 25-35%, and that falls exactly into MFP's default goals.

MFP's defaults are 50%C 30%F and 20%P.

janejellyroll

AmGrab wrote: »

I didn’t spend five hours searching, it took a few minutes. My article pointed to 50% carbs, 25-30% fat. Why the community feels that it is some big ask is beyond me (though fairly typical of any forum where regulars can live out their fantasies of grandor). Groan.

Thank you for the info on defaults.

cmriverside wrote: »

AmGrab wrote: »

Problem solved. Good grief.

http://my.americanheart.org/idc/groups/ahamah-public/@wcm/@sop/@smd/documents/downloadable/ucm_425988.pdf

So....that says the same thing the links I gave you said.

Not sure why you spent the next five hours on this and got frustrated. Generally when we answer you with links, the answer you want is in those links. I would read those anyway, they're good.

It's the same recommendation as healthy people, and that document doesn't talk about macros really, just general guidelines on fats, sugar, and saturated fats - which, if you use the default MACROS on Myfitnesspal it will keep your sat fat and sugar low which is what your document sort of says. It does give a fat recommendation of 25-35%, and that falls exactly into MFP's default goals.

MFP's defaults are 50%C 30%F and 20%P.

I think they're referring to your multiple disgruntled posts over the next several hours, not the time you spent researching a question you expected others to answer for you.

kimny72

You said in your OP:

AmGrab wrote: »

I would really appreciate a general sense of what my macro percentage goals should be to reduce very high cholesterol (600) and triglycerides (1800).

Considering those staggeringly high numbers, posters understandably didn't want to give you medical advice, which is what you explicitly asked for. If you had simply asked how people chose their macro splits in general, you would've gotten very different answers.

A message board doesn't always lend itself to clear communication, so perhaps a little more patience with strangers you are asking for free advice is in order, rather than groans and good griefs. There is a lot of wonderful and insightful information exchanged here, but sometimes it does take two or three times through the situation to get all the specifics straightened out.

In general, the recommendations to lower blood cholesterol levels and improve heart health is to lose weight, increase activity, and perhaps increase fiber. Whether those recommendations apply to your individual situation is not something a stranger could tell.

If you do in fact have a hereditary condition that leads to dietary cholesterol affecting blood cholesterol, you would need to limit foods high in cholesterol and possibly saturated fat.

If you have a genetic predisposition to high cholesterol and your doctor considers that to increase your risk of heart disease, there is a good chance medication will be required to keep your levels acceptable.

I am not a medical professional, but those are guidelines I have learned and believe to be generally accepted from reading this forum as well as some internet research I did for my dad to help him understand what his doctor told him.

For a healthy person to maintain good health, it is typically recommended to get at least 0.6-1g of protein per lb of your ideal weight, and at least 0.3g of fat per. Otherwise macros are personal preference, as different people find different macros or macro combos filling. There is no agreed upon "best" macro split for weight loss or good health.

If all your doctor gave you was a generic form, I would see if they will give you a referral to an RD. An RD would be able to look at your overall health, family history, and blood work and be far more help than any of us annoyingly opinionated internet strangers

kshama2001

AmGrab wrote: »

I didn’t spend five hours searching, it took a few minutes. My article pointed to 50% carbs, 25-30% fat. Why the community feels that it is some big ask is beyond me (though fairly typical of any forum where regulars can live out their fantasies of grandor). Groan.

Thank you for the info on defaults.

cmriverside wrote: »

AmGrab wrote: »

Problem solved. Good grief.

http://my.americanheart.org/idc/groups/ahamah-public/@wcm/@sop/@smd/documents/downloadable/ucm_425988.pdf

So....that says the same thing the links I gave you said.

Not sure why you spent the next five hours on this and got frustrated. Generally when we answer you with links, the answer you want is in those links. I would read those anyway, they're good.

It's the same recommendation as healthy people, and that document doesn't talk about macros really, just general guidelines on fats, sugar, and saturated fats - which, if you use the default MACROS on Myfitnesspal it will keep your sat fat and sugar low which is what your document sort of says. It does give a fat recommendation of 25-35%, and that falls exactly into MFP's default goals.

MFP's defaults are 50%C 30%F and 20%P.

People referred you to the MFP defaults and gave you https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/ask-the-dietitian-whats-the-best-carb-protein-and-fat-breakdown-for-weight-loss/ which has the same macros as the article you found, so I don't know what's up with the groaning and good-griefing about free advice you received.

It's like paying a tax professional, having a follow-up question, complaining about the answers you received on the (free) TurboTax forums rather than going back to the professional, finding an answer elsewhere and gloating that it was better, even though it was the same.

apullum

OP, your numbers are REALLY high. Your numbers are in line with my dad's, several years ago. Turns out he was an undiagnosed type 2 diabetic, and probably had been for a while, which can cause very high triglycerides. Once he was treated for T2D, his numbers came down...but not before he'd had a heart attack at age 47. He went on to have another one at age 62, and quadruple bypass surgery immediately after that. (He's doing well now, and managing his T2D.)

Based on my dad's numbers, I assumed that my own high lipids were genetic, and that there wasn't much I could do about them besides medication. Then I lost weight. After the first 50 pounds of my 100 pound weight loss, my doctor took me off all medication and I've stayed off it ever since, managing my lipids with regular exercise and a healthy weight. It turned out that like many people, I was assuming (and had been given the impression by my doctor) that my condition was genetic. In reality, I was just obese and inactive.

HOWEVER, just because that was the case for me does not mean it is the case for you. Those really high numbers are concerning. That is why I mentioned being tested for diabetes. I would personally insist on an A1C test, based on my experience with my dad's diagnosis.

So no, I do not feel that it's responsible or appropriate to give you general macro recommendations. The research suggests that diet and/or macros do not do much to lower lipids for most people, and with numbers like yours, I would feel very strongly that your doctor needs to investigate further. I would caution you not to simply rely on something you found on the internet.

I would also caution against your plan to not stay on statins. If you lose weight, you may be able to stop your statin with your doctor's approval, but if there are other medical conditions in play--such as T2D or familial hypercholesterolemia--then you may still need the statin even after losing weight.

This is not some "fantasy of grandeur." It is me telling you--from my biology degree, my personal experience, and my own reading of academic papers--that simply choosing a particular macro split is probably not a safe plan for managing your lipids.