What are your carb/fat/protein percentages?

rhomor

Hi all, Just wondering what is working for you? Do you stick to MFP's recommendations or do you input your own? Do you feel like MFP's carb level is too high? Do you do 1g or protein per 1 pound of lean muscle mass? What is your formula?

OneBryteSmile

I'm interested in the answers to this too. I actually posted a similar question to my MFP friends this week.

I changed my distribution for the third time. It is now:
Carb 45%
Protein 30%
Fat 25%

I really don't know if that's good or bad. Originally MFP had my carb at 55% and it seemed too high. I'm going to try out this new distribution and see if it helps with the weight loss any.

BigBoneSista

40,40,20 Protein, Carbs, Fat

Italiana_xx79

This is what I used to do and will be doing again:

Calories around: 1200
Fat around: 30
Carbs around: 50
Protein around: 85

There is no real reason to the numbers, I try to mainly keep my fat and carbs low :happy:

findingfit23

Mine are 15,45,40, carbs protein fat

Rilke

I believe a lot of people here on MFP set their protein way too high. I keep my percentages where MFP set them. I am considering changing slightly to 50/15/35 to see how I feel.

JoshuaHansford

My daily goal is 40% protein, 40% carb, 20% fat

I try to keep each meal as close as possible to those percentages as well. Most days I come up a little short on carbs and go a little over on fat.

This mix seems to work the best for me as far as ensuring I don't get hungry throughout the day and still having enough energy for intense workouts.

That being said, I think I have to change it up every now and then so that I don't plateau. I eat whatever I want one day a week which seems to reset the metabolic switch for me.

hpsnickers1

Mine are 10% carbs; 25% protein; 65% fat. At 1700 calories (I'm now 5'2" and 113.6lbs and not 'skinny-fat') that is 43g of carbs; 106g of protein; 123g of fat.

But this changes daily (I don't keep track of calories and fat; only carb grams and protein grams) since my energy needs change daily.

pitbullmama

40,35,25 Protein, Carbs, Fat I was going over on protein every day, so just adjusted it a bit.

PhilBlock

40/40/20 is great if you can maintain it. Those %'s are VERY hard to attain. I use a 50% carbs 25% protein/fat combo and it helps keep my energy levels high and helps to maintain the needs of my body/fitness program. It's not just about the %'s tho. It's about what you eat and when you eat it. Fats are necessarily bad, if they are the good ones. the key is to make sure that you aren't eating too much bad fats and carbs. Those get stored as fat in the body if unused. Even staying bat 20% fats can be VERY difficult. I found by increasing my fat intake to 25% I actually LOST more body fat since my body didn't think it was in starvation mode and let go of more stores.

psuLemon

50% carbs
30% protein
20% fat

Barneystinson

25/35/40 - c/p/f

Pretty easy to maintain, actually.

JDMPWR

45/40/15-P/C/F

WattsJA

40% Protein / 35% Carbs / 25% Fat

PhilBlock

Hi all, Just wondering what is working for you? Do you stick to MFP's recommendations or do you input your own? Do you feel like MFP's carb level is too high? Do you do 1g or protein per 1 pound of lean muscle mass? What is your formula?

If you're looking to build muscle you'll need 1.5-2g of protein per lean body weight( total weight - fat weight). 1g is good for maintaining while losing fat. Unless you're grossly overweight. In which case the actual breakdowns aren't quite as inportant until you get closer to your ideal weight.

Zeromilediet

Carbs 20
Fat 50
Protein 30
MVP has me on 1200 calories which is plenty as most days I eat less; before you freak, note I don't go hungry. If I want something to eat, I eat and it's a healthy choice. Diary is open.

Note what works for one person may not be appropriate for another; I don't have anything approaching highly demanding physical activity. When I spend an afternoon hauling firewood, let me tell you, I'll eat way more than 1200 calories :-)

LizC26

Carbs 25% Protein 45% Fat 30%

spirit05

Mine are Carbs 15%, Protein 30%, Fat 55% My sister got me started on semi-primal and all I can say is... it works for me!
Her doctor was concerned about the percentages but when he ran lab work 6 months later, all of her numbers had come down into a healthy range, he was shocked!
If I ate all the carbs mfp says I should, I would blow up like a balloon! In fact, if I eat over 64g of carbs in a day my feet swell and I gain weight literally overnight.

Pangui

Well, unless my math is incorrect, I am WAY different than most here. I am utilizing a whole foods/plant-based low-fat diet. I am really loving it. Since I switched over to this lifestyle 3 weeks ago, my metabolism has sped up and my rate of weight loss has more than doubled. I am no longer hungry and I eat a LOT. I have read the science and I don't believe carbs are bad for you and we don't need as much protein and fat as many think.

Lately my ratios have been,

carbs 75
fat 10
protein 15

But rarely does my fat intake reach 10%.

sportsjunkee70

50% protein, 35% carbs, 15% fat

LaJauna

After watching the documentary "FATHEAD" I restarted a low carb diet. My ratio is 70/25/5 (F/P/C).

ResilientWoman

Mine are 10% carbs; 25% protein; 65% fat. At 1700 calories (I'm now 5'2" and 113.6lbs and not 'skinny-fat') that is 43g of carbs; 106g of protein; 123g of fat.

But this changes daily (I don't keep track of calories and fat; only carb grams and protein grams) since my energy needs change daily.

After watching the documentary "FATHEAD" I restarted a low carb diet. My ratio is 70/25/5 (F/P/C).

Similarly, mine are 70-75% fat, 20-25% protein, 5-10% carbs.

The_Saint

30/30/40 c/f/p

TS65

30 protein
30 carb
40 fat

Basically, I set it for 100+g of protein, <100g carbs, the rest is fat. It just works out to 30/30/40

Luthorcrow

Nothing complicated. 40/30/30 (carb/protein/fat).

Be careful about lowering your carbs below 40%. Although it may benefit some people, there have been studies showing diets with less than 40% linked to depression. Again there are always exceptions to the rule but it's a good general rule.

mamagooskie

I have mine set at 40 protein, 20 fat, (I don't watch carbs but it's set at 40) (this is one of the settings P90X has in it's food guide that I thought would work for me)

funny thing is though I prefer to eat 50% of my body weight in protein daily and that is what I go by which is approx 75 grams (so I NEVER reach my 40% goal) I'm almost always under in fat sometimes substantially under and like I said I don't watch carbs but I'm always over the 40% probably more like 60% but most of it comes from fruits, veggies, or beans and lentils since I am vegetarian. I don't eat much rice, bread, pasta etc. so that's that.

justimogen

I'm trying for 40% carbs, 30% protein, 30% fat (and limiting bad carbs and bad fats).

On a side note, Italiana_xx79:

This is what I used to do and will be doing again:

Calories around: 1200
Fat around: 30
Carbs around: 50
Protein around: 85

There is no real reason to the numbers, I try to mainly keep my fat and carbs low :happy:

Just a concern: Those fat, carb and protein limits only add up to 810 calories.

30 x 9 = 270
50 x 4 = 200
85 x 4 = 340

I just didn't want to see you set carb/fat/protein limits for yourself that are impossible to achieve while maintaining your calorie goal.

AlwaysWanderer

40% Protein / 35% Carbs / 25% Fat

Me too! :drinker:

hpsnickers1

I'm trying for 40% carbs, 30% protein, 30% fat (and limiting bad carbs and bad fats).

On a side note, Italiana_xx79:

This is what I used to do and will be doing again:

Calories around: 1200
Fat around: 30
Carbs around: 50
Protein around: 85

There is no real reason to the numbers, I try to mainly keep my fat and carbs low :happy:

Just a concern: Those fat, carb and protein limits only add up to 810 calories.

30 x 9 = 270
50 x 4 = 200
85 x 4 = 340

I just didn't want to see you set carb/fat/protein limits for yourself that are impossible to achieve while maintaining your calorie goal.

If you go low carb you want to increase your fat intake to get your calories in. Don't be afraid of fat!! Fat alone doesn't make us fat. Our cells are made up of mainly proteins and fats. Our brains are 70% fat. Eating fat will release the necessary chemicals (from your fat tissue - I think it's Leptin) to signal your brain that you are full. Why would mother nature create something that our body needs - and is made up of - and then make it bad for us? (think olive oil, coconut oil, avocados). Healthy dietary fat (and that includes saturated fat!) is good for us.
Plus 50g of carbs (I would get this in mainly fibrous veggies) per day will probably put you in ketosis (pure fat-burning which is great stuff) but you have to eat some fat to give your body permission to release what is being stored.

This isn't exactly the most scientific explanation so the details could be off a bit and I'm sure most people won't believe me.

Carbs drive insulin and insulin decides where the nutrients go.

I eat a lot of fat (strive for 70%). I sometimes have to do shots of coconut or avocado oil to get my fat and calories in for the day - it's amazing how long you stay full when eating mostly protein and fat. When I went primal I dropped 7lbs of body fat in six weeks - along with a little more water weight (and this was at a healthy weight). And this was with less exercise yet I haven't lost any lean muscle mass (thanks to cutting back on cardio). And without calorie counting and logging after the first couple of weeks on it.

I have a flat belly for the first time in my life. My first 6 months of "dieting" I dropped 9.5lbs and never lost my belly.

amandaking0420

1200 calories

40 - carbs
35 - protein
25 - fat

aj_rock

40/30/30, c/p/f

You really shouldn't go by what other people use though.

Other than getting enough protein, everyone reacts differently to different macro %.

For example, my family has a history of diabetes... So obviously sugar is low, but so is carbs. And it works! I feel much better after a high fat meal than a high carb meal.