Carb-Protein-Fat ratio?

Phoenixflame

Hello all!

I've been hearing that MFP's ratios are a little weird. Could someone please tell me a good nutrition ratio?

I'm an 18 year old female, 5'4", 152 pounds. I exercise virtually every day, with some form of strength-training and 30-45 minutes of cardio (usually in the form of spinning or elliptical).

I just want the best nutrition!

Phoenixflame

Hello all!

I've been hearing that MFP's ratios are a little weird. Could someone please tell me a good nutrition ratio?

I'm an 18 year old female, 5'4", 152 pounds. I exercise virtually every day, with some form of strength-training and 30-45 minutes of cardio (usually in the form of spinning or elliptical).

I just want the best nutrition!

FletcherChic

i am just starting a 20% fat, 40% carb, 40% protein diet. I workout every day (cardio, cycle, zumba, pilates) and no matter how much i exercise i continue to store fat (very likely due to a very unhealthy low cal diet)....i have upped my cals and follow these ratios....i am only 4 days into it but so far i am happy (would be happier if i could find some recipes and meals that are already calculated)

songbyrdsweet

People respond to diets a little differently and need different things based on their type of activity. General healthy ranges are actually wide. 40-60% for carbohydrates, 15-40% for protein, and 20-30% for fat. You can do a lot with it. If you're doing a lot of distance running or lengthy, intense cardio sessions, you'll want to edge closer to the 60% carbohydrate range. If you are at the basic 30min 3X/week, or it's not getting your HR up very high, you can edge closer to the 40% range. Protein shouldn't really be at 15% if you're doing anything athletic, so I'd keep it above 20%. Fats need to be high enough to spare the protein and be used for important things like nerve function and vitamin absorption, but not so high that you lose out on carbohydrates or protein. When I wasn't training for my half marathon, I was eating 40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30% fat. Now that I am running a lot more, I eat 50% carbs, 25% protein and fat.

You can also 'feel' your diet...if your carbohydrate levels are too low, you'll feel heavy. It's difficult to explain, but basically your performance suffers once you're depleted--legs feel like lead, you move slowly, you might get a headache and feel groggy. The chances of that happening at 40% are moderate, but up around 50-60% you're not going to run out any time soon. A diet too low in fat (under 15-20%) will leave you with dry skin and hair. A diet too low in protein will lead to poor recovery...think being sore all week instead of just a day or two.

MFP's values are based on RDA amounts. The problem with that is the food pyramid is about 60 years old and not made for athletes, just the general public.