50/25/25 - What's your take?

sufikitkat

I have taken advice from my distance runner strength trainer to focus on 50% carbs/25% fat/25%protein for my daily diet. Since doing so in the last week, I have felt much less hungry and much more energized for my workouts/day in general.

Here is my problem...I am a perfectionist so I think I am taking way too much time trying to make every single meal and snack perfectly 50/25/25 even if my overall day is 50/25/25. Generally, my meals have at least 17% fat or protein and at least 45% or more carbs. I rarely go over the carb percentage...if I do its due to vegetables mainly.

So...the big question...how do YOU meet the percentage requirements? Is it horrible that not every meal equals exactly to 50/25/25 or is it fine as long as my overall day is well balanced and does?

psmd

I think it's so hard to really stick to these percentages. On average without trying at all, I am around 50% (sometimes little higher or lower), 31% fat, 17% protein. I am set to 50/20/30. I don't know, so far I've lost 26 pounds so I think when it stops working then I'll start trying to really stick to the percentages better. Good luck...

sufikitkat

That was my problem for sure. I went on maintenance mode and gained more than 2 pounds back :-/ I am aiming mostly to reduce my BFP by another 2%, and if my new weight loss goal comes with that awesome! Now I am back in training mode for my half marathon Feb 25, another one in April, July, and a Full in September, with 5K and 8K races in between as I can afford them. I know it is important to stick to the macros for training to not be fatigued or create inflammation/injury, but like you said it is hard to stick to it every single meal. Especially when most of my snack food involves the good carbs like fruits and veggies!

heybales

If you don't have to watch your carb intake because of a problem with insulin response and the negative effects from that (and at 50% I'd guess not), then it's not as important to your situation.

For those that do, then hitting that within a meal is much more important. Doing high carb during the day and just eating a steak for dinner might make the day correct, but the majority of the day you were giving yourself insulin problems.

So just depends, probably doesn't matter for you, as long as you are getting the carbs to restore your running efforts.

Acg67

So...the big question...how do YOU meet the percentage requirements? Is it horrible that not every meal equals exactly to 50/25/25 or is it fine as long as my overall day is well balanced and does?

I personally don't use %'s, i shoot for minimums of proteins and fats and try and get that in everyday and let the rest of my cals fall where they may

and not every meal has to be a certain ratio of c/f/p, what matters is getting in adequate nutrition by the end of the day

sufikitkat

and not every meal has to be a certain ratio of c/f/p, what matters is getting in adequate nutrition by the end of the day

Thank you! I know deep down but my lovely need to overachieve gets in the way of believing it. It helps to hear it from multiple sources!!

heybales

important to stick to the macros for training to not be fatigued or create inflammation/injury,

You sound like you've done some research.

What can create inflammation, which can make it easier to get injured, or at the least not recover as well as possible?

What in your diet causes that response?

Does just eating fruit/vegetables allow that to happen?

sufikitkat

If you don't have to watch your carb intake because of a problem with insulin response and the negative effects from that (and at 50% I'd guess not), then it's not as important to your situation.

For those that do, then hitting that within a meal is much more important. Doing high carb during the day and just eating a steak for dinner might make the day correct, but the majority of the day you were giving yourself insulin problems.

So just depends, probably doesn't matter for you, as long as you are getting the carbs to restore your running efforts.

Nope, no issues, at least not that I am aware of. I have a check up soon with my doctor but really my biggest barrier is my hypothyroid and those levels. For my long run days/days where I burn more than 800 cals, I will up the intake by 100 cals overall. I have my MFP set to 1900 calories, which is a 500 calorie deficit from my BMR+ activity level number. So far I have felt a ton better since I have paid more attention to not going crazy overboard with my carbs. I was on some days at 67% carbs which definitely meant losing on the other macros, especially fats. I never realized until I looked closely at my totals that I really wasn't eating enough fats. I love my PButter and such, but that used to be really it for me!

sufikitkat

important to stick to the macros for training to not be fatigued or create inflammation/injury,

You sound like you've done some research.

What can create inflammation, which can make it easier to get injured, or at the least not recover as well as possible?

What in your diet causes that response?

Does just eating fruit/vegetables allow that to happen?

This is from my most recent nutrition lesson from my Distance Runners Strength Training group. I wish I could remember the best way to put it into words!! Basically, in a nutshell, if you eat way too many carbs and allow your insulin levels to be up and down throughout the day (spike high, drop off low) eventually this can lead to inflammation as some of those carbs will remain in the fat cells/too much insulin attaches itself to the fat cells. I have a paper I have to write and research right now, but I will search online for better rhetoric. I am one of those people that unless I write it down, I can tell you the bottom line of what should be done but not the details of it haha.

It is important to have a fair balance so that throughout the day your body has what it needs to burn efficiently at rest and when active without having a significant crash or spike in levels. And carbs should be whole grains, rice, vegetables, fruits, etc. I am sure most of this ties into what essentially can create type 2 diabetes.

There are foods that are anti-inflammatory and are recommended for injury prevention and recovery, I have a list but again, I can post later once I get this 3 pager done!

Grokette

My ratios are as follows:

65% Fat / 25% Protein / 10% Carbs in the form of vegetables and occasional fruit, nuts or seeds.

nikolaim5

Does not matter what a given meal % is. Just hit your target by the end of day. You can even have off days and still correct for the week. Consistency over time is what matters. personally I just like to hit my protein target and then let the carbs and fats fall where they may, in accordance with my calorie target of course.

heybales

This is from my most recent nutrition lesson from my Distance Runners Strength Training group. I wish I could remember the best way to put it into words!! Basically, in a nutshell, if you eat way too many carbs and allow your insulin levels to be up and down throughout the day (spike high, drop off low) eventually this can lead to inflammation as some of those carbs will remain in the fat cells/too much insulin attaches itself to the fat cells. I have a paper I have to write and research right now, but I will search online for better rhetoric. I am one of those people that unless I write it down, I can tell you the bottom line of what should be done but not the details of it haha.

It is important to have a fair balance so that throughout the day your body has what it needs to burn efficiently at rest and when active without having a significant crash or spike in levels. And carbs should be whole grains, rice, vegetables, fruits, etc. I am sure most of this ties into what essentially can create type 2 diabetes.

There are foods that are anti-inflammatory and are recommended for injury prevention and recovery, I have a list but again, I can post later once I get this 3 pager done!

I could tell you knew the answer I was getting at.

Not many realize that up and down or elevated insulin can cause inflammation for many.

The way I experienced it was the day after a long evening run, doing at the time my normal high-carb dinner/snacks. Joints would be sore the next day.
I always chalked it up to the fact I had a good run, and this is the effect.

Wasn't until I was trying to lose the last 5 lbs to race weight and switched to the Zone diet that I stopped experiencing it, and realized the theory was correct in my case. It was incredible, and I was very skeptical.

So if you are indeed bothered by the effects of inflammation, or concerned enough that it might apply, then you do indeed realize the importance of actually trying to hold to those ratio's during all meals.

I'll comment from experience, you may luck out by just eating your fat/protein part of your day meals, no matter how small they are, first, then the carbs. It can help even out the insulin response. Perhaps a 1/2 serving of almonds.

sufikitkat

This is from my most recent nutrition lesson from my Distance Runners Strength Training group. I wish I could remember the best way to put it into words!! Basically, in a nutshell, if you eat way too many carbs and allow your insulin levels to be up and down throughout the day (spike high, drop off low) eventually this can lead to inflammation as some of those carbs will remain in the fat cells/too much insulin attaches itself to the fat cells. I have a paper I have to write and research right now, but I will search online for better rhetoric. I am one of those people that unless I write it down, I can tell you the bottom line of what should be done but not the details of it haha.

It is important to have a fair balance so that throughout the day your body has what it needs to burn efficiently at rest and when active without having a significant crash or spike in levels. And carbs should be whole grains, rice, vegetables, fruits, etc. I am sure most of this ties into what essentially can create type 2 diabetes.

There are foods that are anti-inflammatory and are recommended for injury prevention and recovery, I have a list but again, I can post later once I get this 3 pager done!

I could tell you knew the answer I was getting at.

Not many realize that up and down or elevated insulin can cause inflammation for many.

The way I experienced it was the day after a long evening run, doing at the time my normal high-carb dinner/snacks. Joints would be sore the next day.
I always chalked it up to the fact I had a good run, and this is the effect.

Wasn't until I was trying to lose the last 5 lbs to race weight and switched to the Zone diet that I stopped experiencing it, and realized the theory was correct in my case. It was incredible, and I was very skeptical.

So if you are indeed bothered by the effects of inflammation, or concerned enough that it might apply, then you do indeed realize the importance of actually trying to hold to those ratio's during all meals.

I'll comment from experience, you may luck out by just eating your fat/protein part of your day meals, no matter how small they are, first, then the carbs. It can help even out the insulin response. Perhaps a 1/2 serving of almonds.

I love almonds! So much i have to watch how many I eat :-)

I chalk it up to my recent experience over the holidays. At no point did I go over calories, but I did drink more than usual, and I ate what sweets I could eat (dairy allergy), plus treated myself more than once a week to restaurant french fries! All of a sudden my ankle was aching during runs about 2 weeks after christmas. I took a week off running, but kept up other cardio/strength training. Been refocused for the past couple of weeks and the pain is gone. In fact, I feel stronger than ever when I run so a combination of rest and nutrition certainly played a role. I have been on a journey to get my nutrition where it should be for my optimal health and I think I finally found the missing piece :-)

jacksonpt

Yes, your end of day numbers are what really matter.

That said, I find it hard to "catch up" if I have a meal that is too lopsided, so while I focus on my end-of-day numbers, I do pay some attention to individual meals.