Carbs, fat, protein...ect...

Pattie74

I'm on 1200 calories a day. I'm just wondering how much attention I should pay to the recommended values of the other things. If I eat the 1200 does it matter if I'm over the recommended carb, fat or protein amount?

privatetime

I'm new to MFP and one of the only uses I've found for it so far is in helping me optimze my fat/carb/protein ratio.

It's day 5 on MFP (with three days added retroactively), and I'm ever closer to the ratio that someone I respect suggested for me: 20-25% protein, 30-35% fat, and 40-45% carbohydrate. Each day, the carb's drop a bit, and the protein ncreases a bit. (I don't care about fat.)

19danno77

I would listen to your body...1200 calories is L-O-W! But doable...as a 205 lb dude I started here and shredded 2.25 lbs per week for 10 weeks but by the end of the 10 weeks my body was telling me to up the calories...I was shaky before meals and feeling cranky/moody...slowed my weight loss target to 1.5 lbs per week and held that for a bit...anyway, to your question! I found that the feeling of hunger comes on MUCH sooner with a carb-centric diet. The more I tilted my caloric balance to protein/fat the less I felt famished/cranky. In general, over my 200+ days on MFP (lost 48 lbs so far with only 1-3 left as I'm bottoming out at 7% body fat--I can't thank this app's developers enough, I couldn't have done it without this genius software!), I've kept protein to 15-20%, fat from 30-40% and carbs to below 45%. I find on a day where I snack a bunch on sweets, I suffer through growling stomach and feeling famished before the next meal...the sugars just don't stick with you...and intuitively it makes sense for the following: your body QUICKLY breaks it down enzymatically in the stomach and realizes that you've gotten little to none of the other macro/micro nutrients you need. EveryBODY is different...the progress comes at different speeds for all of us...my wife was consistently under her calorie limits but she dropped weight much slower than I did...this was frustrating for her but we've both been on this for over 6 months and LOVE where we've ended up...trust the app, be honest with your "accounting" and I'd suggest getting a cheap digital scale for weighing the food that's calorie dense--chips, cheese, breads, fruits, nuts, etc. Veggies unless sauteed with oil/butter are too low to bother with...that's NOT including potatoes and corn though...corn's not even a vegetable but is often considered one. I hope that helps!

seekingstrengthX2

It does matter.
Consider this:

That 1200 calories can be a full sized bag of loaded baked potato ruffles potato chips and 2 tacos from taco bell

OR

That 1200 calories can be lean meats, veggies and lowfat dairy.

Which do you think would fair better?

suziecue66

I would listen to your body...1200 calories is L-O-W! But doable...as a 205 lb dude I started here and shredded 2.25 lbs per week for 10 weeks but by the end of the 10 weeks my body was telling me to up the calories...I was shaky before meals and feeling cranky/moody...slowed my weight loss target to 1.5 lbs per week and held that for a bit...anyway, to your question! I found that the feeling of hunger comes on MUCH sooner with a carb-centric diet. The more I tilted my caloric balance to protein/fat the less I felt famished/cranky. In general, over my 200+ days on MFP (lost 48 lbs so far with only 1-3 left as I'm bottoming out at 7% body fat--I can't thank this app's developers enough, I couldn't have done it without this genius software!), I've kept protein to 15-20%, fat from 30-40% and carbs to below 45%. I find on a day where I snack a bunch on sweets, I suffer through growling stomach and feeling famished before the next meal...the sugars just don't stick with you...and intuitively it makes sense for the following: your body QUICKLY breaks it down enzymatically in the stomach and realizes that you've gotten little to none of the other macro/micro nutrients you need. EveryBODY is different...the progress comes at different speeds for all of us...my wife was consistently under her calorie limits but she dropped weight much slower than I did...this was frustrating for her but we've both been on this for over 6 months and LOVE where we've ended up...trust the app, be honest with your "accounting" and I'd suggest getting a cheap digital scale for weighing the food that's calorie dense--chips, cheese, breads, fruits, nuts, etc. Veggies unless sauteed with oil/butter are too low to bother with...that's NOT including potatoes and corn though...corn's not even a vegetable but is often considered one. I hope that helps!

Did you do planned cheats during the 10 weeks?
I agree for myself that keeping protein higher I feel less hungry as protein satiating.

19danno77

Also, check out a book by Gary Taubes called "Good Calories, Bad Calories" or at least catch a podcast here:
http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2011/11/taubes_on_fat_s.html

Brings up lots of data that flies in the face of the conventional wisdom that low fat/high-carb is the healthiest choice...there's little to no real data support the notion that high-protein/fat diets are bad for you. No need to go militant on carbs like Atkins suggests...100-200 grams of carbs is not too much to lose weight. Moderation is what makes any diet sustainable...good luck and enjoy the results!

19danno77

I would listen to your body...1200 calories is L-O-W! But doable...as a 205 lb dude I started here and shredded 2.25 lbs per week for 10 weeks but by the end of the 10 weeks my body was telling me to up the calories...I was shaky before meals and feeling cranky/moody...slowed my weight loss target to 1.5 lbs per week and held that for a bit...anyway, to your question! I found that the feeling of hunger comes on MUCH sooner with a carb-centric diet. The more I tilted my caloric balance to protein/fat the less I felt famished/cranky. In general, over my 200+ days on MFP (lost 48 lbs so far with only 1-3 left as I'm bottoming out at 7% body fat--I can't thank this app's developers enough, I couldn't have done it without this genius software!), I've kept protein to 15-20%, fat from 30-40% and carbs to below 45%. I find on a day where I snack a bunch on sweets, I suffer through growling stomach and feeling famished before the next meal...the sugars just don't stick with you...and intuitively it makes sense for the following: your body QUICKLY breaks it down enzymatically in the stomach and realizes that you've gotten little to none of the other macro/micro nutrients you need. EveryBODY is different...the progress comes at different speeds for all of us...my wife was consistently under her calorie limits but she dropped weight much slower than I did...this was frustrating for her but we've both been on this for over 6 months and LOVE where we've ended up...trust the app, be honest with your "accounting" and I'd suggest getting a cheap digital scale for weighing the food that's calorie dense--chips, cheese, breads, fruits, nuts, etc. Veggies unless sauteed with oil/butter are too low to bother with...that's NOT including potatoes and corn though...corn's not even a vegetable but is often considered one. I hope that helps!

Did you do planned cheats during the 10 weeks?
I agree for myself that keeping protein higher I feel less hungry as protein satiating.

One month in I had a weekend over labor day that I tracked loosely but clearly blew my caloric limits...that was my first big cheat event. The next one was Halloween, then the day after Thanksgiving (wife worked T-day!), then Christmas day...roughly once a month I blow it big time...I mean by eating & drinking 600-1000 calories over and don't fret trying to get the average back down...I always just made sure to get back to the routine of sticking to the calorie goal EVERY day, minus the cheat days. I usually don't score the cheat days until the day after and do it by memory.

suziecue66

Thanks for that. I have Gary's book. It was definitely good but we've moved on a bit since this book and Gary hasn't. He still sees carbohydrates as the enemy and fructose now aswell. His carbohydrate/insulin hypothesis too simplistic. Calories still matter.
A lot of supporters of Taubes realizing it was too simplistic.

19danno77

It's good to hear someone talking to the science, even if overly simplistic...especially when so many experts are touting carbs/whole-grains as the solution when the data simply doesn't back it up. Much of our human evolution has occurred without grains so I personally think it's foolish to think that our bodies are designed to handle a significant portion of our dietary needs from them. We've advanced the genetics of both the grains and animals that we eat far faster than our DNA is capable of adapting. I would like to believe carbs aren't the enemy but that we should seek to dine primarily on fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and meat. And Coke Zero, with vanilla vodka or beer when I have the calories to spare...to tolerate the kids! :drinker:

type1foodie

Dietician recommended 40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30% fat for me as a person with type 1 diabetes wanting to lose weight. She said it is too hard on the kidneys >30%, but don't freak out if I go over 30% a few times -- just don't do it consistently. Said 30% fat will be very hard to limit, 40% is ok.

I am going to start working on getting more protein in the am as I have only been eating 15-20% protein -- she suggested 15g at breakfast, and to have a little carb (15-30g at every meal/snack).

grinch031

Protein is most important to eat in an adequate amount. The other two macros can be adjusted by your preference depending on how you respond to carbs. I find that I am starving all the time when I eat more carbs as opposed to more fat.