Primal macro percentages

sleepytexan

Hello all,

I've started trying Primal this past week, in that I am going for 50-100 carbs a day--I started easing down the first couple days and have met that goal for the past 5 days (well, ok, I got 105 yesterday, but it's because I had a mandatory meeting that served burritos at dinner time, ugh). I am curious how your big 3 macro percentages balance out.

I'm hitting about 30% protein, 50% fat and 20% carbs.

I'm not finding it as hard as I thought I would--although i do see that it is more of a challenge to make my calories without carbs! I haven't felt any difference in energy levels yet; we'll see. I have a very busy schedule and mostly I'm still tired, ha! I may not be doing it perfectly, but I think it's a pretty good push.

One thing interesting, my scale stayed exactly the same for 5 consecutive days this week--that has never happened before. I started to think it was broken, but it went up by .2 today; I guess it was the burrito--ha.

If you are so inclined, I'd welcome input on the diary too.

Anyway, thanks in advance for any input.

sleepytexan

come on . . .

impyimpyaj

From my understanding (being a paleo newbie and not having read the books, just going on information as I can gather it) it's not necessarily about low-carb, although that is sometimes a natural consequence of going paleo/primal. It's about avoiding processed foods, grains, refined sugars, and legumes, among others. There are varying interpretations of primal as well, so a lot of it is going to be up to personal preference. I personally have my macros set to 30% carbs, 30% fat, 40% protein, because that's where I function best. But my intention is to get as many of those carbs from fruits and veggies as possible, rather than refined sugars and grains.

There's an MFP group you should check out: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/37-primal-paleo-support-group Those folks are way more helpful than I am.

sleepytexan

From my understanding (being a paleo newbie and not having read the books, just going on information as I can gather it) it's not necessarily about low-carb, although that is sometimes a natural consequence of going paleo/primal. It's about avoiding processed foods, grains, refined sugars, and legumes, among others. There are varying interpretations of primal as well, so a lot of it is going to be up to personal preference. I personally have my macros set to 30% carbs, 30% fat, 40% protein, because that's where I function best. But my intention is to get as many of those carbs from fruits and veggies as possible, rather than refined sugars and grains.

There's an MFP group you should check out: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/37-primal-paleo-support-group Those folks are way more helpful than I am.

thanks; I did post there too. The primal carb curve is supposed to be 50-100 gr., which is not a problem for me to hit, but I"m just curious about the fat at 50% -- can't seem to make my calories and protein without it.

wanderinglight

One month ago I decided to cut out all suger (except for what occurs in vegetables) as well as artificial sweeteners. This has slowly morphed into eating primal and I LOVE it. I am still paying a lot of attention to my sugar gram count and that has been my main focus these days...and I'm seeing results. Dropping sugar was the push that the scale needed towards lower numbers, but Primal feels like something I can do the rest of my life.

My macros are 50F : 30P : 20C

I occasionally eat grains (usually Ezekiel bread or quinoa) but only about once a day. I limit dairy and try to keep it low as well. I haven't been able to switch from peanut butter to almond butter entirely.

What I love about Primal is the flexibility. Same with Paleo. Everyone starts with the focus of eating whole, unprocessed, organic, healthy foods and then adapting it accordingly. Even the guy who wrote the Primal Blueprint still takes sugar and cream in his coffee.

Cutting out sugar was the single best thing I've ever done. After three weeks of going cold turkey I had a cup of strawberries with fresh, unsweetened whipped cream and I thought I was going to faint from how amazing it tasted. My taste buds have been reset and the cravings are gone.

ETA: I found it really helpful to break down my macros by calories as well. I try to do about:
FAT -- 100g per day / 900 calories
PROTEIN -- 100g per day / 400 calories
CARBS -- 80g per day / 320 calories

sleepytexan

One month ago I decided to cut out all suger (except for what occurs in vegetables) as well as artificial sweeteners. This has slowly morphed into eating primal and I LOVE it. I am still paying a lot of attention to my sugar gram count and that has been my main focus these days...and I'm seeing results. Dropping sugar was the push that the scale needed towards lower numbers, but Primal feels like something I can do the rest of my life.

My macros are 50F : 30P : 20C

I occasionally eat grains (usually Ezekiel bread or quinoa) but only about once a day. I limit dairy and try to keep it low as well. I haven't been able to switch from peanut butter to almond butter entirely.

What I love about Primal is the flexibility. Same with Paleo. Everyone starts with the focus of eating whole, unprocessed, organic, healthy foods and then adapting it accordingly. Even the guy who wrote the Primal Blueprint still takes sugar and cream in his coffee.

Cutting out sugar was the single best thing I've ever done. After three weeks of going cold turkey I had a cup of strawberries with fresh, unsweetened whipped cream and I thought I was going to faint from how amazing it tasted. My taste buds have been reset and the cravings are gone.

great! I'm glad to see that 50% fat is not unusual.

i have had no problem keeping my sugar low, so I'm interested to see when/if the scale will move (I've been maintaining here for about 6 mos.).

EDIT FOR YOUR EDIT

I'm eating more fat calories than you, but that makes sense bc I eat a lot more calories than you; I'm usually around 2000 a day. The 50% is spot on though. thanks again.

spngebobmyhero

50% is not unusual at all and that is what I have my macros set at, although I don't always hit them perfect.

sleepytexan

thank you!