Calorie Balance

Sunsh1ne

I know that you can adjust your carb-fat-protein ratio but I don't know much about how adjusting it will impact my progress. Help?

Desiderata

i think it depends on our daily activities. Especially if youre active and exercise regularly, you'd need more protein and carbs...

youre calorie intake should average 50% from carbs, 30% from Fat, and 20% from protein. what are you looking to change?

gc2052

I changed mine to have less fat and more protien. I was never on target so I went back to the standard one's for MFP. I am doing better.

stormieweather

Actually, I lowered my carbs because too many carbs have a detrimental effect on my blood sugar. I do 40/30/30 and it works pretty well usually.

PJilly

I find that 50/25/25 is what works best for me.

Sunsh1ne

I'm not sure what I want to change, I'm just curious to see what people know about the impact of changing the balance.

songbyrdsweet

Generally lower carbohydrates are more conducive to lower insulin levels and therefore your body is in a more fat-loss-friendly state. 50-60% carbohydrates is considered a normal diet; 30-40% is considered moderately low; and <30% can result in ketosis depending on total caloric intake and exercise levels.

Higher protein usually leads to increased feelings of satiety and replaces carbohydrates when they're decreased. 10-15% protein is considered normal; 20-30% is considered moderate; and 40%+ is considered it. It's not advisable to eat more than 40% of your diet because it's expensive and no long-term studies have been done on the effect of a very high-protein diet on the kidneys and whatnot. Thus far there's no evidence that it's harmful (or that it's not).

Higher fat can also lead to feelings of satiety, but your diet should not contain more than 30% fat especially in the presence of carbohydrates. Yes, there are ketogenic diets that result in fat loss, but chronic high-fat feedings of 70% or more calories from fat has been shown to increase systemic inflammation which can lead to insulin resistance and increased liver trigs. You shouldn't eat less than 15% because fat is necessary for nerve function.

Oh and I eat 40% carbohydrates, 35% protein, and 25% fat. This keeps me feeling satisfied and functional with all the cardio I do. I occasionally have to have a day of higher carbs to keep up my performance. I eat 1500 calories total, so that 40% carbs doesn't add up to much.

Sunsh1ne

Thank you! That is exactly the information I was looking for.