Total Carb/Protein/Fat Confusion!

OddballExtreme

Okay, I'm now down to 139 lbs, but when I want to change my goals up a little bit, here's where I get mixed up.

I'm allowed only 155 carbs per day because of my Type 2 Diabetes (WAY overshot today because of hunger after shooting baskets with a dual-net game at work). In terms of protein, I'm only supposed to have around 51 grams of protein, but when I'm having to recalculate everything, here's how it breaks down:

Carbohydrates = 45% (156g)
Protein = 25% (87g)
Fat = 30% (46g)

This seems a little discombobulated to me. Now, if it's any consolation, I've had to UP my minimum calories to 1301. Can anybody help me figure this one out?

gamerkiwi

Why the low protein count? There's nothing wrong with having more than 51g protein in a day.

eatcleanNtraindirty

Well for starters you should be eating more than 1200 calories so 1300 is a good start. A good rule of thumb is to eat between 0.8-1.0 grams of protein per lb of body weight.

156g carbs = 624 calories
87g protein = 348 calories
46g fat = 414 calories

Total calories should be at 1,386

Not really sure what you mean by discombobulated...

Sarauk2sf

Where are you getting that you are only allowed 51g of protein.

Looks like you only have 9lb to lose and your calorie goal looks low. What do you have your goal loss set at? You should set it to 1/2lb now if you use MFPs settings.

glennam1

or you can set these manually alot of people go 40% carbs, 30% fat and 30% protein

WendyTerry420

Do you have kidney issues from the diabetes? That's the reason that I can think of why you would want to keep your protein so low. And if that's the case, you can reverse that over time if you are consistent with your macros. I can't comment about the calories. 1300 seems really low to me unless you are not exercising much or something. What is your BMR?

OddballExtreme

Do you have kidney issues from the diabetes? That's the reason that I can think of why you would want to keep your protein so low. And if that's the case, you can reverse that over time if you are consistent with your macros. I can't comment about the calories. 1300 seems really low to me unless you are not exercising much or something. What is your BMR?

Good news on that is I have NO kidney issues because I'm constantly drinking water and exercising a lot more than I did a year ago. When I did get diagnosed back in January, I was at 181. All I did was change my diet, increase water, and exercise. My BMR (according to MFP) is only 1301. I'm a little apprehensive about increasing calories, but I know if I don't, I can't burn them off and that could make things a little complicated.

lowm8nance

I follow the paleo diet and used the BMR calculator in tools above to figure calories. I actually added 100 calories per advise from another friend on this site. Have my macros set at 15%,60%,25%--carbs,fats, and proteins. The reason is because I don't want to eat over 50 grams of carb a day, (This will help with fat loss) and want my proteins to match my leanbodymass needs but not go over because it's taxing on your liver. To figure protein amount go to http://fitness.bizcalcs.com/calculator.asp?Calc=lean-body-mass.Multiply the number you get by your physical fitness number. That will be the amount of grams you need to keep your muscle mass.

WendyTerry420

Do you have kidney issues from the diabetes? That's the reason that I can think of why you would want to keep your protein so low. And if that's the case, you can reverse that over time if you are consistent with your macros. I can't comment about the calories. 1300 seems really low to me unless you are not exercising much or something. What is your BMR?

Good news on that is I have NO kidney issues because I'm constantly drinking water and exercising a lot more than I did a year ago. When I did get diagnosed back in January, I was at 181. All I did was change my diet, increase water, and exercise. My BMR (according to MFP) is only 1301. I'm a little apprehensive about increasing calories, but I know if I don't, I can't burn them off and that could make things a little complicated.

Oh, well if you don't have kidney issues, then it wouldn't hurt you to increase your protein. It is also perfectly safe to set your calorie goal at your BMR to lose weight. Mine are about 50 calories over my BMR, and I'm losing two pounds per week.

WendyTerry420

I follow the paleo diet and used the BMR calculator in tools above to figure calories. I actually added 100 calories per advise from another friend on this site. Have my macros set at 15%,60%,25%--carbs,fats, and proteins. The reason is because I don't want to eat over 50 grams of carb a day, (This will help with fat loss) and want my proteins to match my leanbodymass needs but not go over because it's taxing on your liver. To figure protein amount go to http://fitness.bizcalcs.com/calculator.asp?Calc=lean-body-mass.Multiply the number you get by your physical fitness number. That will be the amount of grams you need to keep your muscle mass.

What kinds of food do you eat that 60% of the calories are from fat? My fats are at 25% of my calories, with about half of that coming from meats and the rest from hemp seeds/oil/peanut butter, etc. I don't really worry about fat, except to incorporate as much plant-based fats as I can.

lowm8nance

I eat my veggies with butter and cheese or bacon on top. Coffee with cream. Avocados, olives. Sometimes I'll even have coconut butter by the spoonful with bits of dark chocolate on it. Yum. When following the paleo diet Your not worried about lowfat anything. Just the right fats and as unprocessed as possible.