carb/fat/protein ratio

ShannonECTD

I wonder when this thread will be locked

CoachDuhamNC

As you can see by the reply's it's a personal thing. However you have some good answers here. The general rule of thumb is 40% Carbs, 30% Proteins, 30% Fats. Start with this then and track any progress. After you start collecting some data you can then determine what modifications you may need to make. Adjusting the proper category for the desired results your striving for.

Thanks
CoachDuhamNC

SideSteel

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neanderthin

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I see what you did there.

kms1320

To lose body fat, yet maintain what muscle I have --- I eat 50% protein/30% carbs/20% fat.

Once I am settled where I would like to be, I plan to go with a more balanced approach. Maybe 40/40/20 or 40/30/30.

Yes, to maintain muscle, you should aim for 1g protein per lb bodyweight. For myself, it ends around 50%, and I was at 20% carbs, 30% fat since 100g carbs per day is kind of a magic number to keep your glycogen supplies up for daily activities, yet deplete them from exercise, forcing your body to convert fat for glycogen. If that isn't there, it WILL convert protein for it but it generally does that as a last resort. With my split, I ended up feeling a little too run down though after a hard day at work, so I moved it to a 45% protein 25% carb 30% fat split. I have more energy now through the day.

I think you'll find fat doesn't convert to glycogen, it's protein that does that.

You are right, I should have said energy not glycogen. What I wanted to add came from this article:

"The first thing the body burns is protein, mainly because protein cannot be stored in the body. Proteins from alcohol are burned first followed by other proteins. These nutrients are dispersed in the bloodstream and any excess is channeled towards the excretory system to be removed from the body. Thus, you can rarely complain that your body has too much protein. Next, the body burns carbohydrates, both simple and complex, with glycogen being its main form. Glycogen is sugar stored mostly in the liver and controls blood sugar levels as well as providing most of the energy the body needs. Once glycogen has been used up, the body then burns up fat, breaking it down into smaller units to be absorbed in the blood stream. Muscle comes last. Thus, the answer to the question ‘does the body burn fat or muscle first’ is fat.

The idea that the body burns muscle first before fat may come from the fact that glycogen is also stored in muscle tissues. However, it is the glycogen in them and not the tissues themselves that get burned."

You have to keep in mind it doesn't matter for weight loss. Lets say you need 1,500 (A TDEE of 2k) calories to lose weight. Lets assume you ate 100% protein at 1,500 calories. If you eat all protein the 1,500 calories would be partitioned through the body or burned. Then 500 calories will come from fat(to meet your TDEE), this is your weight loss. This is a low carb diet.

Do an all carb diet, it will get used or stored 1,500 calories of energy, once it's out it will burn off 500 calories of fat.

If youe at an all fat diet, the 1,500 calories will get stored and/or used and 500 calories will come from body fat(once again here is your weight loss).

As you can see it doesn't matter if you do low or high carb, in the end weight loss is the same.

You are right, it doesn't matter for WEIGHT loss. However I'm more concerned about FAT loss, so it DOES matter.

SideSteel

There are a number of studies that show double or triple the RDA to be superior for LBM retention while eating at a deficit. The idea that you can just eat whatever you want can be very incorrect in some cases.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/823505-research-on-protien-intake

SideSteel

You are still not seeming to get my point. My comment was..how can you say that 20% is OK without knowing her calories or weight....simple as that.

How can you say otherwise without knowing her calories or weight?

You did not ask so you cannot know. That is all I was saying. There are a myriad of possibilities where 20% is not optimal. Where did I say it was not?

This ^

Example: when I near the end of my cut, I'm at 2100 calories. 20% of this would be 420 calories which would be about 105g protein. This is insufficient.

However when bulking, I consume ~3200 or so. 20% is 640 calories or 160g protein. This is much closer to being a reasonable intake.

This is an example of how protein values change as calories change when you recommend a percentage instead of a target in grams per lb.

I believe this was Sara's point and she is correct to raise the question, IMO.

How do you know it's insufficient, have you tried it?

I trust the multiple studies showing lbm losses in a caloric deficit at lower protein intakes. Protein Roundtable cover this thoroughly.

I posted my own resources on the subject, but some how yours are better than mine. There are countless studies that talk about how fat leads to heart disease. I am just saying, experience is a big part of the equation, not just education.

Have you seen the protein roundtable videos? Have you seen the studies that the video refers to? Have you seen studies showing that individuals consuming higher protein intakes are losing less LBM than individuals using a lower protein intake? If so, why do you disagree or ignore this information?