High Protein - Low Carb - ish

amandajanegordon
amandajanegordon Posts: 3
in Food and Nutrition
Higher Protein and lower carb diets make sense to me though I don't like the idea of completely removing anything from my diet. As such I'd like to increase my protein and decrease my carbs but I have no idea how much. According to myfitnesspal my daily goals should be:

Net Calories Consumed* / Day 1,380 calories/day
Carbs / Day 190 g
Fat / Day 46 g
Protein / Day 52 g

Does anyone have any advice for changing these numbers???

Replies

  • caribougal
    caribougal Posts: 865 Member
    My settings:

    Cals = TDEE - 20% = approx 1400 cals
    Fats = 65%
    Protein = 20%
    Carbs = 15%

    But, generally I'm happy if cals are less than 1500 and carbs are less than 100g net.
  • feisma
    feisma Posts: 213 Member
    I shoot for minimum 1 gram of protein for each pound of lean body mass; less than 100 grams of carbs per day; and rest is healthy fats.
  • novarugger10
    novarugger10 Posts: 62 Member
    Definitely stick with the high protein part. Be careful about how many carbs you cut out of your diet, especially on days you exercise heavily. Carbs = fuel for your body. I like to cut down on fat first, only keeping healthy fats, before moving on to thinking about carbs. But of course, at the end of the day, watch your calorie count and keep all things in moderation.
  • bahacca
    bahacca Posts: 878 Member
    We cannot answer unless we know your goals. 65% fat to me is CRAZY. I'm wondering what the goals of that poster are.
    If your goal is to maintain muscle mass while losing fat, then your protein intake should be around 1 g of protein/pound of weight in order to prevent as much as possible your body pulling lean muscle mass to fuel your body. You want it to use FAT for energy, so you need to tell your body "Here is protein, please put this where it belongs" and you need to be lifting and using your muscles so your body knows "Hey-I'm using these muscles-I'd better keep them around!" I'm set at 45% protein, 35% carb and the rest fats. I'm set this way to minimize muscle loss. If you don't want to go that crazy, then a 40 or 35% protein number is great.
  • prokomds
    prokomds Posts: 318 Member
    I think a fairly balanced approach is 40% carbs, 30% fat, and 30% protein. I'm eating less carbs than before I started paying attention to food (they were easily over 50 or 60%), and I'm conscientiously trying to get more protein. Usually if I get near my protein goal my fat goal follows without any extra effort, because I seem to find those two go hand in hand.

    Do what won't make you crazy! You can set it lower, and adjust as necessary. I try to hit the protein goal, but I also don't stress over it. If I was more serious about building more muscle, I would need to be more diligent about the protein. Good luck!
  • caribougal
    caribougal Posts: 865 Member
    We cannot answer unless we know your goals. 65% fat to me is CRAZY. I'm wondering what the goals of that poster are.

    I agree... it's helpful to know your goals. I just assumed weight loss is one of them. My goals are to lose weight, increase strength, and eat foods that promote health. Fat doesn't make you fat... excess calories do. Healthy fats satiate me and make my food taste great. The OP asked about high protein / low carb-ish. If carbs go down, then generally fat goes up.

    I also agree with the 1g/LBM protein goal if you're trying to build muscle mass. That seems to be the general consensus. I don't quite hit that goal according to my diary, but it's a good goal if you're lifting heavy.

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