What is your macronutrient ratio for fat loss?

waistaway80
waistaway80 Posts: 31 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I've been hearing a lot about what percentages is healthy when it comes to protein, carbs and fat ratios. Does anyone try to keep these at a certain percentage for fat loss? I've been at around 50% carbs, 30 protein and 20% fat for about 3 weeks and haven't really noticed a difference in weight, maybe I haven't given it enough time, but also, maybe my percentages need to be tweaked. Any suggestions?

Replies

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    I've been at 45%fat/ 25%Protein/30%Carbs for about a year.

    It's how I was eating anyway...so.

    I'm in maintenance and it works. I was finally able to lose the last 15 pounds by doing these ratios.

    The important thing is being happy and being able to sustain the plan.
  • foodfastfit
    foodfastfit Posts: 154 Member
    For fat loss I aim for a 500 calorie deficit. 10% carbs, 30% protein and 60% fat. I also inconsistently hurry it along by doing 30 minutes of low intensity cardio upon waking. I also tried to maintain strength with weight lifting. This routine took me from 13% to 10% body fat in about 6 weeks.
  • jolt28
    jolt28 Posts: 218 Member
    I'm trying 30 carb/35 protein and fat. May need to increase fat and lower carb more-we'll see.
  • waistaway80
    waistaway80 Posts: 31 Member
    You must be consuming the "good" fat in order to get 60% and still lose body fat. That's sort of hard to wrap my head around.
  • ShannonMpls
    ShannonMpls Posts: 1,936 Member
    You must be consuming the "good" fat in order to get 60% and still lose body fat. That's sort of hard to wrap my head around.

    Why? One could eat a diet of 90% "bad" fat (whatever that is) and still lose body fat if one were in a caloric deficit.

    I don't go by ratios. I aim to meet my minimums of 130g protein and 75g fat. I typically exceed fat and eat around 80-90g. The rest is carbs or p/f overage. If I look at the ratios, it's usually 30/30/40 or somewhere in that vicinity.

    Consistent tracking (including weighing food) to verify that you're in a calorie deficit is going to matter a LOT more than macro ratios when it comes to losing body fat.
  • foodfastfit
    foodfastfit Posts: 154 Member
    For the long haul, my goal is to pack on muscle. So, I always try to get in 1g of protein per lb of body weight. I also try to keep my body fat % in the "athletic" range. If I'm feeling a bit pudgy, I will go on a low carb diet and aim for a 500 calorie daily deficit. So, with constant protein calories and low carb calories, the majority of the calories will come from fat. Since I'm still in a deficit, all the fat is used up for fuel and not stored.
  • Gatus98
    Gatus98 Posts: 93 Member
    For extreme measures - 40c/40p/20f
    Otherwise, 40c/30p/30f

    It works best if you consume most of your complex carbs for breakfast, and avoid them completely for dinner.
  • foodfastfit
    foodfastfit Posts: 154 Member
    Sorry, I missed your question. I do aim for good fats like olive oil and almonds. I've heard good things about coconut oil and might try incorporating that also. However, for fat loss, I don't think the type of fat matters. I've experimented with butter and heavy whipping cream and still got the same results. I love putting heavy whipping cream in my chocolate protein shakes when I can :)
  • KatLifter
    KatLifter Posts: 1,314 Member
    For fat loss I aim for a 500 calorie deficit. 10% carbs, 30% protein and 60% fat. I also inconsistently hurry it along by doing 30 minutes of low intensity cardio upon waking. I also tried to maintain strength with weight lifting. This routine took me from 13% to 10% body fat in about 6 weeks.

    I'm about the same and I love it. Note that 10% is net carbs.
    Bacon or avocado and eggs for breakfast
    Chicken with skin and salad with blue cheese dressing for lunch
    Almonds/quest bars/ peanut butter for snacks
    Chicken with Parmesan cheese cooked in coconut oil for dinner.
    Full fat cream in my coffee

    The fat keeps me full and gives me energy - plus it makes my hair really shiny.
  • OkieTink
    OkieTink Posts: 285 Member
    70% fat
    25% protein
    5% net carbs

    Coconut oil is fantastic!
  • nolachick
    nolachick Posts: 3,278 Member
    holy crap this is a lot of fat ya'll are eat. I never thought of upping my fats, just my protein. hmmmm...
    what other healthy fats do you suggest?

    I love avocado I can put that on anything. Also love bacon lol.
  • BeachIron
    BeachIron Posts: 6,490 Member
    I don't worry about ratios. What I do worry about is getting sufficient fat and protein in terms of grams. The current recommendation is 1 gram of protein per pound of lean body mass, and 0.35 grams of fat per pound of total body weight. Eat the rest in carbs. Yes, it doesn't work with MFP's ratio silliness but that's easy enough to ignore. And yes, that is a MINIMUM for fat. Your body needs fat. Ignore all low fat B.S. from years ago.

    Edit: Just to be clear, the protein is assist you in maintaining muscle mass, for which you should also be strength training, and the fat is simply for healthy bodily functions. Eating fewer calories is what will cause you to lose weight.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    Eat whatever fats you want. I eat lots of avocado, full fat or 2% dairy, fatty meats and fishes, whole eggs, a little butter and oil (olive oil or coconut oil), a few nuts.

    Unless you have been told by your doctor to limit cholesterol - anything goes. I'm happy and extremely healthy. I feel great. Lowfat makes me cranky, fat, and I have trouble with my hair, nails and skin...not to mention hormonal disruption.
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
    High fat macro will reduce food intake volume by a lot, unless used to high sugar food. Have to be very attentive.
  • spiffybarbarella1
    spiffybarbarella1 Posts: 39
    Almost no carbs. Good amount of protein. Small amount of healthy fats. There are plenty of 'low carb haters' in the world: the evidence is there. Low carb diets induce weight loss, and rapid weight loss at that, especially for people who are insulin-resistant or for whom losing weight is difficult due to a slightly underactive thyroid or heriditary predisposition to being overweight(I include myself in this category. For me losing weight is like pulling teeth!)

    The thing is that my carb macronutrient ratio seems relatively high, because it is generally expressed as a percentage of calories not a percentage of diet, and lean proteins are very low in calories.
  • etoiles_argentees
    etoiles_argentees Posts: 2,827 Member
    Eat whatever fats you want. I eat lots of avocado, full fat or 2% dairy, fatty meats and fishes, whole eggs, a little butter and oil (olive oil or coconut oil), a few nuts.

    Unless you have been told by your doctor to limit cholesterol - anything goes. I'm happy and extremely healthy. I feel great. Lowfat makes me cranky, fat, and I have trouble with my hair, nails and skin...not to mention hormonal disruption.

    I eat lots of fat too, at least 40%. Carbs about 35%, protein 25%. I like my hair and skin to look good. :)
  • DragonflyF15
    DragonflyF15 Posts: 437 Member
    I find I'm happiest at 40Carbs,30Protein and 30Fat...seems to be a good balance of losing weight, esp fat off the body (I mainly eat good clean fats), build muscle, making me feel full, and giving me energy. For me I find that zig zagging in calories works best for me, eating more on lifting days and shoot for not going over weekly calories rather than looking at it daily.
  • Mrsallypants
    Mrsallypants Posts: 887 Member
    50-30-20 is not bad with a calorie deficit.

    You could have a sensitivity to carbs so you could try to reduce them to 25-30 percent of your daily calories and increase fat and protein. Fat is an easy nutrient to obtain in the diet, just take a shot of a tablespoon of flax seed oil or olive oil and get 120 calories (14 grams of fat) in less than a second. Or eat some almonds.

    Eating only 5 percent carbs and 70% fat is a Ketogenic diet.
  • suv_hater
    suv_hater Posts: 374 Member
    I guess it doesn't even matter.

    People that do the 80/10/10 diet are lean year-round. Like this girl who eats at least 85% carbs from fruit:

    FreeleeBeforeAndAfter.jpg
    FreeleePinkTop.jpg
    FreeleeBikiniShot.jpg
  • Just_Scott
    Just_Scott Posts: 1,766 Member
    For now, 55% C, 30% F, 15% P--dropped to 22% BF, and down 13 pounds. 3-4 weeks I'll drop the C, increase the P and pop out those muscles :)--Have you noticed how different each response is--interesting. There is no one way to accomplish a goal--all roads lead to your goal--just pick it and stick it!
  • h9dlb
    h9dlb Posts: 243 Member
    I had some good success with fat loss at 40p/40f/20c but the low carb got me down after a couple of week I was so tired and had no energy, even fell asleep when I sat in my car a couple of times, so very low carb isn't for me and I've changed to 40f/30p/30c, but the fat loss has slowed considerably
  • waistaway80
    waistaway80 Posts: 31 Member
    Yes, everyone has essentially said something different. Very interesting. There obviously is no right or wrong answer. I'm looking to lose about 15 pounds, and I think calorie deficit is the most important for that. Thanks for all the responses!!
  • BeachIron
    BeachIron Posts: 6,490 Member
    Yes, everyone has essentially said something different. Very interesting. There obviously is no right or wrong answer. I'm looking to lose about 15 pounds, and I think calorie deficit is the most important for that. Thanks for all the responses!!

    You're right that it's calories. Body recomp is different though and you'll have to do so legit research to understand that there is a right answer. Try checking out Alan Aragon or Lyle McDonald
  • Harder_Better_Faster_Stronger
    Harder_Better_Faster_Stronger Posts: 21 Member
    The conversion of carbohydrates or protein into fat is 10 times less efficient than simply storing fat in a fat cell, but the body can do it. If you have 100 extra calories in fat (about 11 grams) floating in your bloodstream, fat cells can store it using only 2.5 calories of energy. On the other hand, if you have 100 extra calories in glucose (about 25 grams) floating in your bloodstream, it takes 23 calories of energy to convert the glucose into fat and then store it. Given a choice, a fat cell will grab the fat and store it rather than the carbohydrates because fat is so much easier to store.

    TLDR? - High carb and low fat is the way to go.
  • DatMurse
    DatMurse Posts: 1,501 Member
    Yes, everyone has essentially said something different. Very interesting. There obviously is no right or wrong answer. I'm looking to lose about 15 pounds, and I think calorie deficit is the most important for that. Thanks for all the responses!!

    You're right that it's calories. Body recomp is different though and you'll have to do so legit research to understand that there is a right answer. Try checking out Alan Aragon or Lyle McDonald


    I can speak for this right now. I am encountering some weird plateaus I have never came across until recently
  • DatMurse
    DatMurse Posts: 1,501 Member
    I guess it doesn't even matter.

    People that do the 80/10/10 diet are lean year-round. Like this girl who eats at least 85% carbs from fruit:

    FreeleeBeforeAndAfter.jpg


    ew... those arms..

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