balancing calories and carbs
chiasports
Posts: 14
I'm trying to stay around 2000 calories while keeps carbs fairly low,no more than 100 to 150 on cheat days.
i like both low carb and calorie in calorie out diets…so trying to find a happy medium.
I'm curious what ratios work best for those who stay between 2000-2500 calories.
include carb/protein/fat THANKS!
i like both low carb and calorie in calorie out diets…so trying to find a happy medium.
I'm curious what ratios work best for those who stay between 2000-2500 calories.
include carb/protein/fat THANKS!
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Replies
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Since you have a carb goal in mind, calculation is fairly easy:
Set MFP to whatever calorie goal you want (Goals -> Custom), then set your carbs to whatever percentage yields about 100g. This will probably be the 10% or 15% setting for your calorie range.
Calculate the amount of protein you need --> .8-1g/lb (or 1.9-2.2g/kg if you do metric) of lean body weight (more if you're doing a lot of exercise, less if you don't do much), that way you maintain you keep the muscle you have and your weight loss will favor body fat. To get lean body weight, find out your body fat percentage, then convert that to a weight, then subtract that weight from your total weight. This will be around the 30% option.
Set the rest as fat. Yes, this will be around 50% or 60%, and yes, it will be upwards of 100g+. This is not a bad thing, and it's important you get enough, because going low carb means you need to get your fuel from somewhere else (and protein is an inferior fuel source to carbs and fat, and going high protein, low carb, low fat is a recipe for disaster). You should never go under .45g/lb of total body weight, because you need that fat to properly absorb nutrients. Just get your fats from high quality sources, such as pastured animals fed species appropriate diets (grass for cows, omnivorous diets including foraging for pigs and poultry, etc), fatty fish, avocados, coconut, and olive oils. When obtained from quality sources, the fats that you eat should largely be monounsaturated (believe it or not, animal fats are largely monounsaturated when the animals have been raised properly), some saturated fats (this isn't a bad thing, your body needs saturated fats to work properly), and a small amount of polyunsaturated fats (primarily Omega-3 and Omega-6 fats, in a 1:2 or 1:1 ratio of O3 to O6).0 -
thanks for the advice!! i come up with .. 2000 calories-carbs 100g-protein 250g-fat 67g
ill see how it goes…feel my carbs don't need to be too low since I'm only going 2000 calories.
il try it a month then maybe add more fat and drop the protein?
the cave man diet according to MDA says to go not much less then 100 carbs if you're not in a hurry and going for the long haul… if i hit a wall though i might consider dropping the carbs more and more.0 -
wait just noticed the .45/lb fat ratio….thats 123 at 275 lbs of body weight… seems high…where did u learn of that ratio?
ok so MFP goal chart is showing for 2000 calories and 45% from fat …it comes to fat 100g - carbs 100g - protein 175g
look good? the thing that makes it hard for me is the more fat i have to take in the less i can eat lol and i have a good appetite!0 -
wait just noticed the .45/lb fat ratio….thats 123 at 275 lbs of body weight… seems high…where did u learn of that ratio?
ok so MFP goal chart is showing for 2000 calories and 45% from fat …it comes to fat 100g - carbs 100g - protein 175g
look good? the thing that makes it hard for me is the more fat i have to take in the less i can eat lol and i have a good appetite!
The fat number is the one I've seen around a number of health/athletic forums and from rather respected community individuals. Unfortunately, there's still a lot of stigma on fat, so it's hard to dig up the original source (I'll see if I can find it, though). The general consensus is the same, though - you need it to absorb the fat soluble vitamins and minerals (and to properly synthesize and absorb Vitamin D), and men need it to help regulate testosterone. Additionally, the body uses things like saturated fat for cell repair and brain health.
That said, those numbers look better than the first ones you posted (250g seems really high - remember the number is based on lean body weight, not total).
As for the hunger thing - yes, you'll eat less by volume (kind of, you can cram a ton of veggies into 100g of carbs), but fat is highly satiating. I wouldn't be surprised if you come back in a month or two asking about how to get up to your goal calories, because you feel like you have to force-feed yourself.0 -
I have my calories set to 2200. My macros are set at 30% carb, 30% protein and 40% fat. Most days I only get to a net of 2000 to 2100.0
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I'm trying to stay in ketosis so I do:
2100 calories
25-40g of carbs
130g of protein
The rest fat - about163 g of fat, if I stay at 25carbs/130 protein
I'm 6 feet - was 212 lbs two weeks ago when I started this. This morning I was 201.5 (although it jumps around on a daily basis.)
Not particularly strict on all of the numbers above, but try to ensure carbs/proteins don't get too high.
Looking at your proposed numbers, the protein seemed very high and the fat very low. If you are restricting carbs, don't be afraid of fat.0 -
sounds good thanks for the info everyone!0