Carbs vs Protein vs Fat

cindyngreene
cindyngreene Posts: 5
in Food and Nutrition
I'm fairly new to the low carb eating and I'm trying to decide what is the correct percentages for protein vs fat. My son, who is 6'3" and huge, says you should eat your weight every day in protein. That sounds extremely hard to me. I stay under 20 carbs every day. Any help?

Replies

  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
    I'm fairly new to the low carb eating and I'm trying to decide what is the correct percentages for protein vs fat. My son, who is 6'3" and huge, says you should eat your weight every day in protein. That sounds extremely hard to me. I stay under 20 carbs every day. Any help?

    If you're going to go that low carb, then you'll need a ****-tonne of protein. You'll have to experiment, but for satiety/hormones, you'll need to keep your fats up as well. If you don't get adequate fats, you'll end up messing up things like leptin which will derail you down the road.
  • lisajsund
    lisajsund Posts: 366 Member
    I set my macros to 30% carbs, 30% protein and 40% fat. But, yes, that means I'm eating usually 150 g of protein a day.
    I also just concentrate on keeping the carbs low, but I don't think I could ever do 20 g a day. I'm usually between 100-150g a day.
    Search the lower carb groups in the forums, you'll find more support there. I'm part of a low carb group, a PCOS group, and the Skinny on Obesity group. :smile:
  • kshadows
    kshadows Posts: 1,315 Member
    A good protein goal to shoot for is about 1 gram per pound of LEAN body mass. If you don't know your lean body mass, use a calculator to figure out your BF% (Here's a good site to do that: http://www.fat2fittools.com/tools/mbf/)

    Eating that low carb is not going to really help you in the long run, your body uses carbs for energy.

    For most people (barring dietary needs due to medical conditions), .35 grams of fat per pound of TOTAL body weight is a good goal. Personally, I set mine as I described, and then make sure to get enough protein and fat at a minimum and whatever is leftover I eat as carbohydrates.
  • cindyngreene
    cindyngreene Posts: 5
    Thanks!:smile:
  • norcalskater
    norcalskater Posts: 194 Member
    The only people that should eat their weight in protein are body builders. For normal people not lifting weights that is a lot to put on the kidneys depending on your weight. Is a 400 lb person supposed to eat 400 grams of protein. No! That is ridiculous. I aim for 100g of protein a day as a 157 lb male who works out 6 days a week. Also 20 carbs is pretty low. They aren't bad for you like the mainstream has everyone thinking.
  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
    The only people that should eat their weight in protein are body builders.

    Or people who want to eat low carb.... if you are cutting the calories from one macro (say, carbs) where are you going to make them up from? Either fats or proteins. Both of which you should be increasing.

    She didn't ask whether you thought it was ok for her to eat low carb, she wanted practical advice on what to do about her protein level if she eats low carb.

    I see you edited your original post. Well, a 400 lb person would eat 1gm/lb of lbm, not total bw. For the leaner individual it becomes as close to bw as makes no difference.
  • ecw3780
    ecw3780 Posts: 608 Member
    I have been doing 40% carbs, 40% protein and 20% fat for over a year now. It seems to work really well for me (when I stick to it). Your body can't really process extreme amounts of protein at one time (despite all the people who pound 40 gram shakes at the gym), so just try to shoot for about 20 grams per meal. You won't always get there, and sticking to 20% fat and 40% protein is hard, but consider it a guideline. It's the balance of protein and fiber that keeps you full and satisfied. Additionally, I know people say not to worry about carbs from fruit because it's natural, but since I started tracking total sugar instead of just carbs, I have seen a big change. You shouldn't consume more than 25 grams of total sugar a day (that includes fruit and veg), and if you stick to that, you won't go over 40% carbs.
  • Kelly_Runs_NC
    Kelly_Runs_NC Posts: 474 Member
    You need a certain amount just to have your body function...never mind food or exercise. I would seek the advice of a doctor or nutritionist before you get sick.
  • norcalskater
    norcalskater Posts: 194 Member
    I know I was replying to the advice her son gave. Maybe he meant LBM.
  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
    You are probably going to need to structure in some carb re-feeds periodically. Staying at 20g daily will eventually backfire and likely cause you to binge wildly. Some reading about this:

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-hormones-of-bodyweight-regulation-leptin-part-2.html
  • AwesomeGuy37
    AwesomeGuy37 Posts: 436 Member
    I just go by my goal weight. 1g per pound and fat is about 0.45 per pound. The higher protein is there to prevent as much muscle breakdown as possible when losing weight. I eat low carb to control my blood sugar, but I don't do ketogenic diets. I eat about 20% of my calories in carbohydrates, where most are not added sugars.
  • tennisdude2004
    tennisdude2004 Posts: 5,609 Member
    20g of carbs - you can do this long term and be quite healthy (I believe thats what aitkins does)

    However unless you have a particular reason for going so low on carbs - then 100g is more than enough (get it from mainly veggies with a bit of fruit).

    If you have healthy kidneys too much protein will do nothing adverse to them. In fact like your heart the kidneys sometimes need a good workout. That being said 0.7g per lb of body weight is about right. Make the rest of your calories up with fat (after all your body will be using this as it's energy source). Excess protein will only get converted into body fat anyway.

    Before going into it - please do some research.

    Good luck.
  • bebrooksie
    bebrooksie Posts: 9
    I follow a low carb plan and I structure my day around a break down of 10% carbs, 20% protein and 70% fat. That puts me at about 40g of carbs, 90g of protein and 125g of fat according to my daily caloric intake of 1600 calories.

    I'm currently finishing up my fat fast, so my diary does not accurately represent my normal intake, lol.
  • ngyoung
    ngyoung Posts: 311 Member
    20g a day is at the far extreme side of low-carb. It is similar to the induction phase of Atkins or a strict ketogenic diet. Keto diet is fine in my opinion but isn't really necessary for most people long term. You can also maintain a state of ketosis eating higher carb once you become more fat adapted. You do not want to eat a lot of protein to make up for the lower carbs. I would replace that with fat. Too high of protein will also cause a spike in blood glucose similar to eating too many carbs. You don't need to eat 1g per 1 pound of lean body mass unless you are lifting weight and trying to build muscle. Just make sure you are getting enough fat. If you find yourself getting hungry a lot that is a good sign that you are not getting enough.

    I personally eat around 60% fat 30% protein 10% carbs. Everyone's carb tolerance is different though and you may have to tinker for a while to find where yours is.

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