Type of calories

Gatorinky · April 2014

I normally eat a lot of carbo calories (bread, potatoes, rice), my question is: Are protien calories better than carbo calories or are calories just calories??

Shropshire1959 · April 2014

Nope.. You need them all ..

Now, what I still find confusing is that folks use different ratios of Protien:Carbs:Fat:Fibre etc.. So I'm not sure which is best for me.

SezxyStef · April 2014

for weight loss calories are just calories...

for health you need a wide variety of different foods...

for body composistion you concentrate on Protien then fats then carbs...

What protien does for you is keeps you feeling fuller longer and helps repair muscles damage from exercise and aids in the retention of Lean body mass...

editorgrrl · April 2014

for weight loss calories are just calories...

for health you need a wide variety of different foods...

for body composistion you concentrate on Protien then fats then carbs...

What protien does for you is keeps you feeling fuller longer and helps repair muscles damage from exercise and aids in the retention of Lean body mass.

^This.

I'm less hungry when I use MFP's protein & fiber goals as minimums, and ignore fat & carbs. It will take trial & error to find what works for you.

Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

trogalicious · April 2014

for weight loss calories are just calories...

for health you need a wide variety of different foods...

for body composistion you concentrate on Protien then fats then carbs...

What protien does for you is keeps you feeling fuller longer and helps repair muscles damage from exercise and aids in the retention of Lean body mass...

Yup. This.

How much you eat determines how much you lose. What you eat helps determine how you feel.

MinnieInMaine · April 2014

A calorie is a calorie is a calorie. As long as you have a calorie deficit (aka eat within the daily calories MFP gives you), you will lose weight. The difference is more in how the different macronutritnes (fat, carbs, protein) affect how you feel. A good mix tends to be best but some find cutting down carbs helps their weight loss. I believe, at least in part, this is due to how their process the nutrients. Some do perfectly fine with high carb diets. But some (myself included) would be hungry all the time eatign mostly carbs. But if I eat more protein and healthy fats, I'll feel full longer. Do what works best for you.

Which brings me to the ratio point Shropshire brougth up... MFP ratios are set up, from my understanding, per recommended daily allowances. It's fine to use the defaults but know that if you go over in protein, it's actually a good thing. A commonly recommended ratio is 40%carbs, 30% protein and 30% fat. You can change these under Custom Goals.

Shropshire1959 · April 2014

Which brings me to the ratio point Shropshire brougth up... MFP ratios are set up, from my understanding, per recommended daily allowances. It's fine to use the defaults but know that if you go over in protein, it's actually a good thing. A commonly recommended ratio is 40%carbs, 30% protein and 30% fat. You can change these under Custom Goals.

Cheers.. I'll go take a look at mine. I'd like to 'tune' my ratios.. I'm a 'mature' (read Old!!) runner and need to lose some weight (about 5 - 6 Kgs)... but I need the 'energy' for my runs.

jstout365 · April 2014

Which brings me to the ratio point Shropshire brougth up... MFP ratios are set up, from my understanding, per recommended daily allowances. It's fine to use the defaults but know that if you go over in protein, it's actually a good thing. A commonly recommended ratio is 40%carbs, 30% protein and 30% fat. You can change these under Custom Goals.

Cheers.. I'll go take a look at mine. I'd like to 'tune' my ratios.. I'm a 'mature' (read Old!!) runner and need to lose some weight (about 5 - 6 Kgs)... but I need the 'energy' for my runs.

If you are doing long distance running you may find you need a higher carb ratio to fuel your runs better. It is trial and error at this point, but with so little to lose (we are not talking about 40 kg) you will probably want to tailor your macros to your activity and not just for weight loss. Keep at a calorie deficit to lose the weight and determine the best macros for your running. If you are doing any resistance training, you will want to have a good amount of protein. Common recommendations for protein is 1 gram per lb of lean body mass or .6-.8 g per lb of body weight. Ratios will depend a lot on how many calories you eat in a day. I personally aim for 120 g protein a day and hit that at any calorie level so my ratios will fluctuate when I increase or decrease calories.

Shropshire1959 · April 2014

^ - cool - thanks loads for your input and time.

Gatorinky · April 2014

Thanks all, that's what I though, but I'm no expert!!! LOL

StaciMarie1974 · April 2014

Your body needs protein, fat and carbs.

lindsey1979 · April 2014

I think the types of calories make a difference for your weight loss. For example, for the same calorie deficit, if you lose more muscle versus fat, the scale weight will drop quicker because it takes 3500 calories to lose a lb of fat versus only 800-1700 calories to catabolize a lb of muscle. But, generally, you don't want to do that -- you want to maintain as much muscle as possible to keep you metabolism up as far as possible (as muscle, lb for lb, using more energy than fat). So, you want to focus on losing more fat rather than muscle, though the scale weight may not go down as quickly.

To maintain the greatest amount of muscle in a caloric deficit, you should get sufficient protein and lift heavy. Both of those things have been shown to reduce muscle loss (or even maintain it for some) in a caloric deficit. What is sufficient protein is still being debated, but I opt for 0.7 g protein per 1 lb body weight. Also, if you're eating higher satiating foods, you'll feel less deprived and hungry on an equal caloric deficit. This varies per person, but many find that restricting carbs helps with this and eating nutrient dense foods (or "clean" eating) as a lot of empty calories are found in highly processed/artificial foods and high sugar foods. Some don't notice a difference and it's all the same to them. But, others do so that helps a lot. Whether it will matter for you will be something you'll have to experiment on and find out for yourself.

QuietBloom · April 2014

Which brings me to the ratio point Shropshire brougth up... MFP ratios are set up, from my understanding, per recommended daily allowances. It's fine to use the defaults but know that if you go over in protein, it's actually a good thing. A commonly recommended ratio is 40%carbs, 30% protein and 30% fat. You can change these under Custom Goals.

Cheers.. I'll go take a look at mine. I'd like to 'tune' my ratios.. I'm a 'mature' (read Old!!) runner and need to lose some weight (about 5 - 6 Kgs)... but I need the 'energy' for my runs.

If you are doing long distance running you may find you need a higher carb ratio to fuel your runs better. It is trial and error at this point, but with so little to lose (we are not talking about 40 kg) you will probably want to tailor your macros to your activity and not just for weight loss. Keep at a calorie deficit to lose the weight and determine the best macros for your running. If you are doing any resistance training, you will want to have a good amount of protein. Common recommendations for protein is 1 gram per lb of lean body mass or .6-.8 g per lb of body weight. Ratios will depend a lot on how many calories you eat in a day. I personally aim for 120 g protein a day and hit that at any calorie level so my ratios will fluctuate when I increase or decrease calories.

Yes, runners definitely need at least 1 g/lb lean body mass of protein for recovery. I have found that I do fine on a 40% carb/30% protein and 30% fat.

Shropshire1959 · April 2014

Thanks.

Type of calories

Replies

Categories