Ratios

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Kickbuttkatie
Kickbuttkatie Posts: 4 Member
in Getting Started
I have 100 lbs to lose and I noticed I can set all my daily intake %'s... If I am trying to lose this much weight, what should my ratios be? I'd like to do low carb if I can. What should my sodium, sugar, fat, protien, carb %'s be? I tried lowering my carbs and protein but it won't accept it if it doesn't balance

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  • mbcaldwell123
    mbcaldwell123 Posts: 79 Member
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    my pt recommended 40 protein 25 fat 35 carbs for me. i've lost >100 lbs and still want to lose 50 lbs more or at least more of the fat from my thighs. Best of luck to you!!!!!!
  • BenjaminMFP88
    BenjaminMFP88 Posts: 660 Member
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    Kickbuttkatie wrote: »
    I have 100 lbs to lose and I noticed I can set all my daily intake %'s... If I am trying to lose this much weight, what should my ratios be? I'd like to do low carb if I can. What should my sodium, sugar, fat, protien, carb %'s be? I tried lowering my carbs and protein but it won't accept it if it doesn't balance

    I'd strongly recommend googling a few good recommended (splits) and give them a try for a few weeks and see how you feel. Everyone reacts differently and some people just work better at certain splits then others. Just food for thought, unless medically necessary, I wouldn't worry about sodium to much, and sugar is nothing more then a carb. A split will be made up of just Carbs/Fat/Protein. Personally, I like 35/20/45 but that's just me.

  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    In addition to setting your goals to a custom ratio, you can choose which 5 items you want to see in your diary. I watch my carbs, too, so I have protein, carbs, fiber (so I can subtract it from total carbs), iron and calcium.

    If you start with the carb ratio, and already have your calorie goal set, you'll notice as you play with the percentages that it'll show you how many grams of carbs that would be at your calorie goal. So if you wanted to stay below 50 grams, for instance, you could find the percentage that gets you close to that 50 grams. Then set the other two macros making sure that everything adds up to 100%.
  • Kickbuttkatie
    Kickbuttkatie Posts: 4 Member
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    thank you both. I will try each of these ratios and see where it takes me. :) I appreciate the feedback. Good job on the weight loss. I hope it works that good for me
  • Torontonius
    Torontonius Posts: 245 Member
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    mbcaldwell123 wrote: »
    my pt recommended 40 protein 25 fat 35 carbs for me. i've lost >100 lbs and still want to lose 50 lbs more or at least more of the fat from my thighs. Best of luck to you!!!!!!

    This would be my recommendation, or even a 40/30/30. Make sure your fats are "healthy" - eg: olive oil, avocado, almonds, pumpkin seeds etc - try not to eat too much saturated fat.

  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    There's no one single answer to this question. As long as you're eating at a deficit and getting enough nutrients, it doesn't matter all that much -- it comes down to personal preference.

    One method I've heard is to set your fat ratio between 25 and 35 (depending on preference), and to calculate your protein based on 0.8g/lb of lean muscle mass based on estimated body fat %, so, let's say you weigh 200lbs with 50% body fat, then your lean muscle mass would be about 100lbs, or 80g of protein per day -- not an exact science but a good starting point to make sure you're getting enough. Then whatever is left over would be carbs. Start there and adjust as you see how you go.

    Aim for the "right" kind of fats -- monounsaturated and polyunsaturated, especially omega 3. Try to keep your saturated fats low and your trans fats to 0 or as close as possible to 0. But don't worry if you go over your fat intake if you're eating healthy fats.

    Fibre is a carb -- try to get at least 14g of fibre for every 1000 calories you eat. So if you're eating 2000 calories, you should aim for at least 28g of fibre.

    Sodium recommendation is to be under 2300mg per day for adults. You can aim for lower if you have medical reasons to do so, but otherwise, don't stress about it.

    Hope this helps!
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    segacs wrote: »
    Sodium recommendation is to be under 2300mg per day for adults. You can aim for lower if you have medical reasons to do so, but otherwise, don't stress about it.
    Actually, the American Heart Association is now recommending 1500 mg of sodium per day, down from the previous 2300 mg. MFP hasn't caught up to this change. 1500 was the old recommendation for those with high blood pressure and other issues. Apparently, the AHA feels that over 1500 mg per day eventually leads to high blood pressure (most elderly people seem to eventually end up with it) so they've lowered their recommendation to that level for everyone.

    I'm not entirely sure how they believe we're all going to meet that goal given that you can easily exceed that allowance by eating a big turkey sandwich, a can of soup, or 1.5 cups of cottage cheese.
  • Kickbuttkatie
    Kickbuttkatie Posts: 4 Member
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    Very helpful everyone. I appreciate it :) I am going to try to balance all of this and do some research this weekend and be ready to go for Monday :)
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    SueInAz wrote: »
    Actually, the American Heart Association is now recommending 1500 mg of sodium per day, down from the previous 2300 mg. MFP hasn't caught up to this change. 1500 was the old recommendation for those with high blood pressure and other issues. Apparently, the AHA feels that over 1500 mg per day eventually leads to high blood pressure (most elderly people seem to eventually end up with it)

    Okay, I didn't realize that. I'm Canadian and was going based on Health Canada's recommendation, which for adults 14-50 years old is to get an AI (adequate intake) of 1500mg without exceeding 2300mg per day. The AI drops to 1300mg at age 50 and 1200mg at age 70.

    I'm pretty much always way, way under that, though. I think if you cook mostly from scratch and don't eat a lot of fast food or processed foods, sauces and such, it's easy to stay under.

    In any case, if you have concerns about sodium, speak to a doctor. If you have risk factors like high blood pressure or a family history of stroke or heart disease, they may recommend a more sodium-restricted diet.
  • feisty_bucket
    feisty_bucket Posts: 1,047 Member
    edited November 2014
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    Kickbuttkatie wrote: »
    what should my ratios be? I'd like to do low carb if I can.

    Ha, every nutritional camp will suggest a different ratio. That's like asking, "What should my religion be?"
    Pick something and try it out, research it, see what happens.

    Even in this thread, you've got people telling you to avoid saturated fat, which is contentious.
    http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/early/2010/01/13/ajcn.2009.27725.abstract
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
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    I really wouldnt get hung up on ratios, just experiment a bit. the key one is making sure your deficit is intact. Dont have a problem with what segacs says on protein, but plenty eat much more. If it works for you then do it.

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