Carbs-Proteins-Fats

caston71
caston71 Posts: 7
edited November 9 in Health and Weight Loss
It's says my percentages are supposed to be 50% carbs, 20% protein, & 30% fat. My husband says these percentages aren't accurate. I'm 26 yr old female, 5'2", lightly active. Are those percentages correct based on my demographics?

Replies

  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    It's a standard they throw out. A good place to start is 35 35 30.
  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    What are your goals? Also what did your husband recommend?
  • stephxo1
    stephxo1 Posts: 191 Member
    I manually inputted my own percentages at 35% carbs, 35% protein and 30% fat and think is an average base to start with. You can tweak it slighty based on your own goals but 50% carbs sounds like a lot.
  • criticaldog
    criticaldog Posts: 21 Member
    Depends on your diet, and what your goals are, I suppose. Me, I'm doing the low carb high fat thing, so those numbers are nuts to me. That being said, unless your husband is a dietician or physical therapist, he may not have any more valid data than you do.
  • stephxo1
    stephxo1 Posts: 191 Member
    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    It's a standard they throw out. A good place to start is 35 35 30.

    That's also my starting point and seems to be working just fine :)
  • caston71
    caston71 Posts: 7
    @yopeeps025‌ I want to lose 7-8lbs & tone up everywhere. My husband thought the carb & fat percentage was too high. Thoughts??

  • mymodernbabylon
    mymodernbabylon Posts: 1,038 Member
    I set up my own in that I want a certain amount, and not percentage of my calories to be protein - everything else doesn't matter too much to me. I wanted a minimum of .8 grams of protein per pound on days I'm lifting and a bit less on days I'm not. I'm not sure what my percentage actually is right now.
  • caston71
    caston71 Posts: 7
    Oh okay. Thanks @Liftng4Lis‌ & @stephxo1‌ :smiley:
  • stephxo1
    stephxo1 Posts: 191 Member
    caston71 wrote: »
    Oh okay. Thanks @Liftng4Lis‌ & @stephxo1‌ :smiley:

    You're welcome. If you're wanting to tone up and are lifting weights then keep protein high even on days off. Works for me :)
  • TropicalParaMonster
    TropicalParaMonster Posts: 151 Member
    I don't know your weight, else I would have done this for you.
    Go on here : http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/
    Write in all your info and it'll break it down for you per gram. Since you don't have much to lose as it is, IIFYM is perfect to use to get those last few off and tone up. Usually people just take 1/3 of each macro, or up the protein a bit. so the 35/35/30 seems decent. Carbs will depend on your activity level. They're proportional, if you do more cardio or are active on the job etc, you'll need a bit more carbs. General rule of 100g-125g of carbs usually is average.
  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    caston71 wrote: »
    @yopeeps025‌ I want to lose 7-8lbs & tone up everywhere. My husband thought the carb & fat percentage was too high. Thoughts??

    Macro distribution is more for body composition and not weight loss since it is Calories in< calories out.
  • caston71
    caston71 Posts: 7
    My husband has fitness experience. He enjoys it & is his hobby. He's no expert but is knowledgable in a lot of areas. He used to work out all the time but got away from it once my son was born & had to work more within this last year.
  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    caston71 wrote: »
    @yopeeps025‌ I want to lose 7-8lbs & tone up everywhere. My husband thought the carb & fat percentage was too high. Thoughts??

    My thoughts are 20% protein intake. Do you do resistance training?

    Body needs fat to get rid of fat.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    edited January 2015
    caston71 wrote: »
    It's says my percentages are supposed to be 50% carbs, 20% protein, & 30% fat. My husband says these percentages aren't accurate. I'm 26 yr old female, 5'2", lightly active. Are those percentages correct based on my demographics?

    The USDA dietary guidelines say people should eat between 45% and 65% of their calories in carbs so the MFP default is within those guidelines, on the lower end.

    What are your goals? Do you enjoy carbs more than protein? Do you get hungrier when you eat more carbs? Do you have a medical reason to limit carbs? All of these will help you determine what is the best macro breakdown for you. Everybody is different which is why this is just a guideline and you need to figure out what will work for you. I am another who is 35-35-30.

    Other USDA guidelines:

    22 to 28 grams of fiber a day for women (28-34 for men)
    10 to 35 percent of your total daily calories from protein
    5 to 15 percent of total calories from all sources of sugars
    20 to 35 percent of your daily calories from fat
    2,300 milligrams a day of sodium— or 1,500 milligrams if you're age 51 or older, if you are black, or if you have high blood pressure, diabetes or chronic kidney disease.

    mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/how-to-eat-healthy/art-20046590


  • caston71
    caston71 Posts: 7
    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    caston71 wrote: »
    @yopeeps025‌ I want to lose 7-8lbs & tone up everywhere. My husband thought the carb & fat percentage was too high. Thoughts??

    My thoughts are 20% protein intake. Do you do resistance training?

    Body needs fat to get rid of fat.

    Okay... No, I haven't started any exercise regimen yet. So, I need things that I can do at home since I'm home with my son most of the time.
  • caston71
    caston71 Posts: 7
    TropicalParaMonster wrote: »
    I don't know your weight, else I would have done this for you.
    Go on here : http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/
    Write in all your info and it'll break it down for you per gram. Since you don't have much to lose as it is, IIFYM is perfect to use to get those last few off and tone up. Usually people just take 1/3 of each macro, or up the protein a bit. so the 35/35/30 seems decent. Carbs will depend on your activity level. They're proportional, if you do more cardio or are active on the job etc, you'll need a bit more carbs. General rule of 100g-125g of carbs usually is average.
    Oh okay. Thanks a milli!
  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    caston71 wrote: »
    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    caston71 wrote: »
    @yopeeps025‌ I want to lose 7-8lbs & tone up everywhere. My husband thought the carb & fat percentage was too high. Thoughts??

    My thoughts are 20% protein intake. Do you do resistance training?

    Body needs fat to get rid of fat.

    Okay... No, I haven't started any exercise regimen yet. So, I need things that I can do at home since I'm home with my son most of the time.

    google You are your own gym. I heard a lot about that program from MFP.

  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    caston71 wrote: »
    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    caston71 wrote: »
    @yopeeps025‌ I want to lose 7-8lbs & tone up everywhere. My husband thought the carb & fat percentage was too high. Thoughts??

    My thoughts are 20% protein intake. Do you do resistance training?

    Body needs fat to get rid of fat.

    Okay... No, I haven't started any exercise regimen yet. So, I need things that I can do at home since I'm home with my son most of the time.

    Well, you can always use lifting your son as progressive weight training ;)

  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    I had good success using this post as a starting point:http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets
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