Carbs vs protein

Another option if you don't want to change the setting is use protein as a minimum and carbs as a max.

And it isn't cutting carbs that makes you lose weight, it is cutting calories while still getting enough protein so you don't lose much muscle as you lose the fat.

People who are overeating (and often not logging) often do better at cutting calories (the goal) when they also cut some carbs (which are easily overeaten and in some of the more common forms -- refined flour, sugar, chips, fries -- are found in lots of so called junk foods (with fat, however) and are not particularly filling) and increasing protein (which tends to be more satiating, especially in the leaner forms that are more often cooked at home). However, while reasonable advice, it's simplistic, and doesn't mean that you need to eat MORE protein than carbs. Since we get energy from carbs and fat and use protein for other (important) things, protein typically will not be the largest source of calories.

That said, I think a good goal for protein if losing is around .8 g per lb of a healthy goal weight, which on lower calories will be more than 20% of calories. I did 40-30-30 a lot of the time when losing and generally aim for 100 g of protein.

Back to the advice being simplistic, there are many different sources of carbs, and while I don't think there's a need to cut any out (I personally would have cut out sugary drinks if I consumed them, but no one has to in order to lose), it makes a lot of sense to me to focus on more nutrient dense (and for many of us, more filling) sources of carbs like, especially, vegetables, plus fruit, legumes, and other whole food sources like potatoes and sweet potatoes, oats, various other whole grains, etc. (depending on which of these you enjoy, although I think vegetables are of huge priority personally).

Getting even to something like 50-20-30 or 40-30-30 on lower calories for many may feel like they are cutting carbs (since for some reason people tend to perceive sweets and other snacky foods as carbs even when they are half fat) and increasing protein (pork chop or chicken breast is a more significant part of a plate than maybe the meat in many higher cal meals, and if you simply cut out low protein snacky foods you will be increasing protein as a percentage without doing more). So the advice is not necessarily inconsistent with MFP's default macros, although there's nothing magic about those and I'd change them if you want.

There is no reason to cut carbs and raise protein. The default macro setting is the recommended by most health organisations. The macro split has nothing to do with weight loss.

kmill90 wrote: »

Team - Why does this app want me to have 50% carbs and only 20% protein in my diet daily? Currently 165 trying to get to weight of 145. I've always been told cut carbs and raise protein. Help!

Because that's the default macro ratio that is more or less based on RDA. You don't have to cut carbs or low carb to lose weight..it's just the in vogue thing to do at the moment. Where weight management is concerned, it's about calories. When people reduce carbs or substantially eliminate them as per a keto diet, they are cutting out calories...cutting out an entire macro is generally going to lead to a substantial cut in calories for most people.

50% carbs, min 15% protein and max 35% fat is the uk advice. You'll find that 0.8kg protein/kg of normal weight often comes out at a lower proportion of protein. I'd say 10% out either way isn't a problem in any day - but should even out over the week. Why so much carbohydrate? Because life is carbon based - if you stint in carbohydrates (the more complex and wholegrains the better) you stint on all your bodily functions. A balanced diet makes even low calorie diets palatable and reduces craving. Remember micro-nutrients too. Diets are often lacking in vitamins, iron and calcium.