Carb/Protien/Fat Ratio

I don't really do the whole percentage thing like that. Here's a blurb from the article in my signature:

As previously noted, these nutrients are the delivery vehicles for our calories.

- 1 gram of protein yields 4 calories

- 1 gram of carbohydrate yields 4 calories

- 1 gram of fat yields 9 calories

As you can see, fat is twice as energy-dense as protein and carbohydrates. As an aside, alcohol also provides calories to our bodies… 7 calories per gram to be exact.

First let’s set a baseline – a breakdown of how much of each nutrient you should eat. This is by no means set in stone and definitely needs to be tailored to the individual. Many folks like to throw around percentages such as 40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30% fat. This means 40% of your calories should come from carbs, 30% from protein, and 30% from fat. It’s not a terrible way of looking at things. I go about things slightly different though.

I start with protein. This is the foundation of any diet as far as I’m concerned. Rather than using a percentage of total calories, I prefer using absolute values based on the amount of lean body mass that you have.

- 1 gram per pound of total body weight if you’re relatively lean
- 1 gram per pound of lean body mass if you’re overweight
- 1 gram per pound of goal body weight if you don’t know your lean body mass

Yes, this amount of protein is above the amount recommended by the RDA. Keep in mind though that the research that’s the basis for the RDA’s recommendation is antiquated by a few decades. In fact, if you’re in an energy deficit, protein requirements can actually go a bit higher than this. It’s one of the few things that’s in our control as far as muscle preservation while dieting goes. It also does some nifty things in terms of satiety and energy expenditure. In the case of a calorie deficit, 1 – 1.5 grams would be a suitable range for the above formulas. For anyone else, .8 – 1.2 grams will suffice.

While this rule isn’t set in stone, I suggest eating protein at each meal. Preferably most of your protein comes from lean sources, which include chicken breast, turkey breast, pork tenderloin, lean ground beef, lean cuts of steak (such as top round), venison, fish, seafood, eggs, dairy, and protein powder.

Next we focus on fat. Let’s get a few things clear before diving into our guidelines for fat consumption. First and foremost, dietary fat does not make you fat. Excess calories get shuttled to fat storage. If the fat that you’re eating is accompanied by calorie maintenance or a deficit, you’re not going to be adding body fat assuming all other things are kept constant.

Secondly, the jury is still out about the role of saturated fat on heart disease. Unless you’re cutting the fat off of meat and using it as bubble gum, there’s really no apparent reason for the current alarmist mentality surrounding its intake. If anything, you should probably work to limit the intake of processed trans fats.

Saturated? Trans? What’s this all about. Don’t fret. There are a few subcategories of dietary fat: saturated, unsaturated, and trans.

- Saturated fat sources – meat, dairy, tropical oils, butter

- Unsaturated fat sources – (mono) – nuts, vegetable oils, canola and olive oil, avocados / (poly) – fish oil pills, cold water fish, canola oil, flax

- Trans fat sources – margarine, baked goods… essentially a lot of the processed junk food

My suggestion is to have .3 – .6 grams per pound of target body weight. These recommendations come from Alan Aragon, a nutrition consultant and author who publishes a monthly research review that I highly recommend. If you prefer a percentage, I’d say 20-30% of total calories.

I like to see this intake somewhat balanced between saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fats.

Carbohydrates are currently the focus of a lot of fear and hate. Many ‘authorities’ like to make money by crying out in their books and blogs about carbohydrates making us fat. Oddly enough, while low-carbohydrate zealots abound, our government recommends the majority of our diets come in the form of carbohydrates. Who’s right?

Well, absolutists lack objectivity. They reason with their emotions instead of their logic and evidence. This doesn’t have to be an either/or variable in your diet. Some folks are going to excel on higher carbohydrate approaches. Others are going to fare better on lower carbohydrate approaches.

One thing’s for certain… don’t go cutting out fruits and vegetables simply because insulin supposedly makes you fat in the absence of a calorie surplus or because fructose is harmful irrespective of dosage.

A sample list of carbohydrate-dominant foods includes vegetables, fruits, breads, pastas, oats, dairy, and rice. Most junk foods are typically heavy in carbohydrates as well.

It’s tough to come up with a blanket suggested range for carbohydrate consumption. Optimal intake of carbs is going to depend on genetics (insulin resistant vs. insulin sensitive), body composition, activity patterns (endurance based training vs. strength training), etc.

The typical approach we take is to eat 3-6 servings of fibrous vegetables and 2-4 servings of fruit per day.

If you still have calories to use up after accounting for protein, fats, veggies, and fruits… you can fill the remainder with pretty much anything. If you’re an endurance based athlete or you’re relatively lean, you’re probably going to want to fill it in with carbohydrates – starchy or otherwise. If you’re insulin resistant and/or overweight, you might consider taking a lower carb approach in which case you’d fill the remainder in with fat. This is also where you’d satisfy your sweet tooth as well, assuming you have one.

To sum our recommendations up:

- .8-1.5 grams of protein per pound of total body weight or target body weight
- .3-.6 grams of fat per pound of target body weight
- 3-6 servings of fibrous veggies
- 2-4 servings of fruit
- fill in the remaining calories depending on the aforementioned factors

Numero Uno: .5 to 1g of protein per lb of lean body mass

Numero Dos: .35-.50g of fat per lb of bodyweight

Numero Tres: Put the rest of your calorie intake into carbs.

Numbero Quatro: Get 2-4 servings a day from fruits, 4-6 servings a day from veggies for overall good health.

Disclaimer: In no way shape or form do I admit that I can speak/type Spanish accurately or fluently. That much is certain.

Edit: Damnit Steve, you beat me to it.

:drinker:

(that's my water!)

Bump

What are you set to now? I think we all tend to overthink this one a bit. Start somewhere around 40/30/30, and tweak as you see fit.

thats too low, dont go below 45% carbs for more than a month or two unless reccomended by a doctor for health reasons

Care to explain? Especially seeing as how there's no such thing as an "essential" carbohydrate.