Percentage of carbs/fat/protein ?

hopetobeinshape
hopetobeinshape Posts: 272
edited September 19 in Food and Nutrition
When I initially started (not that long ago) I went with what MFP recommended which is ALOT of carbs. I have heard that the best and healthiest way to lose with exercise is to do 50% protein, 30% fat, and 20% carbs. Does anyone have any opinions on this? I really have no experience on the nutritional side of things here so Im wondering what works for everyone else.

Replies

  • hopetobeinshape
    hopetobeinshape Posts: 272
    When I initially started (not that long ago) I went with what MFP recommended which is ALOT of carbs. I have heard that the best and healthiest way to lose with exercise is to do 50% protein, 30% fat, and 20% carbs. Does anyone have any opinions on this? I really have no experience on the nutritional side of things here so Im wondering what works for everyone else.
  • Nich0le
    Nich0le Posts: 2,906 Member
    depends on what exercise you are doing. If you are a cardio bandit and you do a lot of elliptical, running or walking you should try 50-25-25, 50% carbs and 25% each for protein and good fats.

    Keep in mind,each persons body reacts a little different to changes so you may need to tweak your eating based off of your results.

    Besides, a recent study revealed that for a moderate exercisers, those that only get about 30 minutes in 3-4 days a week had similar results no matter what diet plan they followed, low carb, low fat, high protein, as long as they stayed in their allowed calories for the day and did their exercise they all lost the same amount of weight.....low carb dieters had the most rebound weight though!

    :flowerforyou:
  • krissynicole787
    krissynicole787 Posts: 121 Member
    I was curious about that too. I did some research and found the answer from discoveryhealth.com

    "Approximately 45-60 percent of calories should come from carbohydrates, 15-20 percent should be protein and the remaining 25 to 35 percent can come from fat (mostly from monounsaturated sources)."
  • jdsmith
    jdsmith Posts: 12
    I used to be really fat and I lost a good 60 lbs on the Atkins diet....but the Atkins diet is full of *kitten*, but it does encourage some positive dietary balance, which is probably why it worked for me - that being a lot of protein.

    I later wrote a paper about the atkins diet examining various sets of scientific studies....they demonstrated that the people that lost the most weight were all eating the most protein. Protein is king, but you have to be careful because it is harder on your kidneys to process, thus the need for carbs and fats. Anyway, truly the percentages don't matter imo. your much better served spending 5 minutes on an exercise bike than spending 5 minutes thinking about this particular balance.

    Carbs = least filling, but extremely beneficial pre-exercise
    Fats = These just taste good
    Protein = filling, post exercise
  • singfree
    singfree Posts: 1,591 Member
    If you are doing any intense workouts, I would recommend 40% carb/ 40% protein/ 30% fat. Get your carbs from "good" sources, those low on the Glycemic Index (GI). Stay away from processed carbs, and go for whole grains and veg. This is just my opinion based on a good amount of reading and personal experience. Adjust these ratios to see what works for YOU. Good luck!
  • MisoSoup79
    MisoSoup79 Posts: 517
    If you are doing any intense workouts, I would recommend 40% carb/ 40% protein/ 30% fat. Get your carbs from "good" sources, those low on the Glycemic Index (GI). Stay away from processed carbs, and go for whole grains and veg. This is just my opinion based on a good amount of reading and personal experience. Adjust these ratios to see what works for YOU. Good luck!

    I think you mean 40/30/30 as your equation equals 110...

    Everyone has a different balance. Mine is 50/25/25. I can't do low carb... I like my whole grains!
  • hopetobeinshape
    hopetobeinshape Posts: 272
    THank you! :flowerforyou: for all the advice! I am doing the couch to 5k , so running three days a wk and P90x
  • singfree
    singfree Posts: 1,591 Member
    oops, i meant 40/40/20, sorry. But 40/30/30 might work. It really depends on the individual, exercise, lifestyle, etc...
  • Blossom01
    Blossom01 Posts: 658
    :huh: I DID NOT KNOW THIS:blushing:
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