Carb/Protein/Fat Ratio?

bcislander
bcislander Posts: 14
edited October 6 in Food and Nutrition
I'm curious, what is your desired Carb / Protein / Fat ratio?

I try and go with 40/30/30 when I am into a serious weightlifting routine as it is proposed to be one of the best ratios to maximize muscle growth and recovery.

Otherwise look at 45/30/25 as my desired daily ration ... was wondering what others prefer and why?

Replies

  • Blueberry09
    Blueberry09 Posts: 821 Member
    That's exactly what mine is set at too - although I tend to hit more 30% fat and 25% protein. I do aim for it, I just don't always get there :smile:
  • TrainingWithTonya
    TrainingWithTonya Posts: 1,741 Member
    I'm at 70% carbs, and 15% each for fat and protein. The reason is that I had a breast lump removed and a high fat diet can increase cancer risk so I have to keep fat at less then 20%. Setting it at 15% gives me a buffer. And I was planning to do a kidney donation so I had to cut to a 15-20% protein plan in order to be eligible for the donation. That left 70% for carbs, which is fine because I am constantly active and need the carbs for energy to spare the protein for muscle growth and repair. After doing that for a year, I was ruled out for the kidney donation, so I could up my protein, but that is at the 1.5 grams per kilogram of lean body mass that is recommended for my level of weight training. And I lost 15% body fat while eating this way, so obviously it is what works for me, especially since I only lost about 5 pounds on the scale this year so I've been able to gain about 25 pounds of lean body mass in that same time. No need to change what is working. :wink:
  • PJilly
    PJilly Posts: 22,247 Member
    I am for 50/25/25. It's the combo that seems to make me feel best and leave me the most satisfied, which makes it the combo that helps me stick to my calorie goal the best.
  • margojr4
    margojr4 Posts: 259 Member
    40/35/25 here at 1600 calories, 5-6 meals per day. I strength train with weights 3x week and cardio blast 2x week. This cycle has worked best for me. Like others have mentioned, this also keeps me satisfied and feeling good *flexes bicep* <grr> :wink:
  • buckeyetex315
    buckeyetex315 Posts: 33 Member
    I have mine set at 45 C / 30 F / 25 P, but that is only because my doctor doesn't want me to have more than 225 grams of carbs on a 2000 calorie daily diet due to my diabetes. I set the fat higher than the protein to match realiity. I find it hard to get enough protein without getting the fat. Would appreciate suggestions.
  • Sublog
    Sublog Posts: 1,296 Member
    I'm curious, what is your desired Carb / Protein / Fat ratio?

    I try and go with 40/30/30 when I am into a serious weightlifting routine as it is proposed to be one of the best ratios to maximize muscle growth and recovery.

    Otherwise look at 45/30/25 as my desired daily ration ... was wondering what others prefer and why?

    %'s are kind of arbitrary. Since everyone's calorie goals are different, hard %'s aren't as important.
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member

    %'s are kind of arbitrary. Since everyone's calorie goals are different, hard %'s aren't as important.

    ^ This. Setting intake in grams per lb will be more accurate.
  • smangani
    smangani Posts: 120
    I'm curious about this too. If I follow Biggest loser that wants 30% protein so I'm at 45C/25F/30P with an 1820 calorie goal.

    I'm still playing around with this. But I'm shooting for the protein intake.

    I'm a gastric bypass post op too X8 years. Protein is important for me anyway.
  • hornedtoad
    hornedtoad Posts: 4
    im confused how do you figure out the percentage of the food you want to eat??
  • NitaCB
    NitaCB Posts: 532 Member
    I have mine at 50/30/20, which I find works for me. I have had my carbs lower, at 40%, but I found it wasn't enough as I'm a runner. I think it's always important to make sure that your ratios are in line with what your goals are.
  • agthorn
    agthorn Posts: 1,844 Member

    %'s are kind of arbitrary. Since everyone's calorie goals are different, hard %'s aren't as important.

    ^ This. Setting intake in grams per lb will be more accurate.
    Setting my protein in grams per lb conveniently works out to about 25% of my total. I like carbs and I run, so I set that to 50% and left the other 25% for fat.
  • MDWilliams1857
    MDWilliams1857 Posts: 315 Member
    I agree. I figured out my BF%, deducted that from body weight to determine my LBM. Then set my protein at 1g per pound of LBM and my fat at .4g of LBM and the rest of my calories made up of carbs. 1g of protein is 4 calories, 1g of carbs is 4 calories and 1g of fat is 9 calories. So you can determine what your calorie goal is and then figure out everything else from there. So for me, my calorie goal is 2200. My LBM is 169. So my protein is set at 169g, my fat at 68g and my carbs at 228g.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    Don't use ratios

    try and get 1g of protein per lb of lbm and somewhere in the range of .35-.45g of fat per lb of bodyweight. fill in the rest of your cals however you please (there is no minimum for carbs as it's a non essential macronutrient)
  • agthorn
    agthorn Posts: 1,844 Member
    Don't use ratios
    I agree, except that for the purposes of using MFP when you customize macros you have to use the % drop down boxes. So if you're using this site you have to choose a ratio that's divisible by 5 to set your goals. You can't type in a number.
  • Going4Lean
    Going4Lean Posts: 1,078 Member
    Don't use ratios

    try and get 1g of protein per lb of lbm and somewhere in the range of .35-.45g of fat per lb of bodyweight. fill in the rest of your cals however you please (there is no minimum for carbs as it's a non essential macronutrient)

    How do you figure your Lbm
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    Don't use ratios
    I agree, except that for the purposes of using MFP when you customize macros you have to use the % drop down boxes. So if you're using this site you have to choose a ratio that's divisible by 5 to set your goals. You can't type in a number.

    the way i set it up is try and find a % that is close to the minimums i'm shooting for for pro and fats and then assign the rest to cho. So if you do that you always want to be in the red for pro and fats
  • MDWilliams1857
    MDWilliams1857 Posts: 315 Member
    Don't use ratios

    try and get 1g of protein per lb of lbm and somewhere in the range of .35-.45g of fat per lb of bodyweight. fill in the rest of your cals however you please (there is no minimum for carbs as it's a non essential macronutrient)

    How do you figure your Lbm


    You have to figure your body fat percentage, subtract that from your overall body weight and that will give you your LBM.
  • MDWilliams1857
    MDWilliams1857 Posts: 315 Member
    Don't use ratios

    try and get 1g of protein per lb of lbm and somewhere in the range of .35-.45g of fat per lb of bodyweight. fill in the rest of your cals however you please (there is no minimum for carbs as it's a non essential macronutrient)

    How do you figure your Lbm


    You have to figure your body fat percentage, subtract that from your overall body weight and that will give you your LBM.

    Here is an equation you can use. it wont be 100% but it will be close enough.

    (1.20 x BMI) + (.23 x age) - (10.8 x gender) - 5.4 = body fat percentage Note: for gender enter 1 for men and 0 for women.
  • agthorn
    agthorn Posts: 1,844 Member
    (1.20 x BMI) + (.23 x age) - (10.8 x gender) - 5.4 = body fat percentage Note: for gender enter 1 for men and 0 for women.
    Interesting. Gives me 27.42%, while my body fat monitor gives me about 21%.
  • margojr4
    margojr4 Posts: 259 Member
    (1.20 x BMI) + (.23 x age) - (10.8 x gender) - 5.4 = body fat percentage Note: for gender enter 1 for men and 0 for women.
    Interesting. Gives me 27.42%, while my body fat monitor gives me about 21%.

    Interesting for sure, this gave me 29.05% when I average 20% BF by caliper tests :/
  • agthorn
    agthorn Posts: 1,844 Member
    (1.20 x BMI) + (.23 x age) - (10.8 x gender) - 5.4 = body fat percentage Note: for gender enter 1 for men and 0 for women.
    Interesting. Gives me 27.42%, while my body fat monitor gives me about 21%.

    Interesting for sure, this gave me 29.05% when I average 20% BF by caliper tests :/
    That IS interesting. Since BMI gets more and more worthless the lower body fat you have, but it's a component of the calculation. You have a lower body fat than me but the formula scored you higher.
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
    It gave me 22.8% bodyfat.


    LOL



    brb cutting.
  • agthorn
    agthorn Posts: 1,844 Member
    It gave me 22.8% bodyfat.


    LOL



    brb cutting.
    :laugh:
  • it_be_asin
    it_be_asin Posts: 562 Member
    I am for 50/25/25. It's the combo that seems to make me feel best and leave me the most satisfied, which makes it the combo that helps me stick to my calorie goal the best.

    That's my golden ratio. It's a stretch target for protein for me, a limit for fats, and carbs fall where they may.
  • MDWilliams1857
    MDWilliams1857 Posts: 315 Member
    Yea, because it uses BMI as a factor, the more overweight you are the more accurate it will be. The reverse of course is the better shape youre in the less accurate it will be. But, if youre in good shape already then you can probably just use overall body weight to set your macro intake. But if youre a guy like I was starting out at 300 pounds then it would be ridiculous to set your intakes at 300g of protein 130g of fat etc..
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
    OUCH! According to that calculator, I have a whopping 36% body fat and am obese.

    :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

    The calipers, Accumeasure, and Navy method all put me in the mid-20's and are only about 2-3% different from each other. I think I'll stick with that instead of pretending like my 140 pound body is obese.
  • lorainekc
    lorainekc Posts: 25
    Don't use ratios

    try and get 1g of protein per lb of lbm and somewhere in the range of .35-.45g of fat per lb of bodyweight. fill in the rest of your cals however you please (there is no minimum for carbs as it's a non essential macronutrient)

    thanks for this. i'm going to reset my stats and give it a shot.
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