Macronutrient balance

[spotty_dog]

Do you eat low carb? High protein? Nothing special or intentional?

After doing some reading and seeing how my eating patterns shake out, I am aiming for about 20/40/40 protein/carbo/fat. I feel really good when I hit this ratio! Comfortably sated, not going too nuts with forcing protein past what comes naturally, but not reaching for a lot of starchy fillers either. What works well for you?

[MsSassyBaskets]

Do you eat low carb? High protein? Nothing special or intentional?

After doing some reading and seeing how my eating patterns shake out, I am aiming for about 20/40/40 protein/carbo/fat. I feel really good when I hit this ratio! Comfortably sated, not going too nuts with forcing protein past what comes naturally, but not reaching for a lot of starchy fillers either. What works well for you?

The only thing I really shoot for, and I'm failing at this lately, is to eat super high-fiber, most coming from veggies. The carbs, protein and fat tend to work out pretty evenly on their own if I'm eating a lot of veggies. If I'm too low on cruciferous, high-fiber veggies, I tend to get cravings and replace them with carbs and fat. I guess filling myself up with fibrous veggies makes me moderate my other intake.

[diggitydot]

I think it's pretty individual-specific. I feel MUCH better when I have a higher ratio of protein in my diet. I'm far less hungry and have more energy. And some carbs (particularly simple and/or wheat-based ones) upset my stomach. I'm pretty sure I don't have any food sensitivities; I just notice a HUGE difference in how I feel.

[Michele]

I used to shoot for 35 ish grams of fiber daily. But I don't track it anymore.

Lately I'm just aiming for more protein grams than fat grams. with working out like I've been, I'm trying to get at least 80g of protein daily.

I have no idea if what I'm doing is reasonable, but I'm losing weight and toning up.

[spotty_dog]

I think it's pretty individual-specific. I feel MUCH better when I have a higher ratio of protein in my diet. I'm far less hungry and have more energy. And some carbs (particularly simple and/or wheat-based ones) upset my stomach. I'm pretty sure I don't have any food sensitivities; I just notice a HUGE difference in how I feel.

Do you know about what ratio you're getting these days? I find that if I have a protein food and a medium-low GI fruit/veggie/legume/tuber at every meal (including at least a couple of snacks, grass-fed pepperoni sticks or baby carrots dipped in cottage cheese), and almost no simple starches, I hit within a 5% band of 20/40/40 every time. It's actually tough to keep the fat up, especially if I reach for foods like boneless/skinless chicken or 2% strained greek yogurt for my protein, but the days that my fat is high enough, everything else seems to fall into place.

[Michele]

Ratio is in grams?

So typical day being
40g fat, 80g protein and 80g carbs?

[spotty_dog]

Ratio is in grams?

So typical day being
40g fat, 80g protein and 80g carbs?

No, in calories, and it's protein/carb/fat. So a good day recently was 70g protein/101g carb/51g fat for 25/35/40. (Also, BTW congrats on hitting your weight loss goal!!)

[Michele]

Thanks. I've never counted carbs. Maybe I'll try.

[spotty_dog]

Thanks. I've never counted carbs. Maybe I'll try.

To be honest, I'm trying not to count anything, but if I'm making an effort it's more to get the protein and fat in there, letting the carbs come along for the ride! I do notice that if I have bread, white rice, or pasta that the carbs get blown out of proportion (plus I feel kind of blah and snackish), so I guess that's something I'm kind of working on. More than anything I'm just a nerd for statistics.

[Michele]

LoseIt tracks it for me! I changed my nutrient preferences to include carbs and it looks like I am typically at 20% protein, 40% carbs and 40% fat. Guess I'm doing pretty well!

[diggitydot]

I no longer count anything. I have to force myself to consume more than 1,200 calories/day, so my intake quantity isn't an issue. And when I meticulously count everything, I end up forcing myself to eat more and I feel physically uncomfortable. I really dislike that full to the gills feeling.

I discovered the difference in how I feel with the whole carb/wheat items because we've been doing a modified Paleo-esque kind of diet. We're certainly not strict about it (for example, we don't avoid legumes), but I've noticed that my energy level and metabolism are both DRASTICALLY affected. I feel SO much better with a higher protein diet.

[spotty_dog]

LoseIt tracks it for me! I changed my nutrient preferences to include carbs and it looks like I am typically at 20% protein, 40% carbs and 40% fat. Guess I'm doing pretty well!

Ha, what a coincidence!

[spotty_dog]

Yeah, I remember a day recently where I'd just baked this lovely loaf of bread, and I wasn't hungry but the smell just did me in and I cut myself a slice. I had to force myself through it and then just felt heavy afterward. Or the day I had oatmeal for breakfast instead of something with more fat and protein? Man, I had the munchies all day. But the day I had eggs for breakfast, put tuna AND cottage cheese on my salad for lunch, then had a hot dog and a ton of brussels sprouts for dinner? Great day, with energy and no cravings and came in embarrassingly far under my calorie "limit". Still, that was only a 25% protein day.

But I can't handle mass quantities of meat protein. Like, I'm making chicken thighs for tonight's dinner and I *could* eat two thighs pretty easily, but I know that if I eat slowly and thoughtfully I'm barely going to make it through one. And the rest of my day has been pretty much vegetarian. It's been an interesting process, thinking so carefully about this stuff! Last time I really paid attention to diet, I was a pretty serious endurance athlete. It's a different tack entirely to be a mostly-sedentary occasional-weightlifter sometimes-gardener.

[JDAZ11]

I think it's pretty individual-specific. I feel MUCH better when I have a higher ratio of protein in my diet. I'm far less hungry and have more energy. And some carbs (particularly simple and/or wheat-based ones) upset my stomach. I'm pretty sure I don't have any food sensitivities; I just notice a HUGE difference in how I feel.

This is me too. I feel so much better on a protein heavy diet - and way better when I also have enough fiber (not from complex carbs) and water. I don't have food sensitivities that I know of, but I have more energy, get hungry less often, and think i am less bloated when I up protein and stay away from carbs.