So I'm calorie counting once again. I've had success with it before, but this time around I want to be a little more careful about how I choose my calories so I make sure that they are healthy, so I'm trying to start by watching my ratio of fat to protein to carbs.
I've read online that the ratio should be something around 30% fat, 40% carbs, and 30% protein - does that mesh with what others have seen?
If you are tracking this, how careful are you about it, and how do you make it balance out at the end of the day? I feel like if I just change one or two things that I've eaten from the day before it can totally throw off these numbers.
If you don't track it, do you do something else to make sure that you're eating healthy? I'm open to new ideas. Thanks in advance!
I track my ratios. I'm currently eating about 60% fat, 35% protein and 5% carbs. The only carbs I eat come from vegetables. I eat 1200-1400 calories per day.
I eat no processed foods. I am not afraid of olive oil, butter, avocado and salmon to get in my healthy fats! I currently don't eat grains, but may add them in as I lose more weight. I've lost 17 pounds in 6 weeks.
You can use this calculator to see what the macronutrient breakdown is for various plans. The 40-30-30 you mentioned are the ratios for the Zone diet.
My breakdown is usually 25% carbs, 35% protein, 40% fat. I stick to it pretty closely, though most days the carbs are a bit lower and the fat a bit higher. I mostly know what combination of foods to plan for a meal so that I'm able to hit the targets.
The ratios you mention are in-line with what I strive for. That, plus limiting starchy carbs and sugars. I definitely have to watch both calories AND breakdown of calories.
So, I do eat some whole grain starches each day - usually at 1 meal - and I probably average 1 serving of fruit/day. I do watch my dairy intake (and supplement with calcium/Vit D/Mag) because of the natural sugar, too.
I aim for the ratio you mentioned, but I usually end up more like 50% carbs, 25% fat & protein. I don't eat a lot of bread, pasta or rice, but I do eat a lot of fruit.
I track my calories on myplate and it shows a little pie chart breaking down the percentages.
One of things that helps me hit my target is planning my meals in advance. I enter my food plan either the night before or in the morning, and see how it all balances out. The days I plan in advance are always my best as far as calories and macronutrients! It's easier to stay on plan and eat the right foods when it's all decided and I don't have to think about it.
I'm also low carb, I go for 62F/32P/6C, BUT! I make sure that ALL of my meals are around that. I don't eat all my carbs in one sitting, or have too much protein at one meal and all fat the next. Your body doesn't know what you're going to feed it, it only knows what it's processing right now and what it already processed. If you want something with fat, make sure you eat your carbs and protein along with it. For me, I never eat anything with even a couple carbs unless I'm having fat and protein with it. Sometimes during my period, I crave chocolate, and I'll have a square of dark chocolate--with a glass of cream/almond milk mixture. Before I eat anything, I put it into myplate or calculate the ratio. It's easy to do yourself--just multiply the carbs and protein by 4 and the fat by 9, figure out what % they are by adding the three numbers together and get the % of one from the total.
i've only been cc for a wk. i do best on a low fat diet. i've been aiming for about 20% fat. my goal was just that, but the protein and carbs stayed about the same each day. 20's% protein. whatever is left, close to 60% is carbs. mostly from bread, bc i've been avoiding rice/pasta. not satisfying enough for the cals/amount. that wasn't that clear, sorry.
I just recently started tracking macronutrient levels (I've been calorie counting for months though). I'm usually around 60%C/20%F/20%P. I'm always in the green with those ratios on Calorie Count, and I've been losing weight just fine like that, but I would like to lower the carbs a little and up the fats and proteins.
Does anyone else track fat/protein/carb ratio?
Thanks in advance!
