[weegreenlassie]

Ok So I've been using the daily plate... and I know they have the pie-chart, as well as the percentages under your totals (I really hope this makes sense)

I hear people talking about a 40/30/30 for their carbs, protein, and fat (respectively) Am I right in that?

So I'm getting confused... I tried to hit 100% of protein every day.. but, really, I don't need that much? I clicked something, and it recommends 39g's of protein per day, but that's 89%... so.. why are all of the numbers different? Is there something I need to know that I don't?

Any help would be fantastic!! Thanks!!!

[JayEll]

Hey!

30/40/30 p/c/f are the Zone Diet percentages. Different programs use different percentages. This link lets you compare them:

http://www.freedieting.com/tools/nut...calculator.htm

When you say 100% of protein, do you mean grams? I aim for 70-100 grams per day and 30% of calories.

If you're exercising while eating for weight loss, it's important to get enough protein so that your body can maintain muscle as much as possible.

Jay

[JulieJ08]

You'll find a lot of disagreement on how much protein you need. The US RDA is around 50-60g per day for women. Diets these days commonly say you need much more. There is good evidence and strong opinion on both sides, so you have to decide for yourself and experiment.

[weegreenlassie]

hmmm... ok I'm just trying to get everything that I need in place!!! I wish, lol, like I'm sure a lot of us do, that there was one set (CLEAR!) rule to losing weight and being healthy *sigh* Ah well-- I've got a lifetime to figure it out, right?

[emmy8082]

I think those strickt diets dont work out i will try just to eat less and more healthy and to do sports - its a try worth it!

[Moonlight Mistress]

I know that this is way off topic and doesn't answer your question at all, but...

I just looked at your profile picture and you have the MOST BEAUTIFUL hair I have ever seen. Seriously. It's perfectly red and curly...I'm jealous.

[PhotoChick]

The pie chart shows the percentage of macro nutrients you're getting. What that means is what percentage of your calories come from which nutrients. The big 3 macros are carbs, protein, fat ... and they're usually in that order, so when someone says 40/30/30, they mean 40% of your calories come from carbs, 30% from protein, and 30% from fat.

A lot of people who are working out a lot, especially those who are weight lifting, try to get more protein. And a lot of people think that more protein is better for weight loss. (I happen to agree with both of those things and find that I lose weight more consistently and my workouts seem to be easier and more productive when I'm eating more protein.)

So my goal is to achieve more of a 40/35/25 ratio. If I achieve that, it means I usually consume around 120g of protein per day. I don't always get there - usually I fall somewhere between 100-120.

Now, those numbers are DIFFERENT from the USDA recommendation for protein (Recommended Daily Allowance, or RDA). The USDA RDA is something like .8 grams for every 1kg of weight. So if you weigh 160 lbs, the USDA recommendation is 58g of protein per day. Obviously, those of us who are aiming for a 30% or more ratio are getting a lot more protein than that. And if you consume more than that 58g per day, then you're getting more than 100% of your RDA. I generally get between 200% and 211% of my RDA.

So you can see that's where the two percentages are different: If I get 35% of my calories from protein, I'm consuming about 210% of the RDA for protein.

Some people think that eating too much protein is unhealthy. The studies that I have seen (and I've done some extensive research on this) show that *if* you have kidney disease or if you are prone to kidney disease, eating too much protein *might* cause problems. People who have kidney issues should monitor their protein very carefully with their doctors. But for people who do not have any kidney issues, studies have not shown that any damage is caused by eating too much protein.

And, some people think that even the RDA is too much protein and that the figure is "pushed" by the meat and ranching lobby. I personally disagree with this, simply because there are ways to get protein other than meat. But that's probably another thread entirely.

It can be a controversial topic, to be honest. But I think you'll find that many of us here (not all of us, for sure) do believe that eating more protein is a good thing.