First of all I donīt know if Iīm in the correct forum, so if Iīm not, sorry, and they will probably move the thread..

Anyway, today I started journaling (is that word correct? You can help me with my english lol) my food in Fitday (thank you Shy Moment!!!).
I count calories, but I just wanted to know what the "correct" or suggested % of fat, protein and carbs is . I donīt follow a "low anything diet" just count calories, but wanted to know what is acceptable.
I guess I should try to keep low the fat, but how low? how much is too much fat?
Iīm absolutely ignorant in this subject so if you could help me please..

(Maybe thereīs not a "correct" %, I mean, there can be many many good combinations but which do you think is healthy and which has worked for you?)

Thanks!!!

I think it entirely depends on what diet you're following. I know that's not a good answer. I'm on Atkins (Low Carb), so my breakdown is probably 40% Protein / 6% Carbohydrate / 54% Fat roughly. I think FDA reccomendations are more like 30% Protein / 50% Carbohydrate / 20% Fat, I think. I've heard as much as 60% Carbohydrate, which would make the Protein and Fat % lower.

I don't set much stock by the FDA recommendations, though...so I don't think I'm much help here

Hey! You're right, there are different percentages depending on the plan you're following. For example, a low carb diet would probably be:

Protein/carbohydrate/fat
40/25/35 (percentages)

A low fat diet:

P/C/F
25/60/15

A moderate diet would be somewhere in between.

I try to follow the Zone diet percentages, which are

P/C/F
30/40/30

I also try to aim for 100 grams of protein a day because I am exercising a lot (walking every day, fitness center 5-6 times a week.

The Zone percentages work well for me--I was getting too tired because I wasn't getting enough protein.

Jay

Thank you so much for your answers.. today as I put my food in Fitday I saw the %s and wanted to know is they were "right".. now I know the answer is "it depends" lol

Today I have:
Protein 41%
Carbs 52%
Fat 7%

Fat is low but are the carbs too high? Well, I know the answer for that..

Raf
I have read different answers to that question lol.

Some places say
fat 20%
carbs 50%
protein 30%.

Some sites say
fat 30%
carbs 55%
protein 15%.

Others say
fat 25%
carbs 60%
Protein 15%

I just averaged everything on fit day a few min ago.

fat 24%
carbs 59%
protein 16%
calories 1208

As long as I am losing weight must not be doing to bad. lol

I am tweaking things a bit here and there. Would be happier I guess if the carbs were a bit lower and the protein a bit higher. Need to get more calories in.

Since I use the site mostly to make sure I have the four basic food groups in and I am in the general guide lines the doc gave me. I am pretty happy.

Rafaella -- It's hard to say what's right and wrong, but your fat % sounds very low. We really do need fats! To absorb nutrients and keep our hair supple and all kinds of other reasons! Unless you have specific needs, I usually hear recommendations of 20-30% of calories coming from fat.

Many people try to focus on non-saturated fats... think of nuts and fish for example...

Don't forget that most of the calories in veggies come from carbs! Unless you're specifically eating a low-carb diet, getting 40-60% of your calories from carbs can be a good thing. For the calorie counter, the problem is not carbs, but nutritionally bereft, blood sugar spiking starches (like white bread, white rice, white potatoes, etc). Those should be eaten moderately.

And yes, your body needs fat to operate! Especially good fats. If you don't eat fats, horrible things will happen to your hair, nails and skin and to other parts of your body that are less obvious.

baffled
I don't eat any white bread or white rice. That must be helping me.

Shy Moments.. thanks you always help me!!!

baffled111 and Heather thanks on the fat advise... the problem is I donīt know where to get those fats from. I eat fish every day, I love canned tuna fish, itīs my favorite food ever so I eat it EVERY DAY!
I donīt like nuts or almonds and my dentist told me to avoid them, I get my gums swollen (ok.. is that word correct.. sorry but Iīm chilean and my english is not very good so Iīll ask for word help often) from the pieces sticking there (I have to brush my teeth in a special way and use floss in a specil way too) and I really donīt like them (never had)!
So where else? I really donīt want my hair falling.. if thereīs no other possible source then iīll eat the nuts, but is thereīs an alternative it would be great!

Thank you very very much!

Are you counting cooking oils in your fat allotment? It seems like it would almost impossible to have such a low fat percentage if you are.

Well, 1% milk would have some fat, as would 2% cottage cheese, or regular cheese. Olive oil is one of the "good" fats, if used sparingly. Most meat and chicken has some fat in it.

Jay

Fiddler, I was wondering the same thing. It's got to be almost impossible to have
41% protein and only 6% fat. Lots of protein comes bundled with fat. Eggs are a great source of both. Olive oil, avocado, nuts, fatty fishes like salmon and catfish, salad dressing made with olive oil, peanut butter, yogurt and on and on.

I can't add much that hasn't already been stated... but I can say this:

You can't have good poo without good fat! -too much protein & not enough fat can back you up like New York traffic! So don't be TOO skimpy with the fat! (a bit crude, but true, nontheless!)

Mmm I don´t cook a lot of things.. I prefer raw veggies and I eat LOTS of canned tuna fish. The veggies that are cooked are "steamed" (al vapor in spanish so no fat added).
Eggs are cooked in water (I don´t eat the yellow part) and most meals my "nana" (the woman who works at my house) are done in a "grill" just with a spray oil so it won´t stick. She´s a "fat maniac", she hates fat and won´t cook anything with fat, for example she cuts the chicken skin with scissors (yeah, strange) so that there´s no fat al all! She´s a real help with this and even weighs the food and veggies and everything. (The other day at night we were watching a movie and my mom called and asked for a chocolate and she said "Rafa can´t eat chocolate so it will be better that you have a fruit so she won´t be tempted"... REAL MAYOR HELP!)

I eat "quesillo" (a kind of white low fat low cal cheese) and I put the fat that the label says in fitday. Low fat yoghurt mm and that´s basically what I eat! I don´t eat red meats..

But I´ll go with the nuts.. and some olive oil (I don´t like it, but I know there are many things I won´t like in life)

Ahh for "bathroom matters" I´ve always had to use aloe vera pills, I´m hipothyroid so the doctor recommended this and we change from time to time to different natural products.

Thank you all for your responses.. I´m kind of new in the weight loss thing so I do have a lot of questions!!!! You´re a HUGE help!

Raf
Still sounds like you don't have enough fat in your diet. Keep an eye on fitday and see what it is saying. You want to be around 20% fat.