Hi girls,

Could you share with me the percentage of carbs, fats and protein that has worked for you?

What is the general rule of thumb?

My cals today according to fitaday is 1004.
Carbs-142.8g
Fats -39.4g
Protein - 32.9g


I'm thinking of doing low-carb but have no idea where to start. One site said 20g, er that's really low! I don't think I can manage that cause I'm almost vegan and I take quite a bit of the good carbs. Of course I also want to lose weight.

Thanks!

I can only say what worked for me in the past. I think it will vary across individual. However, my protein is usually at the level of your carbs. I aim for 120-140 grams of protein a day. I do work out a lot, though. My original carb goal was less than 100 carbs a days. However, I plateaued for a long time and recently (last 2 weeks) dropped down to 50-65 carbs. Coupled with increased workouts, this has helped the scale to move in the last 2 weeks.

Do you measure your food? I eat a lot of veggies and like fruits. But, measuring has made me realized how many carbs I can consume. Truthfully, I love the high sugar fruits and can't eat them. I eat high-fiber fruits (apples, etc) and watch the portion sizes. I still eat quite a few fruits and veggies and stay under 65 carbs.

The key for me is no processed carbs. For instance, I ate at Panera yesterday and had a blueberry muffin (BIG mistake). I logged it on sparkpeople and that one muffin was 60 freakin carbs. I knew it was going to be high. But, I had no idea how high it would be (should have checked before I bought it). In the past, I could eat a muffin, fruit, other processed carbs and my total would be well over 250 carbs. Now, I'm much more thoughtful (except for yesterday :-)) about the carbs I eat. I have a craving every now and then. But, I feel full with the fruits/veggies I eat. In fact, since I'm stricter, I stopped craving carbs as much. Quite a few ladies on here have had that happen as well.

Again, what is working for me, may/may not work for you. :-)

Thanks for your insight.
Everyone response differently to carbs and I was interested to see how most users here fare.

We really live in a processed carb world and it's hard to detach oneself from it. Processed carbs is so convenient and readily available.

Having said it, you seem to be on the right track with awareness and right knowledge.

I seem to plateau for a long time too and it can be demotivating. I'm kinda giving myself a break cause I think I was pushing too hard.

I don't measure my food when it comes to salads but I do measure high calories one. I think I do more of a balance. For instance yesterday I had whole wheat pasta for lunch, so I balanced that out with a big salad & fruits for dinner. My other high calorie intake were 3 chocolate digestives.

So one might deduce the formula would be

carbs - 50 -60g
fats - ?
protein -?

The most common formula I have heard/read about is ... 40:30:30

Carbs -- 40 %
Protein -- 30 %
Fats -- 30%

If you want to go lower-carb & higher protein, you would switch that to ...

Proteins -- 40%
Carbs -- 30%
Fats -- 30 %

Keep in mind, they are referring to Complex Carbs (veggies, fruit, and whole grains); Lean Proteins (meat, nuts, seeds, dairy); and Healthier Fats.

i'm low-carb: i only worry about protein and i'm on 750cal/day.

i keep my protein as high as i can - definitely 40% or better - which means the fat naturally ends up second highest with carbs trailing the rear.

it helps that i don't eat processed starches (wheat, definite no-no).

It's pretty different for everybody... and I've seen websites that call anything under 90-100 g carbs 'low carb'... so it's all about your perspective. I find that I function best under 50, but that I can still do well under 70. Other people need to be well under 40 to do well... so it just takes experimentation before you figure out what is best. Good luck!

I usually end up around 45% carb, 25% protein, 30% fat (I'm not a PCOS'er so I can't address it from that aspect).

What works for me is to focus on getting more protein, not on getting fewer carbs, if that makes any sense. The other thing I focus on is getting lots of fiber out of the carbs - my fiber goal is 35g per day.

I've done 60:20:20 when vegetarian/vegan

I've done 40:30:30 when flexitarian

I've been in between too.

Each has its strengths and merits but both done well keep my blood sugar in check. That tends to be tied up more to wheat than anything else because my trigger foods are grain based, usually wheat! (cereal, bread, cookies, etc)

I've never gone to town on chicken. Or eggs. Or broccoli. YKWIM?

Here's the nutrition guide from the PCOS dietitian book though.
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/pcos...uide-pcos.html

And Hormone balance book.
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/pcos...l-balance.html

Mostly I've noticed that whether its from the paleo perspective or the vegan one -- everyone is walking away from the wheat. I don't know why more isn't done about PCOS/wheat. I've read 80% of the PCOS people have wheat issues.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/41...diet-for-pcos/


HTH!
A.

Thanks everyone for all your insights! I really appreciate it. You girls are amazing, having done low-carb for such a long period of time.

I still need to tweak mine. It's so hard to not reach out for the extra piece of tortilla, crackers...BREAD!

I don't know how you girls do it without cracking! For the past week for me was like, 2 days good then next 3 days..*shudders
Doesn't help with the weird work schedule this week so I didn't have time to plan my meals.

Astrophe, I've been coming across about anti-wheat too and this reminded me of a diet book back in the 70's that said some wheat breads are just white breads with a tan.

Just yesterday I read an article about food allergen testing, wish I had the money to get myself tested. Over 150 foods can be trigger foods! If all of us can get ourselves tested, that would save us a lot of time.

What works for me is to focus on getting more protein, not on getting fewer carbs, if that makes any sense. The other thing I focus on is getting lots of fiber out of the carbs - my fiber goal is 35g per day.

Oh that's a good way of thinking. Yea, I am focusing too much on lowering carbs. Thanks!

Eg of yesterday's meal

Fat (30%) Carbs (54%)
Protein (16%) Alcohol (0%)