[Here we go again]

Hi Ladies!

I have been upping my calories so I can get off this plateau!

I've been using the daily plate. What percentage or gram wise should I have a day of carbs, fats, and proteins? I've been eating a lot of veggies and whole grains and lean meats, but I'm not sure of the percentages I should shoot for everyday. Any help?

[Shannon in ATL]

I tend to end up at 25%-30% protein, 20%-25% fat, 50% carb... sometimes the carb goes a little high and the fat goes a little low. I've read that a lot of people do 40 carb, 30 prot, 30 fat, but I have a hard time getting that much fat in, and in getting the carbs out.... I do try now to make sure the fat doesn't go below 20% by much, but I had times where it dropped as low as 15%...

[rockstar87]

I think more than anything it's what you feel best at. In the end, weight loss is a calorie equation and as long you're eating good quality foods you can play with your ratios as you like (barring any medical conditions). It's all based on how you metabolize you food. Some people have better energy on higher ratios of carbs, others do better on more protein and fat. As long as you're eating within your alloted range and eating the types of foods you say you are I'd just go with what your body feels best at!

[chick_in_the_hat]

Keeping percent of calories at 30 or a little below for fats is pretty common. Protein and carbs is more of a personal thing - I aim for 40% carbs and 30% protein because I work out a fair bit and the protein is needed for building muscle.

Like rockstar said - it's what you feel best at...play around with it.

[Taurie]

I like to keep my protein and carbs as even as possible to keep carbs as reasonably low as possible. For fat it ranges from 15% and 30%.

[kelly315]

Does upping your cals for a time really help you get off a plateau? I've been counting/dieting for about 47 days, and I'm anticipating a frustrating plateau any time now. How much and how long should you up them? I'm eating 1300-1550 per day now.

I find that if I spend too much time counting other things, my diet suffers and my stress level goes up. I just try for daily balance..don't go crazy for anything high carb or high fat, and it usually works out.

[PhotoChick]

Personally I'm doing more strength training and weight lifting and so I'm trying to eat more protein. The macros I try to hit are 40% carb / 35% protein / 25% fat.

At that level, I'm getting about 120-130g of protein per day and about 40g of fat.

.