is 100g of protein and 170g of carbs too much?? help!

Ok. I am 5'3 105 lbs. my caloric intake is somewhere between 1300-1400 a day and I am trying to tone. My makeup is 30%protein,22%fat, and 47%carbs

I try to get in 100g of protein daily. Is this too much? I notice that with my increase I have been getting muscular. Kinda cut in the shoulders. I just want to tone. Not bulk up. Is this too much? It has helped flatten my stomach.

What I really would like to know also is if 170g of carbs is too much? What is too much? I want to eat more carbs. But I don't know if I should.

I do 30 mins of cardio, and 40 mins of mixed light weight training.

your ranges aren't that bad...if you're meeting your calorie goals then the percentages should be closer to 50-60% carbs, 20-30% fat, and 15-20% protein. You can increase the amount of carbs you're eating no problem. it's easier to look at the percentages rather than the absolute number, because as long as you're meeting your calorie requirement then the percentages are all you need to know. so the answer is no 170g of carbs is not too much you could increase that to 200 and still be at 60% carbs for a 1400 calorie diet. You don't need more than 52.5 grams of protein to meet the 15% which also gets you over the RDA of .8g of protein per kilogram of body weight. You need about 37.5 grams of protein and 52.5 is above that so you would definitely be getting enough if you kept it around 15% of your diet. I hope this helps!! =)

oh so i should eat more fat than protein? who knew. I thought fat was something you should steer away from. I know we need SOME, but more than protein?

BTW, thanks for your answer.

so I can still tone at like 70g of protein?

? wow

definitely and yes, you can still tone with 70g of protein. In fact, the estimates of fat that I gave you are low by some standards. Weight watchers recommends

• Protein: 10-35%
• Fat: 20-35%
• Carbohydrate: 45-65%

http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_ art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=20921&sc=805

Generally speaking, the recommended intake of fat is higher than protein. If you think about it fat has more calories per gram so eating the same amount of fat and protein by weight would yield a greater percentage of fat than protein. I hope that helps.

oh wow. Thanks a lot chrissy!

I guess I need to eat more almonds and olive oil!

Original Post by meep2007:

Ok. I am 5'3 105 lbs. my caloric intake is somewhere between 1300-1400 a day and I am trying to tone. I do 30 mins of cardio, and 40 mins of mixed light weight training.

Ratios aside,  I'm concerned that you're simply not getting enough energy/nutrition.  Possibly because you're trying to maintaining a weight that puts you 'borderline' for being clinically underweight (BMI 18.5) and the only way you can do this is to chronically undereat.  If you're trying to maintain and tone you should probably be getting more like 1800-2100 a day or your health will be compromised long-term

I think you're right, because I steadily keep losing weight and  that is something I DO NOT want to do. The problem is that I don't want to go over 180g of carbs on a 1500 cal diet and not eat TOO MUCH protein. It's hard. It's hard to incorporate more veggies into my diet because I base my diet around grains and oats...this is how i count my carbs. After these, I can't really add any more carbs.

 What is the ideal carb intake for a 1600cal diet?

another factor I forgot to mention here is that Everythime I eat carbs, I feel like I have to burn them off immediately within the next hour. Or I have to eat them around exercise time. Can I eat them throughout the day and not have to worry?

Original Post by meep2007:

What is the ideal carb intake for a 1600cal diet?

another factor I forgot to mention here is that Everythime I eat carbs, I feel like I have to burn them off immediately within the next hour. Or I have to eat them around exercise time. Can I eat them throughout the day and not have to worry?

You're missing the point slightly... If you don't want to lose any more weight you need to get your full energy needs and, as I indicated earlier, that's going to be 1800-2100 a day.... most likely at the upper end since you're already verging on underweight.  If you go with 1600 cals you'll keep losing weight, just slightly slower than you do now and you'll be really ill.

I don't why you're so worried about 'carbs'.... They're a very useful and diverse food-group and cover everything from vegetables to wholegrain foods to simple sugars.  Carbohydrates provide you with most of your vitamins, fibre, energy and lots of other good things besides.  The low-carb craze has made people have irrational fears about carbohydrates but you don't have to be one of those people.

Carbohydrate intake should be 40 - 65% in a normal, healthy diet.  So if you were aiming for a more realistic 2000 cals you would be getting 800 - 1300 cals from carbohydrates ... about 200 - 325g a day.  25-30% of what you eat should come from fats.  15-25% of what you eat should come from proteins.

You can eat carbohydrates throughout the day and be healthy.  What isn't healthy is a) being under a BMI of 19 (you could lose your periods any minute)  b) eating too little food in total and c) feeling you have to 'burn off' energy with compensatory exercise.  

Well the reason why I "fear" carbs right now is because, i'll admit, I am lacking energy and I don't feel like exercising today, so if I eat like 200g of carbs, I think that it will store as fat or something.  I did 30 mins of aerobic cardio this morning though.

Thanks for your help! I agree completely. I will up my carbs and caloric intake to about 1800 a day.

..also it made my periods VERY irregular. This stress has&nbs p;really screwed up my body.

Obviously, I don't have a clue of how much is too much or how much is right. I try to keep everything in balance.

If your periods have become irregular that's a warning sign that your body is unwell.  When a woman's body-weight is under BMI 19 (as yours is) periods are very likely to stop.  BMI 20 is classed as the lowest 'normal' healthy weight and that's 113lbs... only 7lbs higher than you are now.  If you aim to get to that level you'll need 2500-3000 cals a day to compensate for the exercise.  Then you'll be able to maintain on about 2000 a day 

All food will store as fat if not needed immediately... protein, complex carbohydrate, fats, simple sugars.  There's nothing intrinsically different about 'carbs' in that respect.   If food dominates your life, if you think you've lost control of your eating, if you've lost more than 14lbs in the last 3 months, if you think you're fat when other people say that you're thin, if you've ever made yourself sick because you feel uncomfortably full... those would all be good reasons to talk to a doctor about how you feel.

uh, maybe I SHOULD see a doc because I feel like I have to binge to keep my sanity. (cravings for those sweets). Then, of course, I feel like crap because I ate too much (who doesn't?) And yes...I ate a bowl of oatmeal and feel like a lard ass because that's how I FEEL. Not really how I think about myself. I FEEL like I ate too much. When I'm trying to convince myself that it's OK, it's only a bowl of friggin oatmeal. (29g carbs). I feel better about the fact that I ate it after my workout this morning.

If you binge it's probably because you need to eat more on a regular basis.... which is rather back to where we started.  Planning the right amount of food is how you stay in control.  Trying to exist on less than you need results in your body taking action unilaterally.... it'll send you to get some sweets.

If you were to get 2000-ish cals in regular meals, made up of a good balance of all the different food types (and the fibre in complex carbohydrates is going to keep you fuller than a lot of other choices) then you should find that you're not overeating too often.... that you're satisfied on that amount.   But, if you're hungry, given that you're quite active and that your weight is extremely light... then you should eat more.  Your body would love it, I'm sure.

• If food dominates your life
• if you think you've lost control of your eating
• if you've lost more than 14lbs in the last 3 months
• if you think you're fat when other people say that you're thin
• if you've ever made yourself sick because you feel uncomfortably full...

Those points I made earlier are the 'S.C.O.F.F' questionnaire that doctors use as an indicator of whether a person should be examined further for signs of an eating disorder.  (Doesn't mean you definitely have one.... )  If you can answer 'yes' to two or more of those points, if you're underweight, or if you have concerns about your eating behaviour  then you should probably make an appointment and get yourself checked out. 

Oh yeah I understand that completely. I learned that my body wants and needs more food, so I just eat everything in sight. In fact, I did some impulsive grocery shopping for tomorrow.  I bought lots of sweets and stuff because I plan to eat it all day saturday. I kinda regret buying it, but I don't want it to go to waste. Uh oh. :(

I'm shooting for 1600 today and find it hard to get there when I feel really full.  About 30 mins after a nice healthy meal (with carbs of course}, I ask myself if I'm capable to jog 2 miles. My body tells me no. Trust me, I have the motivation, I WANT TO but can my body keep up? NO. So, I assume I have to eat more rather if I'm full or not in order to keep my energy levels up. I really want to jog this evening.

That is something I would like to know. Should I cram in the last 350 cals to get my energy back? even if I'm full? (I want to squeeze in my last meal by 6)

tomorrow 1700-1800! (if I can manage all that food!)

Plan your day's food in advance.  The CC food log is a really good tool for this.  Enter what you'd normally eat, tot up the calories and if it falls short of 2000 then you can add to it. 

To avoid feeling overly full the best things to add are healthy oils/fats .... a tablespoon of oil in cooking or as a dressing is a useful extra 140 cals and it slips down without touching the sides.  An ounce of almonds is very, very small and 150 cals.  Oily fish is nicely calorific in small portions.  An avocado sliced onto a salad....  And then those carbohydrates that you're now going to eat.... just an extra ounce of pasta or rice into the cooking pot is 100 cals.  A slice of toast with peanut butter....   Avoid eating too many bulky, low-cal foods like vegetables and 'diet' products because they're too filling for too few calories.  

It's very, very easy to get 2000 if you put a little effort into the planning.   Much better than to get to the end of the day and find you've undereaten.... again... and then be scrapping about trying to eat 350 cals.