Nutrition Report Percentages

I'm just curious... especially for those of you (women) experiencing weight loss, how does your cumulative nutrition report look and how does it compare to mine?  I am losing weight SLOWLY and I'm wondering if it has something to do with my macronutrient breakdown.  I'm trying to achieve the ideal percentages for weight loss.  This is my cumulative (over 1 month's worth) breakdown:

Fat - 32.8%
Protein - 17.4% 
Carbohydrates - 45.6%   and "other" - 4.3%

Daily Calorie Intake - 1,476 cals
Daily Sodium Intake - 1,950 mg
Daily Sugar Intake - 61 grams
Daily Cholesterol Intake - 87 mg
Daily Saturated Fat Intake - 16 grams
Daily Fiber Intake - 15 grams

Also, do you adjust your percentages based on level of activity? Thanks!

Edited to include "other" and remaining nutrient breakdown.  I'm not sure what the "other"percentage encompasses.  I don't drink so alcohol is 0%.

Well, you are within the recommended guidelines:

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends this distribution for the energy nutrients:

• Fat: 20 - 35% of total calories (average 30%)
• Protein: 10 – 35% (average 15%)
• Carbohydrates: 45 – 65% (average 55%)

I assume your other 4.2% is alcohol?  That's the first thing I'd cut down if you're trying to lose weight, but that's up to you.  There is no "ideal", it is really a personal thing. 

Personally, I am shooting for 30 fat, 30 protein, and 40 carb on ~ 1700 cals daily.  I don't always get that high on the protein and sometimes not on the fat, so it's usually more like 27/27/46-ish.  I am weight lifting and I want to maintain my muscle mass while I lose, and more protein is beneficial for that.  FYI - I was at about 18% protein when I started and it took work to get it higher, but now it's a habit to eat more!

I am also shooting for 30/30/40 percentages of fat/prot/carb but it is tough to keep the carbs down!

You may be interested in reading the threads of Fat/Protein/Carb and    Metabolic types

Good luck.

My macro nutrient percentages vary from month to month, but are close to yours.  I have lost about 60 pounds (almost halfway to goal!) in the last 9 months.  Which is about 6 pounds per month (my original goal was 5 pounds a month, so I am doing a little better than my calorie target would have calculated).  I don't know if you consider that slow, I find it perfect.  I have made lots of good habits, I don't feel deprived or like I am on a diet, and I am confident I will make it to my goals by the end of 2010 (my goals are to get to a healthy BMI and maintain that weight for the rest of my life), but if it takes longer, so be it.  As long as I am making progress it will be okay with me.

I think you left off the most important information in the analysis tool, the average daily calories and the food score.  As long as I am in my calorie target (1600-1800) ,score at least a B+, and get more than 25 grams of fiber a day, I am happy.  I am looking to get to a good, healthy weight, not become a supermodel or an elite athlete, so I don't think the macro nutrient breakdown is very important to my goals.  As Michael Pollan says, eat food, mostly plants, not too much, and all will be well.

FWIW, my percentages were in the general range as poster #2 stated for my first 40 lb loss but the last 10 lbs to come off is a bugger and I resorted to managing nutrients.

Original Post by mischiefdm:

FWIW, my percentages were in the general range as poster #2 stated for my first 40 lb loss but the last 10 lbs to come off is a bugger and I resorted to managing nutrients.

You are far closer to goal than I am, and I certainly didn't mean to imply that you were doing anything wrong, I just got the impression that the OP was newer to the game and could be focusing on the wrong aspect of her analysis.

To the OP, 15 grams of fiber seems a little skimpy, is there anyway you could bump that up a little?  I find that fiber  along with drinking plenty of water really helps me keep weight dropping off.  Are you eating whole grains, beans, and lots of fruits and vegetables?

No problem DK, I just wanted to imply that exact percentages may not have any bearing until the final count down although the Zone Diet does strive for 30/30/40 which I found out later.

I agree with you on fiber and try to keep mine at 30 or above. Agree with the rest too.

Good luck to all.

Edited to say: Just noticed OP concerned about "other" which may be from sugar alcohols as that used to appear when I recorded certain protein bars in the past.

Here are mine from 9/21 through my afternoon snack today:

Fat - 15.3% (126 grams)
Protein - 21.7% (402 grams)
Carbohydrates - 63% (1,168 grams)
Alcohol - 0%
Other - 0%

Daily Calorie Intake - 1,444 cals
Daily Sodium Intake - 2,943 mg
Daily Sugar Intake - 130 grams
Daily Cholesterol Intake - 58 mg
Daily Saturated Fat Intake - 7 grams
Daily Fiber Intake - 42 grams

(The calorie intake looks low because I've only eaten ~900 calories so far today and still have dinner and a snack to eat later)

The sodium is misleading because the CC database doesn't have an entry for the new low sodium black beans from Bush's.  They have half the sodium of the normal beans (plus I rinse them) and I ate them 4x this week.

I'm digging the fiber and cholesterol numbers, but getting the carb percent down and the protein percent up will be something I work on further down the road.

I was actually looking at my percentages earlier today, so I made a conscious effort to get more protein at lunch (mequite chicken).  So far today, I'm at:

Fat - 16.4% (17 grams)
Protein - 39.1% (92 grams)
Carbohydrates - 44.5% (105 grams)

Fat - 13.3% (29 grams)

Protein - 8.1% (40 grams)

Carbohydrates - 65.2% (322 grams)

Other - 13.5%

Daily Sugar Intake - 122 grams

Daily Saturated Fat Intake - 4 grams

Daily Fiber Intake - 34 grams

As you can see i eat very little fat. I dont know if thats okay. I suspect i should be eating more...lol

Original Post by mischiefdm:

FWIW, my percentages were in the general range as poster #2 stated for my first 40 lb loss but the last 10 lbs to come off is a bugger and I resorted to managing nutrients.

Oh that's interesting - I'm on my last 8 lbs and they are likewise a bugger!  I'll be taking a closer look at my macronutrients and try experimenting a little - at least if it doesn't speed things up it'll be entertaining whilst I plod on towards maintenance!

Original Post by healthisinplease:

Fat - 13.3% (29 grams)

Protein - 8.1% (40 grams)

Carbohydrates - 65.2% (322 grams)

Other - 13.5%

Daily Sugar Intake - 122 grams

Daily Saturated Fat Intake - 4 grams

Daily Fiber Intake - 34 grams

 

As you can see i eat very little fat. I dont know if thats okay. I suspect i should be eating more...lol

From the figures on this website it looks like a woman on a 1,200 calories a day meal plan should be having 42g fat of which 12g saturates.  Do check the figures to make sure I've got it right as it's important that you get sufficient essential fat in your diet (it's called 'essential fat' because we can't manufacture it from other nutrients).  Fat is essential for making nerve sheaths, bits of brain, protecting organs (too much around your organs is bad news, but so is too little), and making hormones (I think this is the reason for anorexics and athletes trying to get cut for competition losing their periods and/or having difficulty conceiving).

Thanks everyone!  I think my number one goal is upping my fiber, a lot, and protein a bit.  I'm not sure how I don't have a good fiber number, since I do eat tons of fruit and vegetables - maybe I need to add some bran or whole grains to push the number up.  I'll try to reduce my fat intake too, though I swear I don't eat anything fattening besides putting flax seed oil in my smoothies....I know, it sounds weird, but it's supposed to be very good fat to add into the diet. Anyway, thanks again for all the feedback!

Original Post by healthisinplease:

Fat - 13.3% (29 grams)

Protein - 8.1% (40 grams)

Carbohydrates - 65.2% (322 grams)

Other - 13.5%

Daily Sugar Intake - 122 grams

Daily Saturated Fat Intake - 4 grams

Daily Fiber Intake - 34 grams

 

As you can see i eat very little fat. I dont know if thats okay. I suspect i should be eating more...lol

You eat even less protein! suggest you increase that at expense of carbs.

Original Post by cmleysen:

Thanks everyone! I think my number one goal is upping my fiber, a lot, and protein a bit. I'm not sure how I don't have a good fiber number, since I do eat tons of fruit and vegetables - maybe I need to add some bran or whole grains to push the number up. I'll try to reduce my fat intake too, though I swear I don't eat anything fattening besides putting flax seed oil in my smoothies....I know, it sounds weird, but it's supposed to be very good fat to add into the diet. Anyway, thanks again for all the feedback!

 

Attack it by increasing protein rather than reducing anything and see how it goes.  good luck.