Is there a rule-of-thumb for the ratio of protein and carbs if you want to loose weight? Is that a dumb question? Help me out, thanks.
No more than 55% of your daily intake should be from cabrs, ideally whole wheat and whole grain even then. My personal best usually occurs with a 30/30/40 spread with carbs being the highest, but it is a difficult balance for me to maintain. Here's a link I think might help too:
http://blog.ediets.com/2008/08/8-steps-to-mor e-effective-fat-loss.html
I was wondering the same thing. My carbs make up like 60-65% of what i eat. 20% protein and 15-20% fat. I even switched up my diet to get my protein higher but I only got it to 25%, carbs to 55%. I don't want to add additional meat, we only have about 4 meals a week with meat (all lean meat). I don't eat much for bread if I do it is light bread. All of my carbs come from fruits,veggies,dairy and whole grains. Any ideas to get protein higher without meat or soy?
Thanks for posting this, I was thinking of posting the same thing.
beansbeansbeansbeansbeans
I have to eat at least 40% protein or I am hungry all the time but that's just me, I think everyone's bodies need different things to stay satisfied. I eat a lot of egg whites, don't know if you count that as meat though. I pretty much add an egg white to anything I cook.
This is quite confusing. If we were going to pay attention to carbs, would we not be doing the atkins diet. I thought this site was more about calories. I do about 65-75% carbs and most days end up with an A on nutrition. I have also lost 25 pounds in two months. I'm working on bringing my protein up but mostly everything I eat is carbs. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but counting carbs is NOT what this site is all about when losing weight?
Thanks!
beans, mushrooms, nutritional yeast, yogurt, nuts, seeds, nut-butter, sprouts, sprouted bread, non-fat milk, lentils, quinoa...
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml? identifier=11234
Check this out. Many questions answered from the American Heart Assoc.
If all you want to worry about is weight loss, it's the *calories* that matter, not the carbs. You could lose weight and eat nothing but candy, if your calorie deficit was where it needed to be. (Although, carbs do have inflammatory properties and some people do better on a lower-carb diet. The Atkins diet works for several reasons - first there's the anti-inflammatory properties of most meats; second, protein fills you up better than processed carbs. Also, see below about protein. There are some people for whom the Atkins diet does NOT work, like me.)
There are several studies out there that suggest that most dieters do not get enough protein. The general conclusion is that you should be getting about 1.4 g of protein per KG of IDEAL body weight, when you're dieting. So my ideal weight is 200 lbs, or 91 kg; I should be getting 127g of protein daily. (I don't, by the way. I average about 100g of protein a day. And I'm building muscle.)
The point is, for most people, the ratio doesn't matter, if you're worried about just weight loss. If you want to be as healthy as possible, you should try to eat as much protein as you can, since it's not easy to get enough. Make your carbs as healthy as possible - whole grains, veggies, etc - and get your calories about right, and try not to worry about ratios.
If it helps, most people on this site get between 50-65% carbs, 15-30% protein, and 15-30% fat in their diet. My ratio is about 60:20:20 on a typical day.
Info I have found in my NASM studies: Endurance athletes and avid gym goers should eat 60% of their diet from carbs, but the average person should at 50-70% of their diets from carbs. Wow, right? I used to eat 50% at most, but recently upped my carbs to about 60%. Carbohydrates activate protein syntheses and if you do not get enough carbs to replenish your glycogen stores then your body uses protein for quick energy, hence burning muscle and not fat. Of course I am talking about complex carbs, not simple ones... The best way to provide the diet with complex carbohydrates is to consume foods in their most natural state such as oatmeal, bran and brown rice. (Bran, Wheatgerm, Barley, Maize, Buckwheat,Cornmeal,Oatmeal)
The food list below shows good sources of complex carbohydrates:
Pasta
Macaroni
Spaghetti
Brown rice
root vegetables
Wholemeal breads
Brown bread
Pitta bread
Bagel
Wholegrain cereals
High fiber breakfast cereals
Porridge oats
All bran
Shredded wheat
Corn
Yam
Oatcakes
Peas
Beans
Lentils
Aim for similar servings of high carbohydrate foods:
6 servings of grain & cereal foods such as bread, pasta, and rice (preferably wholegrain, high fiber types)
3 or 4 servings of vegetables
2 or more servings of fruit
Hope that helps :)
I could get my protein higher by switching what carb-related items I did eat with ones that were protein enriched. There is a flatbread available at publix which has about 9 grams I think. There are also whey protein powders... and like a prior poster mentioned... beans. If I'm not mistaken, I think Lentils are kind of a king bean in this area.
Original Post by mrgcat:
This is quite confusing. If we were going to pay attention to carbs, would we not be doing the atkins diet. I thought this site was more about calories. I do about 65-75% carbs and most days end up with an A on nutrition. I have also lost 25 pounds in two months. I'm working on bringing my protein up but mostly everything I eat is carbs. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but counting carbs is NOT what this site is all about when losing weight?
Thanks!
Please don't confuse a diet gimmick with the concept in being balanced in your nutritional needs. Protein helps you maintain muscle while you lose, fats are essential in keeping tendons loose while carbs serve as the first source of energy your body craves. Atkins would call for ungodly drops in carb intake in your overall diet and forcing you to consume almost nearly all protein and fat. No one is dicussing carb counting, but figuring out what is a reasonable range in which to be, not an absolute figure as approved by some methodology.
I would like to think this site about more than just counting calories. I suppose if all you use if the food log it would be, but I also like to think of it as a source of support, good information and all facets of the nutritional spectrum, which includes anything from what a good range for carbs, why soy is an especially good nutritional source for women, or heck even how many reps would be good goal for a beginner with a 20lb dumbbell. Weight is only one facet to my real goal, good health, mentally and physically. Sure, the numbers decreasing are a wonderful feeling, but if well over half of my diet consisted of carbs I would be tired, sloggy, weak and constantly hungry. I dearly want to meet my goals, but I would like to be able to lift a can of soup when I get there.
