Can I have your thoughts on my intake?

Hi!

I'm trying to stick to a 1200-1400 calorie/day diet. I don't know anything about the ratios of fat/protein/carbs etc... Today I had 1259 Cals / 22g fat/ 103g protein/ 93g Carbs. I'm not trying to be on any specific diet or anything, I pretty much just try and eat "healthy". Is it just me or does my protein seem too high? I'm not looking to build a bunch of muscle, just go lean. Any thoughts you have would be very appreciated!! Thanks.

that's waaaay too much and your fat is too low. You should have 50-65% carbs, 20-30% fat, and 15-20% protein. You are way over...the RDA is .4g/kg of body weight,and your range is around 33% which is way too much for even someone trying to build muscle, that can have negative consequences for your kidneys and really, there's no need for you to be consuming that much, also your fat intake is only 16% which is not nearly enough. try to get more healthy fats like nuts, olive oil, olives, peanut butter, avocados, and fatty fish. fat is essential for nutrient absorption and satiety. So, eat up!! :) hope this helps!

I don't think her protein is too high.   I routinely try to get 100g of protein or more in my diet.  It does seem like she could use some more healthy fats in her diet. 

Actually her macros don't even add up to 1200 calories, so it looks like she might have some that didn't get counted properly.  With protein and carbs 4 cals per gram and fat 9 cal per gram, what she has only adds up to about 1100 cals. 

Not knowing her weight, height or anything else (actually only assuming it's a girl) it's hard to say if she's eating enough at all.  If her actual calorie intake is only 1000-1100 calories, then it's definitely not enough. 

Fat could be higher, but that definitely isn't too much protein - to summarize, I agree with karozel.

Yeah I agrre with karozel too.  I try to eat that amount of proetin too, it keeps you full and helps with weight loss.  It's not so imbalanced where your body will go into ketosis.  You would have to eat an extreme amount of protein and pretty much no carbs.  So I don't see the problem with it.

There isn't any evidence that high protein intake can damage healthy kidneys.

The percentage of each macronutrient you eat doesn't really make much difference, quality of food is WAY more important than quantity of each nutrient.

Well, for one, we can't store extra protein, so although ia gree with you on some level, when we are eating too much protein at the expense of other macronutrients we can become deficient. in a general sense this wouldn't be a problem, but when you're restricting your intake to only 1200 calories, the ranges are going to be more important because you risk not getting enough of each nutrient as far as the absolute amount is ceoncerned. Anyhow, here's a blurb from mayoclinic, a pretty reputable source. For someone, eating a 2000 calorie diet, the ranges may not be as important because as long as you're eating enough fat and carbs in a general sense, it doesn't matter as much what percentage it makes up? if these ranges are ignored on a 1200 calorie diet it would be much easier to be deficient. does that make sense? Question High-protein diets: Are they safe? Are high-protein diets generally considered safe? What do the kidneys do with excess protein? Answer from Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.

High-protein diets are generally well tolerated by healthy adults. But a dramatic increase in protein-rich foods may be dangerous for people with liver or kidney disease because they lack the ability to get rid of the waste products of protein metabolism.

Some protein is essential to human life. Protein is found in your bones, muscles, skin, organs, blood, hormones and enzymes.

Your body can't store excess protein. During digestion and metabolism, protein is broken down into amino acids — the building blocks of protein. Your body uses these amino acids to make enzymes and other proteins. But any "extra" amino acids are stripped of nitrogen. The non-nitrogen parts of amino acids are used for energy or converted into fat, and the remaining nitrogen is eventually excreted by your kidneys and liver. These waste products have been shown to cause kidney injury, and in the presence of liver disease, excess nitrogen can cause further problems. High-protein diets may also increase the risk of kidney stones and osteoporosis. If you have kidney or liver disease or any chronic health condition, talk to your doctor before starting a new diet.

For most healthy people, a short-term high-protein diet generally isn't harmful. However, if followed long term, high-protein diets may limit other healthy foods, such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables. In addition, many high-protein foods — such as meat, milk, cheese and eggs — are also high in fat and cholesterol, which can increase your risk of heart disease, stroke and other health problems. So choose your protein sources wisely. Good choices include fish, beans, lentils and low-fat dairy products.

If you are just eating to be healthy and not follow a particular diet then the ideal ratio is 30% fat, 30%pro, 40% carbs.  If you are looking to lose fat faster then you would raise your protein and fat intake and lower your carb intake.  Make sure your fats come from olive oil, avocado, nuts, etc.  Proteins come from lean proteins, and carbs come from veggies, fruits, and complex carbs such as sweet potatoes and whole grains.  Also, if you are looking to build muscle (which burns more calories) then you should aim anywhere from 1 to 2 grams of protein per pound of IDEAL bodyweight.  Hope this helps.  :) 

All of this does help. Thank you for all your replies! My sources of protein over the day include egg whites, fat free turkey breast. skinless boneless chicken breast and a protein shake (whey protein with raspberries and cranberries). I believe those are all "healthy" proteins (I could be wrong).. and have decided to up my fat intake to balance the carbs and protein using virgin coconut oil. Thanks again for your responses, and if you have any other suggestions, I'm listening :)

Based on my experience, your intake looks fine.  I typically stay in that calorie range as well and my ratios are about the same.  I've worked with trainers/nutritionists that say 80-100 grams of protein is a good range to stay within.  Your fat could be a bit higher - maybe up to about 35 grams.

it sounds like you're eating the right kind of protiens.  If your protien shake comes from soy versus whey, be careful because too much soy can be bad for you.  It also depends on how active you are.  If you work out hard most days of the week, carbs are a good thing because you need energy to really push yourself and keep your metabolism up.  On days when you aren't working out so hard, you could eat more protien maybe.  Either way, it sounds like you're doing pretty darn good.  Just keep in mind that fruits and veggies have few calories and totally fill you up.  Spinach is a good source of protien and has like, 20 cal in a cup!

I am with chrissy on the protien levels. Things like Atkins and South Beach diets have gotten most Americans obsessed with protien, but I really think staying closer to the RDA is a much safer route. Plus, the effects of the excess amino acids are taking place within the body on your organs, so of course one wouldn't think anything is wrong, but problems can arise years after. Personally, I'm going with better safe than sorry.