Carbs, Protein, Fat - daily percentages?

[Deleted User]

What are you smart ENers doing in terms of your ratio of daily intake of protein, carbs and fat?  I just started inputting my food and exercise into my iPhone app (Lose-it) and was surprised at how low my protein percentage is and how high my fat percentage is!  And I really don't eat bad!  I swear!  For today I am: 48% carbs, 28% protein, 24% fat.   That's actually a good day!  What's the magic number?  I think every body type is different for these requirements, but I suspect that most of us training for endurance events should be in similar ranges?  Ideas?

Jess Withrow

I was JUST PM'ing Kate about this the other day and saying how I can't wrap my head around the minutia of the, "60/20/20, 5-10g CHO/kg, 1.5-3g protein/kg" math. Those were the very basic guidelines that I found for endurance athletes a long time ago when I started to get serious about nutrition, but there was a lot of info out there! I'm sure Penny can help you figure this out from a numbers perspective...

I've taken the approach of eating whole, nutrient dense foods in place of refined, processed foods, and making sure I get a carbohydrate, protein, and healthy fat for every meal/snack. I logged my food in Lose It for a few weeks, but found it difficult to do b/c I prepare a lot of my own meals, and I don't weigh and measure everything - so it was really time consuming and next to impossible for me to accurately input what I was eating if it didn't have a barcode or wasn't a piece of fruit. I looked back through my log, though, and I found similar results to yours - my "best" day was 57% CHO, 23% Protein, 19% fat. And THAT was my ONLY good day! You should see the days where I was at 40-ish% fat!!! I LOVE my coconut oil and avocados! ;-)

cgres123

What's the magic number? I think every body type is different for these requirements, but I suspect that most of us training for endurance events should be in similar ranges? Ideas?

You got it we all are different. I suggest an APP is fun but if you really want to dial in on you daily food intake jump into the Core Diet Plan they are an awesome group of folks that will really hook you up.

Steve West

My 0.02...

I don't do well when my carb-to-protien intake gets too high - I feel 'thick', especially the legs and it takes a while to get into the groove of running or biking. But at the same time I don't fuss too much over the numbers C-P-F specifically. My approach is to eat 'clean' (little or no processed food - smoothie, PB&J, strirfry, lean meat, yogurt, etc) and focus on the protein content of my meals. As long as I work to get adequate protein at each meal or snack without overdoing the calories, I'm good.

penlynwilson

When I do nutrition plans for athletes, I look at both g/kg and % total cals. For % total cals, I usually recommend:

- 15-20% protein

- 25-30% fat

- the rest carbs

In the week or so before the race, I will up the carbs some.

[Deleted User]

Thanks Penny (et, al)! I was thinking I needed to "up" my protein intake but it looks like I'm okay. What's good about inputting my food into an App (yes, it is a pain) is that I can keep an eye on the fat:-) Amazing how easy it is to let the fat % creep up!

kjc777

If only they could invent a high protein cabernet sauvingon 

Betsy Kantor

Carol-I'm not a nutritionist but I have followed Dr Barry Sears and the Zone diet for years. He advocates C-P-F ratios of 40%-30%-30% so your numbers in your first post were not that far off. His theory is that is how you keep your insulin and glugagon levels balanced and prevent metabolic syndrome (that's a whole other discussion.) I even stuck to his theory for training for years but have been converted to the 'core diets' carb regimen around training, which I now admit works better than the zone for me.Then i eat in the 'zone ' the rest of the time-smoothies, lots of low glycemic greens and lean protein