About meal plan (% of carbs, fat, and protein)

[sandy2011]

I have been rather-low-carbing but I am still unsure about my meal plan (% of carbs, fat, and protein). I would like to ask how you work your plans out.
My key items are:
- 1,200 calories per day
- Protein: I found out that we can't eat a lot of protein and I seem to always have some problems if I eat more protein than recommended. So, more protein to compensate for the low carbs is a no-no.
- The rest of the calories come from fat and carbs, so I low carb and increase fat to a good fat limit, or don't low carb that much and increase fat - but still low carb. I do this by trials and errors, I don't know how to get a formular.

My cheat sheet:
Regular diet (non-low-carb) - found from the Internet:
Female, 130 lbs, 5'3'' - Want daily goal 1,200 calories:
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Calories: 1,200 | Carbs: 165g | Fat: 40g | Protein 45g
---------------------------------------------------------------------

My plan:
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Calories: 1,200 | Carbs: 90g max | Fat: How many grams here? | Protein 45g <- can't change
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you.
Sandy

 

[pianoman]

If you want to go strictly by the numbers then start with the following:
Fat: 1 gram = 9 calories
Protein: 1 gram = 4 calories
Carbohydrates: 1 gram = 4 calories

These are not exact (there are decimal places floating around) but then I don't see this as an exact science anyway and I also try to focus on the quality of what I eat at least as much as the quantity -- for example, 50g of carbs from a soft drink has a much more dramatic impact on my BGs than 50g of carbs from broccoli -- and I prefer to eat real whole food rather than focus on macronutrients. Real food I find, is more satisfying and I am now able to trust my body to tell me when I have eaten enough -- remember that nourishment is not just about energy (calories).

But given that you want 1,200 calories per day, with Protein fixed at 45g or 180 calories (45 X 4) and Carbs at no more than 90g or 360 calories (90 X 4) then that leaves a minimum of 660 calories from Fat (1,200 - 180 - 360) or 73g (660 / 9).

If you eat fewer Carbs then the amount of Fat goes up a corresponding amount -- with each 10g of Carbs (40 calories) being the equivalent energy of 4.5g Fat.

My maths are not good enough to give the exact percentages of energy per macronutrient but that would be described as low-carb/high-fat (or LCHF as they say in Sweden) with around 55-60% of the energy from Fat.

Good Luck

 

[sandy2011]

Thank you pianoman.

...
But given that you want 1,200 calories per day, with Protein fixed at 45g or 180 calories (45 X 4) and Carbs at no more than 90g or 360 calories (90 X 4) then that leaves a minimum of 660 calories from Fat (1,200 - 180 - 360) or 73g (660 / 9).

Say we don't consider the bad fat good here and just count fat, are 660 calories (73g) from fat okay in general? I don't have problem with eating that amount of fat I guess :lol:. I eat almonds and peanuts for fat.
I used to not eat much fat because I am afraid of the cholesterol thing, but now I understand one can choose to eat better fat. The thing is I am not sure how the body will react to more fat intake than usual. Recently I have to be a bit flexible on fat and carb counts but if I can just go ahead and eat more fat and less carbs then I will do that.
I should have said Carbs = around 90g instead of Carbs: 90g max.
Thanks.
Sandy.

 

[pianoman]

I think you have the right approach Sandy but of course your BG tests and any other health markers (BP, HDL, Triglycerides) that are checked by your HCPs may also help guide your direction.

So long as you focus on healthy, naturally occurring fats -- I make a point to avoid the recent industrially processed vegetable oils (last time I squeezed corn on the cob, oil did not come out) -- and get them from real whole sources... nuts, butter, chicken with the skin on, cold water fish etc... I see no reason to be concerned about the popular myths around "arterycloggingsaturatedfats" :wink:

Some people may look for ways to add Fats to their diet and I do make a point of using plenty of butter on steamed green veg for example, but in many cases it can be as simple as just buying real whole food rather than the "low fat" pretend version. Regular mince is also cheaper than extra lean -- or at least it is until Cameron decides to follow the Danes and tax it :evil:

As you can see above, it is not about the volume of the food so much as the proportion of energy from it --- you can see how for only 73g of Fat you are getting much more energy (along with many other fat-soluble micronutrients) than you get from 90g of Carbs. I'd swear sometimes that when some people hear I am eating an "high fat" diet they imagine me sitting on the sofa at night eating from a tub of lard with a spoon :mrgreen:

You might be interested to read the English blog of this Swedish Doctor Andrea Eenfeldt MD...

 

[Etty]

I think you would find that even our orthodox nutritionists would pass 73g/day for a woman.

 

[Caleb Murdock]

Can I recommend something radical?

Since you are a diabetic, it's good that you count carbs. However, don't count anything else. Just focus on eating nutritious and unprocessed foods, and let the way you feel tell you whether you are eating the right things.

I don't think that modern science fully understands what is the best diet for human beings, but we do know that (1) diabetics need to keep their carbs down, and (2) the less processed a food is, the better it is for you. If you follow those two principles, you should do fine.

I agree with Pianoman about the fats. I read years ago that they make vegetable oil from rancid fats that they heat to extremely high temperatures in order to deodorize them.

 

[sandy2011]

Thank you Etty, 73g/day good to go then, I am happy .
Regards,
Sandy

 

[sandy2011]

Can I recommend something radical?

Since you are a diabetic, it's good that you count carbs. However, don't count anything else. Just focus on eating nutritious and unprocessed foods, and let the way you feel tell you whether you are eating the right things.

Hi Caleb,
Thank you for your recommendation. My meal plan question came from this recent experience of mine: when I first reduced-carbed, I started with a rather low number 40 g / day and ate more protein to maintain the total number of calories; my mistake, I didn't plan to eat more fat at all while I should have. I got some problem with the kidneys immediately. I suspected the high protein was the cause, so I reduced protein for a few days and the problem was gone. Then I tried more protein again for a few days and the problem was back. So for now I have to fix the protein % until I can find out the real problem with my kidneys and speak with my doctor about it.
Again I appreciate your recommendation.
Regards,
Sandy

 

[Caleb Murdock]

But why are you counting calories? It seems that you just need to count carbs and proteins.

 

[sandy2011]

But why are you counting calories? It seems that you just need to count carbs and proteins.

Hi Caleb,
I take the calories and work out the plan backwards.
The flow is like this:
Say with my weight and hight I plan to eat 1,200 calories per day.
I found that
Your Daily Goal
-------------------------------------------------------
Calories 1,200 | Carbs 165 | Fat 40 | Protein 45
-------------------------------------------------------

I add what I eat there and the site tells me see how many calories I have today (my goal is 1,200 calories) and how many from carbs, from fat, and from protein.
I want to reduced-carb so I make sure what I eat will add up to, say, 90 - 100 carbs only. I also need to make sure I don't eat much more than 45g protein. The rest of the calories will eventually come from fat, and as pianoman and Etty said 73 g of fat is okay.

I use this meal plan as a guideline, the numbers are a bit flexible.

Sandy

 

[Daibell]

My advice is to avoid expensive branded diet foods and just follow sensible diet approaches based on the exerience of members on this forum and elsewhere

 

[sandy2011]

Hi Daibell,
I have been following the advice and exeriences of members on this forum and I am very grateful.
I buy and eat regular foods from supermarkets, no fancy expensive branded diet foods so far.
I use the site myfitnesspal.com and two carbs counting books to have a general idea of how much I eat as well as the nutrient facts of the foods. I don't need to use them very often, though, because I am sticking to some "safe" foods for the moment - for the peace of mind; will try the delicious recipes from this forum soon (very eager actually , I read almost all recipes here).

Thanks,
Sandy

 

[Etty]

If myfitnesspal is a US site, don't forget they include fibre in total carbs.

 

[sandy2011]

Thank you Etty, I totally forgot about that but this would be in my favor. I thought I was having, say, 68gs carbs on a certain day but actually I was having less because that 68gs included fiber.

 

[Etty]

Yes, I look at it that way too. But now I use Fitday.com, and type in the info. from the back of Uk packets to make my own list of custom foods without fibre. I eat a lot of foods repeatedly anyway so this isn't too tiresome once you get it set up.