Daily percentiles of Fat/Protein/Carbs

[LilBit]

My son commented tonight about the amount of fat that I'm eating, particularly the fat in cream cheese, pork rinds, etc. - not so much meats, because we eat a lot of fish and chicken and much less of the red meats.

I realize that in the beginning, fats are a higher percentile than they are long-term, but can someone tell me what the optimal, or THEIR optimal idea of a daily percentile balance of fats/protein/carbs are?

I'd really rather have it in grams if possible, I deal better with grams.

Thank you in advance.

[2big4mysize]

it is a ratio based on your total caloric intake 65% of your total cals should be fats.

Atkins is a fat driven plan. low fat high carb has caused the rise in cholesterol in the last 20 yrs

[IrishIrish]

It's best to use a tool like Fitday.com to plug in your sample menu and figure out how you stack up against the optimal 65/30/5 calorie distribution. I eat far more chicken and fish than beef and I use olive oil and butter and cheese in my plan which generally puts me right around the optimal percentages.

[Desertthorn]

Yeah, Getting your mind set that you need to eat fat to lose weight, takes a heap of doing, at least it did for me, but it works and thats all I care about. Great question.

[LilBit]

It's best to use a tool like Fitday.com to plug in your sample menu and figure out how you stack up against the optimal 65/30/5 calorie distribution. I eat far more chicken and fish than beef and I use olive oil and butter and cheese in my plan which generally puts me right around the optimal percentages.

Thanks Irish, your daily intake sounds exactly like mine as far as meats, oils and cheese.

The 65/30/5 is what, exactly please?

Duh me, 65% Fats, 30% protein, 5% carbs? Probably. *slaps self* :confused

Do you have any idea what this would convert to in grams per day?

[LilBit]

Desertthorn, thanks.

Sometimes I hesitate to ask things here, because yes I've read the book several times, but I still have questions once in awhile.

I don't want to make anyone mad. :sadblinky

[2big4mysize]

it depemds on what your total caloric in take is as 65% of 1000 cals wour be 650 cals of fat or 73.333grams of fat, 300 cals of protein or 75 gr of protein and of course your carbs under 20 net. if you ate 1500 cals a day then it would be 975 cals of fat, and 105.9 grams of fat 450 cals of protein or 115 gr of protein and again your carbs under 20 net so as you can see it really depends on how much you eat each day which is why most of us use the free www.fitday.com accounts to log our foods and see if we need to tweak our menus so our ratios are correct. you won't get the numbers exactly perfect as in induction your carbs are limited but you can come pretty darn close.

HAppy low carbing

[IrishIrish]

Thanks Irish, your daily intake sounds exactly like mine as far as meats, oils and cheese.

The 65/30/5 is what, exactly please?

Duh me, 65% Fats, 30% protein, 5% carbs? Probably. *slaps self*

Do you have any idea what this would convert to in grams per day?

2Big answered perfectly ... and you also got it right. 65% of the calories we consume should come from fats, 30% of the calories we consume should come from protein and 5% of the calories we consume should come from carbs. And the grams will differ based on the total number of calories in your menu each day.

Personally, I don't use fitday.com every day. It does tend to overwhelm me and I'd rather spend time reading posts, etc., but in the beginning of my plan, I spent many hours posting my menus and figuring out common dishes I make and learning the impact of the way I ate on the percentages. I do go back to Fitday.com when I'm changing up my menu (for example when I realized that too much beef just didn't digest well for me). The interesting part is that if you follow the Acceptable Food List for Induction, exactly as it is written, and do not try to exclude fats, you'll come out very close to the right distribution without even doing the calculations.

Often when I review menus of members who are concerned because their fat percentage isn't high enough, it is easily resolved with a little olive oil, mayonaise or butter for seasoning/flavoring veggies. I tend to depend on stir frying as a quick way to prepare meals and I use olive oil and butter combination adding the butter in the last part of the preparation.

You are definitely on the right track and it can be done! Best wishes!

[LilBit]

Thanks so much for all of the answers, it helps me understand ALL aspects of this WOE so much better.

One last thing.... the 4 ounces of cheese per day, does cream cheese factor into that?

Meaning, if I ate 2 oz. of cream cheese in a Danish in the morning, I only have 2 oz. left for the entire day then?

Also, what is the purpose of the cheese restriction; the fat content?

I did read the book, probably need to read it again, it's been awhile, but I don't really remember an exact explanation on the cheese restriction.

The cheese thing seems to be a hang-up with me, because I sometimes do have the Danish for breakfast, then I might cook with some cheese for dinner, and then have a string cheese, or pork rinds with cream cheese for a late night snack as well.

If the 4 oz. is supposed to include cream cheese, I'm thinkin I might be a tad bit over the limit on 'some' days. :yikes

[IrishIrish]

Cream cheese does factor into the daily limit. Part of what Induction is intended to do is to limit quantities of food that can commonly be overeaten. Cheese is relatively high in calories for a small amount and it also has properties that cause excessive fluid retention. Since Induction is also a time for us to get to know how our bodies react to certain foods, it allows us to decide how much of something our bodies can tolerate.

As an example, most days I limit my cheese intake to some shredded cheese on eggs or a little cheese on a bunless burger, but when I eat a recipe using more cheese, I can easily fluctuate in my weight. My best advice if this happens to you is to increase your water ... that is what I do and I seem to recover, quickly.

[LilBit]

:hug Hugs Irish, you're like a walking health encyclopedia on skinny legs.

Thanks!

BTW Irish, did you just START Atkins on February 2004 when you came to this board, or had you already begun your journey?

If so, I'm simply amazed that you lost 152# in a year, that's a LOT!

Either way, grats to you, your fortitude is certainly paying off for you!

[IrishIrish]

Thanks. I learned a lot from those who were here long before I was. I started Atkins with my husband on January 5, 2004. I started Atkins after reading and lurking on this board as a guest for several months. I finally joined a year ago and it was one of the best moves I made. There is so much support here and the "Pay It forward" philosophy here keeps the board going ... well, that and Tom M!

[LilBit]

Does your body just naturally lose weight easily, or do you exercise your lil wahootie off for hours a day?

You've lost an extreme amount of weight for it to have been only a year, you must be so happy!

BTW, every time I see your first picture there, my heart skips a beat. You look SO much like my mom. She's since passed away, but she had the blue eyes, the blonde hair, same exact hair style as you have there, and the thin lips. Dang near an exact replica in facial features.

[sallyseachange]

on the subject of the percentages.... every time I slot my menus into FitDay... the fat content is always around 70%. We make our own olive oil (stone ground, cold pressed) which is sooooo wonderful. Perhaps I'm a little liberal with it. Is 70% fat too much? Though it's kinda hard to be terribly exact with Fitday....

Tks...
Sal

[IrishIrish]

The more one has to lose, the more they lose if they adhere to the plan. I probably don't lose more than anyone else when I consider the percentage of my total body weight. So comparing actually losses is comparing apples and oranges. I've also been lucky because in my first year of Atkins, once I made up my mind to follow the plan, I ate only whole foods with no bars, shakes or low carb candies or other products. I seldom even have Splenda.

Due to some limited mobility I do a variety of exercise ... Tae Bo moving my upper body, I do pool jogging and styrofoam weights in the water and I use hand weights to build strength in my hands and arms. From time to time, due to some medical problems I also participate in physical therapy and add new activities to my repetoire.

As far as the question about percentage of fat, it's meant to be a guideline and probably will seldom be exact. I think so many of us have come from weight loss environments where low fat has been stressed and when we begin Atkins, it seems counter-intuitive for many of us that we can actually lose weight by eating cheese, cream, butter and olive oil. So being aware of the percentages is important. Fluctuating up or down a few percentage points wouldn't worry me on a day to day basis.

There are lots of great examples of members on the boards with great programs and I try to follow them, as well. Best wishes.