The Hype of Ratios

Hello all,

I've been reading a lot about ratios for carbs, fat, and protein intake. Some people swear by the Zone Diet (40% Carbs, 30% Protein, and 30% Fat). Some people swear by 40% Carbs, 40% Protein, and 20% Fat). Another popular one is 50% Carbs, 30% Fat, and 20% Protein. And there are thousands of combinations of this. Depending on your goals (to lose fat, to build muscle, to maintain weight, to gain weight), there is likely "the perfect ratio" out there being prescribed for you and I'm sure there's research to support it. There are even diets where you might have a combination of different ratios and interchange them throughout the week to "confuse" or "trick" your system and thus sustain the fat burning/muscle building.

I won't lie, I used to buy into the hype. I used to very meticulously plan out my food journal so that my pie chart would be exactly a 40/30/30 ratio. It wasn't too hard, but it did take some forethought and planning.

I am much more relaxed about it now. I might recommend the Zone Diet for those starting out with weight loss and food journaling just so you can get the hang of foods that fall into the carbs/fat/protein categories. But once you learn the ropes, keeping a perfect ratio is more of a guideline. Sure, its good to make sure you don't go overboard on carbs one day or have too much fat in your diet, but its not an absolute necessity in order to lose weight. Which brings me to my next point.

I've lost weight using several of these combinations. I've lost weight without using ANY of these combinations back in the days before I did food journaling and all of that. And from what I've read, dietary professionals have had clients lose weight on a combination of all these "ideal" numbers. There is not just one rule that applies to everyone.

But you're not off the hook yet! There is a rule that fits almost everyone and that is the rule of caloric intake. CALORIES!! Find a calorie calculator, get your number, and don't go over it! This probably works so well because no matter what you eat, if you can only eat 1300 calories, its pretty limiting as to how much trouble you can get into. So if nothing else, foodjournal based on calories and you should see some results as long as you're trying to eat better (taking a step in the right direction - you don't have to change everything overnight) and doing your workouts (at least 30 mins a day), you should see results!!