carbs & fats or carbs or fats

[Exercise123]

Should our diets be based on a nice complimentary split of macronutrients? Should we really be following diets such as 20% fats 50% carbohydrates and 30% protein? Or should our primary energy source be made up of one primary macronutrient (while keeping protein at 25-30%)?

The body prefers to use fatty acids or carbohydrate derived glucose for fuel; should we be mixing fats with carbohydrates?

After doing some research I feel maybe we (or some of us) were raised or may be better suited for a diet that is either fat dominated or carbohydrate dominated and that they shouldn't be evenly split. A well balanced meal of each macronutrient, carbohydrates will cause and insulin response and fats added during the meal will be swept in by the insulin and stored as fat because the primary source of energy for the next hours will be the carbohydrates consumed in the balanced meal, hence the fats have no use and will result in fat storage. It makes sense, we are designed to survive, but at the same time we've come far from survival instincts and surely it is known that the body has the ability to adapt... Do you agree with this ideology?

 

[MakaveliThaDon]

It all depends on what your goals are

 

[Jacked.N.Tan]

it depends what body type you are. the percentages u talked about are great for a hard gainer(ectomorph). if youre a meso then a 40-40-20 is best for that. and endo usually stick around 40-30-30.

 

[Steelwolf]

I dislike the idea of these percentages = how much you should take in. Yes I do have a calculation method to determine macros but it's based on bodyfat % amongst other things. I do not feel diet is so cookie cutter.

 

[CopyCat]

Here is a thread I made awhile back about nutrition, macros, and such. Hope you find it helpful and informative.

http://anabolicminds.com/forum/nutrition-health/92572-fuel-talk-pt.html

 

[HondaV65]

I'm totally with CopyCat on this one. I gave up being "told" what to do by the experts long ago.

I was raised in the South - in the 60's and the 70's let me tell you something - we were eating CRAP. I'm talking about everything was slathered in bacon fat - we cooked all the time with transfats - simple carbs? Let's talk about eating grits douched in melted butter for just about every meal.

And back then - everyone was in great shape as far as physique goes. All my relatives were big and dumb mesomorphs - just like me. It was the WORK that they did and the hard life they lived that kept them this way - I'm sure of it.

Soul Food - nutrition experts will tell you the stuff will kill you. But, back then, there weren't a lot of fat African Americans in my parts - they were all lean and strong.

What happened? Diet has gotten better actually - it still sucks down here - but it's better than it was but everyone is fat.

It's because they sit on their asses - that's why.

Carbs bloat the hell out of me and ... EIGHT servings of veggies? Yougoddabekiddinme!

Meanwhile - in the 30's - primitive living Eskimos were healthy as hell chomping on pure whale fat all day. What gives?

So I decided that the "experts" weren't giving good advice.

I eat few carbs - and a lot of red meat and a lot of fat. I feel fine and, at 49 - I can still build some muscle. That's another thing - testosterone is dropping for males everywhere - why? I think it's because they're hung up on these "rabbit diets" that the nutritionists want us to follow.

I just don't play that anymore.

I'l tell you another thing too - I don't care about cholesterol. Nope - don't measure it - don't care. LDL and HDL aren't even cholesterols - when I found that out I got pissed. There is only one kind of cholesterol - there is not good or bad. LDL and HDL are transport mechanisms for cholesterol - one hauls it to the liver to metabolize it out of your system and the other hauls it off to patch up inflammation and do other good things. You NEED cholesterol. I think exercise will keep it in check for most people - and keep it doing good rather than bad.

Don't get me started tho.

 

[Carcaya]

Should our diets be based on a nice complimentary split of macronutrients? Should we really be following diets such as 20% fats 50% carbohydrates and 30% protein? Or should our primary energy source be made up of one primary macronutrient (while keeping protein at 25-30%)?

The body prefers to use fatty acids or carbohydrate derived glucose for fuel; should we be mixing fats with carbohydrates?

After doing some research I feel maybe we (or some of us) were raised or may be better suited for a diet that is either fat dominated or carbohydrate dominated and that they shouldn't be evenly split. A well balanced meal of each macronutrient, carbohydrates will cause and insulin response and fats added during the meal will be swept in by the insulin and stored as fat because the primary source of energy for the next hours will be the carbohydrates consumed in the balanced meal, hence the fats have no use and will result in fat storage. It makes sense, we are designed to survive, but at the same time we've come far from survival instincts and surely it is known that the body has the ability to adapt... Do you agree with this ideology?

So are you suggesting perhaps grouping your meals? Like, meal 1 protein/carbs, meal 2 protein/fat, meal 3 protein/carbs . . etc.

Or are you suggesting low carb or low fat diet entirely?

 

[MakaveliThaDon]

In my early days I was always taught to pick carbs OR fat for a meal (along with high protein obviously) and to have an either pro-fat meal, or a pro-carb meal, but not to mix fats with carbs.

This worked when I was younger, however now, years later, I have some blood sugar issues now days with my blood sugar going too low, and actually the only way I can minimize this is to combine fats and carbs in my meals. In the end, the macros still balance out over a 24 hour period, I just combine the fats/carbs together and it helps me stabilize my blood sugar better, and I've noticed considerably better gains this way.

Take that for what it's worth, since this is just my own experience, and maybe not reflect what works for you

 

[Steelwolf]

So are you suggesting perhaps grouping your meals? Like, meal 1 protein/carbs, meal 2 protein/fat, meal 3 protein/carbs . . etc.

Or are you suggesting low carb or low fat diet entirely?

Each has it's purpose. On my low days of carbs fats are high and vice versa

 

[jeanlolonnais]

What I've found is if you are looking to loose weight you have to cut either carbs or fats, or significantly reduce calories overall.

If you are looking to loose fat then you have to cut carbs.

If you consume both carbs and fat you will gain weight and fat....*unless you have phenomenal genetics and metabolism.

This is based in my own personal experience but there are exceptions to every rule. Bottom line is if you want to get lean you have to cut either carbs or fat. Cutting carbs is the easiest, sure fire way to get lean.

There is a good article about the secret to getting ripped and the article says the one certain method is to keep carbs at below 100 g's a day.

 

[MakaveliThaDon]

What I've found is if you are looking to loose weight you have to cut either carbs or fats, or significantly reduce calories overall.

If you are looking to loose fat then you have to cut carbs.

If you consume both carbs and fat you will gain weight and fat....*unless you have phenomenal genetics and metabolism.

This is based in my own personal experience but there are exceptions to every rule. Bottom line is if you want to get lean you have to cut either carbs or fat. Cutting carbs is the easiest, sure fire way to get lean.

There is a good article about the secret to getting ripped and the article says the one certain method is to keep carbs at below 100 g's a day.

THIS. Getting lean isn't specifically about keeping your carbs low, unless you are purposely doing a keto diet, it's about eating less calories than you are burning.

 

[jeanlolonnais]

THIS. Getting lean isn't specifically about keeping your carbs low, unless you are purposely doing a keto diet, it's about eating less calories than you are burning.

True...Although I do not believe in "a calorie is a calorie" only because carbs triger hormone ( insulin ) changes in the body which can affect body composition.

 

[Exercise123]

Here is a thread I made awhile back about nutrition, macros, and such. Hope you find it helpful and informative.

Thx, I will have to read this when I get some time, probally would alter my following responses too, lol..

I'l tell you another thing too - I don't care about cholesterol. Nope - don't measure it - don't care. LDL and HDL aren't even cholesterols - when I found that out I got pissed. There is only one kind of cholesterol - there is not good or bad. LDL and HDL are transport mechanisms for cholesterol - one hauls it to the liver to metabolize it out of your system and the other hauls it off to patch up inflammation and do other good things. You NEED cholesterol. I think exercise will keep it in check for most people - and keep it doing good rather than bad.

Don't get me started tho.

Which one helps with inflamamation?

So are you suggesting perhaps grouping your meals? Like, meal 1 protein/carbs, meal 2 protein/fat, meal 3 protein/carbs . . etc.

Or are you suggesting low carb or low fat diet entirely?

Originally what I had meant is your second point, but I have thought about your first point in the past weeks, I would apply the first point when consuming roughly equal amounts of carbs and fats. I figure both carbs and fats have the capacity to be dominate energy sources, so they should not be consumed simultaneously, or else the carb induced insulin will store the fats as fat due to the primary glucose already available via the ingested carbs. Now of course I know weight loss will come from a calorie deficit.

I'm looking more at like a maintenance perspective. Again let me reference one of my said theories. Carbs are the preferred energy source, easily converted into glucose. Do you think fats could be considered a dominate energy source similar to carbs and possibly therefore should be used as such and not be mixed, either one or the other?

In my early days I was always taught to pick carbs OR fat for a meal (along with high protein obviously) and to have an either pro-fat meal, or a pro-carb meal, but not to mix fats with carbs.