60/20/20 ratio diet?

[willyg4444]

I went to a nutritionist yesterday to get my BF% measured and he said I was at 22.8%. I weighed in at 170 lbs. and I'm 5'7. He said I shouldn't lose too much more weight, but I am carrying a decent amount of fat on me. I asked him what kind of diet I should be following and he said a 60/20/20 (Carb-Protein-Fat I think) ratio sounds good. I couldn't get a diet plan from him because I wasn't going to pay $125 for it. Maybe you guys could help me out with a basic 6 meal plan? I mentioned I was taking in about 1500-1800 calories a day, and he said that was fine if I'm following it strictly which I would be. My goal is to get to 15-16% by the end of the summer. Please help! Thanks.

[Mythos219]

You should get a new nutritionist. 1500-1800 calories is not fine, you should be shooting for 2000-2300 calories. As far as the ratio goes, it's pretty carb heavy. I would go with either 50-40-10 or 40-40-20 Carbs/protein/fat.

[Adam444]

I am 5'8, 177 and my BF is around 18%

I eat 1,800-1,900 cals a day.


2,300 is way too much for a 170 pounder unless you exercise a lot...

[zcsmith]

You should get a new nutritionist. 1500-1800 calories is not fine, you should be shooting for 2000-2300 calories. As far as the ratio goes, it's pretty carb heavy. I would go with either 50-40-10 or 40-40-20 Carbs/protein/fat.

Agreed. Assuming that you're getting about 30 minutes of real exercise daily (working out, doing cardio, etc.), that's WAYYY too low.

Now, I'm not a big "bulking" guy, but I really would recommend that you put on a few pounds. 170 is a decent weight, so I would say concentrate on gaining about a pound a week for the first 3 months or so. Of course, this means that you will have to LIFT and do a bit of cardio. This would be a gain of 12 pounds in three months, which is quite a bit, but you will make quick gains since you haven't lifted before (I'm assuming). After those three months, I would gain about 2-3 pounds a month for 3 more months. Within a half a year, that's about a 19 pound weight gain, mostly muscle (if you do everything right). 19 pounds sounds like you're gaining weight, but again, if done right, you will LOOK LEANER.

I would start off anywhere between 2,500 and 3,000 calories and adjust from there.

Dude, BY NO MEANS am I saying that this is the only way to do things. That's the fun thing about bodybuilding - we're all different, and we are going to respond differently to different things. I think that what I outlined above would work for you to SOME degree - how much depends on a lot of factors. There are other opinions/ideas that will probably work better, and others that won't work as well. However, I believe that what I suggested above is sound advice.

Good luck!

[Mythos219]

I am 5'8, 177 and my BF is around 18%

I eat 1,800-1,900 cals a day.


2,300 is way too much for a 170 pounder unless you exercise a lot...

2000-2300 is a good starting point. At 170 lbs., 2300 calories is a good baseline to start a cut with. If you're not losing fat, you can always drop it down. There are 2 problems with starting with a low calorie cycle - 1)you risk going into starvation mode (never drop below 1800 calories) 2)you have no where to go if you hit a plateau(IE: if your not losing fat at 2300 calories, you can always drop it down)

[Getsum]

I've had really good results with a 40p/40c/20f diet at about 2300 calories a day. I also try to avoid saturated fats and look for the polyunsaturated and monounsaturated and get a good portion of my carbohydrates from dietary fiber and complex carbohydrates instead of simple carbs.

Good luck.

[willyg4444]

getsum can you post your diet plan? I don't know exactly what to eat to get 2000-2300 calories a day and maintain a 40/20/20 ratio, since I was eating totally different before. Thanks!

[Getsum]

I've been trying to follow a 40p/40c/20f diet at around 2000 to 2500 calories a day for cutting and 2800 calories a day for maintenance, and I try to eat good fats and get my carbs from sources that are high fiber like fruits, vegetables and grains. That works out to about 200g to 250g of protein, 200g to 250g of carbs and 45g to 55g from fat. Fiber is undigestable and because of that it's a huge plus to weight loss.

Here's an example of my own typical daily intake:

Breakfast:
1 whole egg & 3 egg whites (or Eggbeaters) made with canola oil, and I'll have 4 strips of lean Oscar Myer bacon. I’ll make my eggs with red, yellow, orange and green peppers or some cheddar cheese and sometimes I’ll use Tabasco or even ketchup occasionally. This is my typical weekend breakfast, so I’ll try to do this twice a week.

High fiber cereals like Muesli with fat free milk, and I only do this once or twice a month for a change of pace.

Oatmeal, this is by far the easiest breakfast and it's a good source of fiber. This is my main breakfast and I’ll eat this 4 or 5 times a week.

Morning Snack:
Apple, plum, pear or a Banana or a String Cheese or some nuts (I eat one in the morning and another in the afternoon)

Lunch:
Tuna Sandwich or a Salad with a Grilled Chicken Breast and fat free dressing or a 6" Subway Club on wheat if I'm rushing that day. Another good emergency lunch is the new roasted chicken breast filet meal at KFC.

Afternoon Snack:
Apple, plum, pear or a Banana or a String Cheese or some nuts (I eat one in the morning and another in the afternoon)

Preworkout:
Atkins Advantage Protein bar- Say want you want about the Atkins diet, I don't follow it, but they make a great protein bar. 240 Calories, 19g protein, 21g carbs but 10g are from fiber and there's only 1g from sugar.

Or sometimes I eat a can of tuna with some Tabasco sauce.

Dinner (also Postworkout):
8 Oz. of lean beef, chicken, fish or pork. I also eat a 16 Oz. bag of Broccoli or Ca. Style Vegetables (Broccoli, cauliflower, Carrots)

Another dinner is a shrimp or chicken stir fry made with 8 Oz. of meat and some cut up bell peppers, red peppers, and squash.

Some of my cheat dinners include spaghetti and lean meatballs made with whole wheat pasta that’s very high in fiber. Or I make a couple of carne asada tacos with whole wheat tortillas. If I’m in the mood for rice, I’ll eat some brown rice which is another good source of fiber.

If I want to take the wife out to eat I can do fish tacos at Rubio’s, fiesta lime chicken at Applebee’s or a small steak most other places. I just sub out the rice or potatoes for vegetables. Kung Pao Chicken is another meal that isn’t that bad.

Late night snack:
Low fat Cottage Cheese or some nuts.

I also take the following supplements at various times during the day:
Green tea, Fish oils, Dietary fiber, Onesource Multivitamin, Lipo 6, Chromium Picolinate, Higher Power Creatine and Optimum 100% Whey Protein.
My drinks during the day are 8 to 12 glasses of water. I'll usually have a diet 7-up, a diet grapefruit juice that's made with Splenda and sometimes a V-8. I drink green tea instead of coffee, although I still might have an occasional cup of coffee. I normally drink 1 or 2 Propel Fitness Waters during my cardio workouts.

Anyway, I got carried away. My goal is not to diet per se, but to develop a healthy a life style. As a type 2 diabetic, I have no choice and that’s good motivation to stick with it. I post my diet totals daily in my workout journal so feel free to check it out. I’ve lost some weight (I’m down a total of 30 pounds over the last 10 months), I have lowered my body fat percentage by 12% and damn near everyone I know has commented on how much better I’m looking. I’m at the point now where I need to have all my pants taken in because they’re just bunching up around the waist too much. When I started I was wearing 41” waist on my dress pants and 40” Levi’s and now I just bouhgt some 36” Dockers and I’m getting ready to buy some 34” Levi’s (the pair I’m wearing now are 36” and are getting to big around the waist).

Good luck man, I hope that helps.

Edit: fixed the fat to 45 to 55g.

[willyg4444]

Thanks a lot getsum. That really helps. I'm going to follow your meal plan starting on Monday. We'll see how it goes.

[panjt]

Thanks a lot getsum. That really helps. I'm going to follow your meal plan starting on Monday. We'll see how it goes.

Just want to make a quick comment
First of all, congratulation to you for ur change of lifestyle and it is very nice from getsum to give u a sample of his diet. But ,in my oipion, u should not just start applying his diet cause everybody is different, what works for him may not work for u. But the bottom line is that for a good diet, there are some generals guidelines that everybody should follow and adpat depending of his bodytype. U should navigate through the forum and learn the general stuffs and u will try to put something in place. IMO from your info, ur goal should not be about weight but bodyfat since u r already 170, I can see u being very succesful with a carbcycling with a solid weigh lifting programm. Become your nutrionist by reading on this forum, there are so many info and nice people than can help u here, learn ur body type and u will get there. Please forget about ur weight, it is meaningless, focus on your bodyfat.

[amjzzz]

1500-1800 is fine for a 105 pound 61 year old woman. Use a calcultor to calculate your active metabolic rate. 60-20-20? With the low carb trend I find this crazy. 40/40/20 is the common ratio for either peopel who lift or wanna burn fat. Some people take it much lower, but I think 40/40/20 is the standard on these boards.

Nutrtionists are crazy, I only listen to people who lift and put on some serious mass or have dropped a ton of fat themselves. Too many nutritionists have never made a body change and just go by what they read in textbooks.

-AJ

[N-Word-Jim]

Getsum: you said you're taking in 100 to 125g of fat a day... while trying to maintain a 40/40/20 split. I hope that was a typo, don't forget that fat is 9 calories per gram, protein and carbs are 4 calories per gram.

Just wanted to stick that in so we don't mislead anyone.

[DJohnson]

40/40/20 is technically supposed to be:
40% of your CALORIES from carbs
40% of your CALORIES from protein
20% of your CALORIES from fat

So for 2500 calories that'd be:
250g of carbs
250g of protein
55g of fat

But hey, it's obviously working great for you so you might not even want to dare change it.

[Getsum]

40/40/20 is technically supposed to be:
40% of your CALORIES from carbs
40% of your CALORIES from protein
20% of your CALORIES from fat

So for 2500 calories that'd be:
250g of carbs
250g of protein
55g of fat

But hey, it's obviously working great for you so you might not even want to dare change it.

Yeah, I'm close but not quite there. Looking over my journal I realize that the 100 grams of fat is way too high. I think why my balance is off is because I'm taking in less carbs but taking in slightly more fat than the 55 you have listed. My actual diet is probably closer to a 45p/30c/25f or something. Whatever the ratio is, I seem to do my best cutting when I keep my calories around the 2300 range.