Skim over the Essential Guide to Fat if you’re looking for some heart-healthy options. Fats have many benefits ranging from satiety to brain health–especially those rich in omega-3s. Check out the Essential Guide to Protein for information on plant-based protein sources as well as lean cuts of meat, poultry and fish to stock up on.ģ. Lean protein offers muscle-sparing benefits with very few calories from fat. The Essential Guide to Carbs offers some healthy options.Ģ. Put those on your plate instead of highly refined or simple carbohydrates and sugary treats. Complex carbohydrates like vegetables and whole grains, contain fiber which has a beneficial impact both on satiety and blood sugar. When it comes to carbohydrates, the more complex the better. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you adjust your macros:ġ. Feel free to experiment but remember: The quality of the protein, fat and carbs you eat are just as important as the quantity. While there’s no one magic ratio for everyone, you may find that making some modest adjustments to macronutrient intake can help your long-term weight loss efforts. If you’re currently using MyFitnessPal’s default goals and want to trade some carb calories for protein, the 45:25 carbohydrate-to-protein ratio may be a good place to start. Hypothetically speaking, a 1,300-calorie diet with as few as 40% calories from carbohydrates (below the recommended minimum) would still meet the RDA for carbohydrates. Go below that and it becomes incredibly difficult to hit your daily fiber goal (which also helps with satiety) and you may feel more sluggish during workouts. To help you visualize some modest modifications, here’s a table summarizing a couple of options for safely cutting back on calories from carbohydrates and fat while increasing protein intake to optimize the diet for weight loss:įor those primarily interested in cutting calories from carbohydrates, a 1,200-calorie diet with 45% of calories from carbohydrates would provide 135 grams of carbohydrates, thus meeting the RDA of 130 grams. MyFitnessPal’s current default goals distribute calories as follows: 50% from carbohydrates, 20% from protein and 30% from fat.

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