Get your fat, protein and carbs right here!

A calorie is a calorie is a calorie. That's right, whether you get 2000 calories from carbs or 2000 calories from protein, a calorie is a calorie and too many gets stored as fat regardless of from whence it came. Managing the proportion of the types of calories we consume however, is the key to weight management.

Striking the right balance of protein, carbs and fat will have an immediate impact on your ability to manage your weight. Here's the deal. If you know (based on yesterday's post) you burn 2,073 calories a day, it make sense to limit your caloric intake to 2,073 a day to maintain your weight and less if your goal is to lose. Restricting calories to lose weight however is not always easy. But read on. . . .

I received my fitness certifications through the International Sports Science Association and they have a basic 1-2-3 rule of thumb when it comes to diet. It translates to 1 part of your daily caloric intake coming from fat; 2 parts from protein and 3 parts from carbs. It's easy to figure out the right proportion once you know your daily caloric expenditure. Using the example from yesterday's post of 2,073 daily caloric expenditure we can break it down as follows:

2,073 divided by 6 parts equals 345 (6 is used since we're calculating based on 6 total parts, i.e., 1 part fat + 2 part protein + 3 part carbs equals 6 total parts)
1 part fat would be 345 calories from fat or 38 grams of fat**
2 parts protein would be 690 (345 times 2) calories from protein or 172 grams of protein**
3 parts carbohydrates would be 1,035 (345 times 3) calories from carbs or 259 grams of carbs**

I find that most people realize once they've done the calculations that they are not getting enough protein but rather getting more fat and more carbs than desired. Increasing your protein will have an immediate impact on your appetite. Protein takes longer to digest so it stays in your system longer therefore keeping your blood sugar stable longer. It's the dips in blood sugar that create cravings for something that will move it up again. When that something is protein it stabilizes the blood sugar and reduces cravings.

However, as you can see from the calculations your body needs fats and carbs. I'm not advocating a high protein and no carb diet - at all! Carbs are actually the highest proportion with the ISSA 1-2-3 nutritional rule of thumb. There are good fats and good carbs however and on Monday we'll take a look at them.

** To convert calories to grams use this scale:
9 calories of fat equal 1 gram so divide calories from fat by 9 to convert calories to grams
4 calories of protein equal 1 gram - divide calories from protein by 4 to convert
4 calories of carbs equal 1 gram - divide calories from carbs by 4 to convert

It's Friday again!! Hope you had a great week!