P/C/F ratios

This is protein/carbohydrate/fat ratios - a topic of continual debate among diet gurus and CR practitioners. For me, a Zone-ish regimen works far better than any other, giving me good energy and keeping me from getting hungry. Many other CR practitioners have had the same experience. Being a relatively flexible eater, I don't get too hung up on achieving Dr. Sears 30-40-30 ratio at every meal. But I stay within a range, regardless, because I know if I don't, I won't feel as good and may have appetite control problems. In my opinion, the level of fat doesn't matter that much - it's protein and carbs that have the most dramatic effects.

I average 70g of protein and rarely get below 60. I space this out and get at least 10g with each meal. I avoid meals with lots of high glycemic carbs, but I also try to get at least 75g of carbs a day, and no more than 150g, averaging 120g. I try to space the carbs over the day as well. If I drop below 75g of carbs, I feel spacey and light headed. If I go over 150g, I experience hunger and appetite control problems - often for days afterwards.

This makes my P/C/F ratio on average 25/40/35 - a little low in protein for Sears and a little high in fat. I add very little fat to my food and a lot of the fat comes from my protein sources.

At my calorie level - 1150-1200 calories a day - you can't afford to eat many carbs outside of fruits and vegetables and still get vitamins and minerals. This means only 1 or 2 servings of grains a day. Someone eating at a higher level of calories has more flexibility in what they eat. I choose to spend a lot of my carbs on fruit - because I love fruit so much. A piece of bread has about the same calories as 1/2 a pound of watermelon. Bread has 1 more gram of protein than the watermelon, but 1/2 the B vitamins. The 70 calories of watermelon has almost 30% of the RDA of A and C - the bread has none. The bread has more minerals, but it's not a high source of minerals. I choose the watermelon over the single slice of bread.