Day Zero is Sunday, 01/26/2020. Today I'm working at wrapping my head around the challenges ahead. And there are a few things I'd like to discuss.
Let's look at a nutrition plan. I'm partial to what was working for me last year, a calorie-restricted diet with an emphasis on proportioned macronutrients, carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Success with this plan is rooted in the self-management of meal planning and preparation. Fat has twice the calories of both protein and carbohydrates. Managing calories essentially breaks down to managing the total fat (cholesterol) in each meal. Animal proteins, egg whites, and to some degree, chicken breast have the most favorable fat to protein ratios. The trade-off for vegetable proteins, primarily beans & legumes, is carbohydrates.
However, to keep my Type II diabetes condition in check, I have to keep the daily consumption of carbohydrates to less than 60 grams per day.
Having a fixed goal for carbs makes calculating my macros easier. Say I want a daily caloric goal of 1800 calories. At 4 calories per gram, 60 grams is 240 calories. Proteins and fats split the remaining 1560 calories.
Current literature favors protein over fat. To calculate the amount of protein, I'll use the information I found in this article, link, which recommends 0.73 grams per pound (bodyweight). So, for a 250 pound person equates to182.5 grams of protein per day for weight loss. 182.5 grams of protein is about 730 calories. Adding the 240 calories for carbohydrates equals 970, leaving 830 calories for fat, about 92 calories.
Table 1 Macronutrient for an 1800 calorie/day, 250 lb male, on carb restrictions
|
Macronutrients |
Calories/Gram (kcal/g) |
Caloric Allotment (kcal) |
Mass Equivalent (g) |
% Daily Totals (%) |
|
Carbohydrates |
4 |
240 |
60 |
13.3% |
|
Protein |
4 |
730 |
183 |
40.5% |
|
Fat |
9 |
830 |
92 |
46.1% |
|
Totals |
|
1800 |
335 |
100.0% |
Note that 335 gram is less than three-quarters of a pound. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that's a problem for satiety, a problem of volume. A solution for volume comes in the form of mostly cruciferous vegetables, like cauliflower, broccoli, and kale. There is also some literature (reference included) espousing the satiating properties of eating a diet favoring sources of protein.
Note also this macro diet plan is fat dominant. Most weight loss plans apportion more carbs at the expense of fat, the more common 40/30/30 ratio of protein, carbs, and fat. There's a couple of arguments for adding more protein. The previously cited reference talks about the satiating properties of eating a protein-rich diet (although I've never experienced this personally). Also, consuming as much as 0.8 - 1.0 grams of protein per pound of body weight is a common recommendation for building muscle. 1.0 gram corresponds to 250 grams of daily protein intake for a 250 pound person. Table 2 has the macro calculations for this assumption.
Table 2 Macronutrients given 1.0 g of protein per pound of body weight
|
Macronutrients |
Calories/Gram (kcal/g) |
Caloric Allotment (kcal) |
Mass Equivalent (g) |
% Daily Totals (%) |
|
Carbohydrates |
4 |
240 |
60 |
13.3% |
|
Protein |
4 |
1000 |
250 |
55.5% |
|
Fat |
9 |
760 |
84 |
42.2% |
|
Totals |
|
1800 |
294 |
100.0% |
Note, Table 2 indicates less total consumable mass than Table 1.
Enough for now. It's late. I'll pick this up in the morning. Tomorrow, I'll either continue with this topic, start discussing exercise, or both.