Balanced diet ratio

Of the total daily caloric intake, carbohydrates account for 50% to 65%, proteins account for 10% to 20%, and fats account for 20% to 30%. But this is just a general reference line, and it is by no means a gold standard that needs to be strictly stuck. Individual differences, life scenes, and exercise habits will all cause the optimal ratio to deviate.

I just helped a 996 programmer friend adjust his diet last month. He had a takeout rice bowl before, and white rice accounted for two-thirds of the full box. There were a few pieces of chicken soaked in red oil and a few rotten vegetable leaves floating on top. Calculating, the carbohydrates accounted for almost 80%, and the high-quality protein did not even make up 10%. The fat was all vegetable oil that was heated repeatedly. I changed a very simple meal planning logic for him: replace half of the white rice with brown rice or steamed sweet potatoes, add a fistful of stir-fried green leafy vegetables, replace the previous red oil chicken with skinless chicken legs or steamed fish, and add a handful of original nuts for afternoon tea, which just falls within the universal proportion range. After only three weeks, he told me that the problem of staring at the screen at three o'clock in the afternoon and making him sleepy was gone, and he would no longer be hungry and look for snacks before meal time.

Of course, this ratio has always been controversial, and the fitness circle was the first to disagree. I know several friends who have been working out all year round. During the muscle-building period, the protein ratio is directly increased to 25% to 30%, and the carbohydrates are also adjusted upward to ensure sufficient energy during strength training. During the preparation period, the fat is even reduced to less than 15%, and the body fat rate is so low that the outline of the abdominal muscles can be seen. This adjustment is completely reasonable for their goals. There is also the low-carbon ketogenic diet, which is very popular now, directly reducing the proportion of carbohydrates to less than 10% and reducing fat to about 70%. This model was originally used to assist in the treatment of epilepsy in children. Now many people use it to control sugar and reduce fat. There is indeed clinical data to support it, but it must be carried out under the guidance of professionals. Ordinary people who try it blindly can easily cause problems such as ketoacidosis, hair loss, and aunt running away. The gain outweighs the loss.

To tell you something interesting, when I was taking the nutritionist certificate exam two years ago, I also encountered the pitfall of stuck ratio. I had to use a calculator to calculate the grams of carbohydrates to eat a strawberry. When I went out to eat hot pot with friends, I had to count how many slices of fat beef I ate to calculate the fat content. It made eating more tiring than working on projects. Later, after I came into contact with more cases, I realized that the ratio looks at the long-term overall, not the precise number of a certain meal. Most of the time this week, you plan meals according to the general direction. On weekends, you go out with friends to have a cup of milk tea and a cake. As long as the overall calories are not exceeded, it will not affect you at all, and you will not make yourself an ascetic in eating.

It is actually very simple for ordinary people to do this. There is no need to buy a food scale to calculate the grams. Just use your ordinary 20cm dinner plate: half is filled with dark green vegetables, mushrooms, melons and eggplants, one quarter is filled with high-quality carbohydrates such as whole grains and potatoes, and the rest A quarter of the meal is filled with proteins such as lean pork, beef, lamb, fish, shrimp, eggs, and soy products. If you usually use less oil for cooking, add a handful of nuts or half an avocado to add enough fat. With this combination of a meal, you are almost within the safety zone of the universal proportion.

You don’t need to listen to what others say “carbohydrates are the root cause of obesity” and just cut the carbs to almost zero. Think about it, the only source of energy for the brain is carbohydrates. If you cut the carbs to less than 20%, you can’t even do ppt at work, and you can’t find new tricks when fishing, so why bother? There are also many girls who are afraid of getting fat and dare not eat fat. The proportion of fat is less than 15% all year round. In the end, the aunt runs away and the skin becomes dry and flaky, which is not worth the gain. If you encounter special circumstances, you need to adjust flexibly: you will run a half-marathon next week, and it is okay to increase the carbohydrate ratio to 70% in the first three days. It will store enough glycogen in the body so that your legs will not feel weak during the run; do not eat low calories in the week before your period, and eat two more bites of sweet potatoes and oats to avoid edema and irritability; friends with high uric acid do not need to change the ratio. Just replace high-purine seafood and animal offal with low-purine proteins such as milk and eggs.

Oh, by the way, I met an aunt who was a vegetarian before. Her protein ratio was higher than that of ordinary people who eat meat. She relied entirely on quinoa, chickpeas, and old tofu. After eating like this for five or six years, her physical examination indicators were more beautiful than many young people in their twenties. In the final analysis, a balanced diet ratio is never a set of fixed mathematical formulas, but more like a reference guide for ordinary people. If you go on the highway, drive faster, and on the village road, drive slower. The final criterion is never how accurate the number on your card is, but whether you are energetic and stable after eating, and whether all indicators are within the normal range during the physical examination - that is the best ratio for you.