40 30 30 Diet
So what exactly is a 40-30-30 diet? Well it’s not as difficult as it might look. It stands for the percentage of calories you consume from carbohydrates, protein and fat….40-30-30 respectively. This diet moves away from the extremes of low-carb diets which can be problematical for many people. Do you recall from school the diagram of a pyramid where wheat and grains where the biggest portion at the bottom? Well it turns out a diet consisting of 70% carbohydrates might be the cause for the sum of overweight and obese people in the world.
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This diet is slightly based on that same theory of the pyramid, but just portioned in a altered more balanced manner. It might seem like a lot to have a diet with 30% fat content, but in reality fat doesn’t essentially make you fat. High fructose corn syrup or other simple sugars truly makes us fat. And it’s hidden in a lot of places that people might not pay attention to like smoothies, shakes, and coffee drinks. Our body works in strange ways and when you have a caloric deficit with a lowered carb intake, especially simple sugars and a higher intake of fat, it in reality is less averse to hang on to extra fat. Your body is constantly in survival mode and it no longer feels it needs to hang on to stored fat to survive.
The foundation for the 40 30 30 diet has been used by Barry Sears, PhD with his well know “Zone Diet.” His theory goes into more extent than just the caloric breakdown of our diet, and he has many books that describe his theory. But the benefits are said to be balanced hormones, more energy, quicker metabolism and spending all day in “the zone.”
So on to the nitty gritty….how do you know if you’re consuming a 40-30-30 diet? It’s not as hard as you might think. It just takes some easy math. You need first understand the amount of calories in each gram of nutrient: Four calories per gram of carbohydrates, four calories per gram of protein, and nine calories per gram of fat. Just right there you can see why it is crucial to keep a watchful eye on your fat consumption because it is over twice as calorie dense as carbs or protein.
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Next we want to figure out how many calories your body needs to preserve its current weight. To find out this number, use this scale:
· 10 Calories/Pound – Sedentary
· 13 Calories/Pound – Low Activity(No planned physical activity)
· 15 Calories/Pound – Moderate Activity(Planned activity;30-40 min 2-3 times a week)
· 18 Calories/Pound – Strenuous Activity(60 minutes of activity 4-5 times a week)
If you want take a healthy and safe approach to weight loss, reduce your calorie intake by 20% of your maintenance number. So if you’re a moderately active person weighing 170 Lbs, you would figure out your goal calorie intake like so:
· 170 x 15= 2550
· 2250 x .20(20%)=510
· So a 20% decrease in calories would be 2550-510=2040
Now we can break down your entire daily caloric intake in to the 40 30 30 diet:
· 40% Carbohydrates = 816 calories (Divide by 4 to get number of grams=204)
· 30% Protein = 612 calories (Divide by 4 to get number of grams= 153)
· 30% Fat = 612 calories (Divide by 9 to get number of grams= 68)
Now you can apply this formula to compute the quantity of calories and further more carbohydrates, protein and fat required for the 40 30 30 diet.
Learn more about the 40 30 30 Diet here.
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