# Macros - nutrition **URL:** \ **Category:** Type 1 & LADA\ **Tags:** insulin\ **Created:** [May 27, 2020, 6:43pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/macros-nutrition/9808 "2020-05-27T18:43:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lh378](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/lh378/32/601_2.png) [@lh378](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/lh378)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 6:43pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/macros-nutrition/9808/1 "2020-05-27T18:43:33Z")
I don’t “think” about or plan my meals in terms of macro nutrients (fats,proteins, carbs) and quantities and calories. In other words, except for keeping carbs lower, I don’t plan a goal for fats, protein. I’ve been trying to eat a balanced meal, usually based on color🙂, lots of greens, some red, some protein/meat, some carb/starch/fruit. Fruits are about colors too. I tend to choose my foods depending on my hunger/mood. The only thing I count deliberately is carbs because of insulin dosing. I don’t count calories. I’m not trying to lose weight or gain weight, prepare for a marathon, competition.According to Carb Manager, which I recently started to use, my daily caloric intake is about 1,000 calories, some days more, other days less. About 50%, (some days less), of my calories are from fats. Is this to be expected from those of us who do not follow SAD? I follow a lower carb diet between 75- 100 g carbs daily. Macro nutrients, and their quantification is new to me because I have not kept track of calories, macros (except for carbs 😀 ). About 45-50% calories from fats seems like a high number to me. I do get ravenously hungry around 5:30 pm before dinner some times. I don’t know what that’s all about. Drinking water and having a few walnuts or cucumbers help. Just curious and wondering. ---
**Author:** ![kalle](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/kalle/32/8754_2.png) [@kalle](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/kalle)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 7:11pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/macros-nutrition/9808/2 "2020-05-27T19:11:46Z")
It’s eye-opening to get some numbers, isn’t it? I track pretty much everything I eat. I first started logging food to get carb counts, but the calories and macros followed automatically in the app I use. Now I find it useful to ensure I get enough protein for strength training. If you eat low-carb, you still have to get your calories from somewhere, so I’m not surprised that you get half of them from fat. Fat is 9 kcal per gram while protein and carbs are 4, so it adds up quickly. This also means that 50% of the calories is much less than 50% by weight. ---
**Author:** ![lh378](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/lh378/32/601_2.png) [@lh378](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/lh378)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 7:19pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/macros-nutrition/9808/3 "2020-05-27T19:19:06Z")
> [@kalle](#): > > This also means that 50% of the calories is much less than 50% by weight. I think I know what you mean… just in case because I am macros clueless-please clarify anyway. Thank you ,🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Eric](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/eric/32/9209_2.png) [@Eric](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Eric)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 7:32pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/macros-nutrition/9808/4 "2020-05-27T19:32:10Z")
I know there are people who eat high fat / low carb, to make it easier for BG management. And I know there are a lot of diets with various amounts. Personally, I do not try to follow a “diabetic diet”. I try to follow the recommendations for healthy eating for someone my age and weight and activity level. I take diabetes out of the picture when planning my diet. When I consider all of that, 50% of calories from fat would be way too high for me. Just my belief. You will get a million opinions on what is right. But I recommend picking the diet you think is best for you, and then making the diabetes work with it. * * * * * * As a side note…you may already know this, but a gram of fat has more than twice the calories of a gram of protein of a gram of carbohydrates. That is why the fat calories add up so quickly! ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_YYC](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/jim_yyc/32/9553_2.png) [@Jim\_YYC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Jim_YYC)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 1:34am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/macros-nutrition/9808/5 "2020-05-28T01:34:03Z")
> [@Eric](#): > > I know there are people who eat high fat / low carb, to make it easier for BG management. And I know there are a lot of diets with various amounts. @lh378 I’m one of the LCHF (low carb high fat) people. I’ve followed and optimized a keto (now carnivore) diet plan and try to maintain macros of 75% calories from fat, 25% from protein. Carb intake is as close to 0 as possible. My usual daily caloric intake is between 800-1,000 calories, and I maintain an A1C in the range of 4.6 - 5.0. I have to mind my protein intake as I live with diabetic kidney disease. ---
**Author:** ![Chris](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/chris/32/382_2.png) [@Chris](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Chris)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 2:11am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/macros-nutrition/9808/6 "2020-05-28T02:11:39Z")
Interesting so the fat doesn’t cause any issues with the kidneys, just the protein. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_YYC](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/jim_yyc/32/9553_2.png) [@Jim\_YYC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Jim_YYC)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 2:27am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/macros-nutrition/9808/7 "2020-05-28T02:27:47Z")
Doesn’t seem to cause any unusual issues. I really don’t eat very much and I’m on one meal a day ---
**Author:** ![lh378](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/lh378/32/601_2.png) [@lh378](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/lh378)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 4:43am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/macros-nutrition/9808/8 "2020-05-28T04:43:14Z")
> [@Jim\_YYC](#): > > I’m on one meal a day That’s a great A1C! What does your one meal a day look like? ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_YYC](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/jim_yyc/32/9553_2.png) [@Jim\_YYC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Jim_YYC)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 10:49am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/macros-nutrition/9808/9 "2020-05-28T10:49:14Z")
Yesterday was fairly typical - 7 ounces strip loin steak (roughly 50 grams protein) slathered in garlic butter. The steak was cooked in cast iron pan with avocado oil and butter. ---
**Author:** ![lh378](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/lh378/32/601_2.png) [@lh378](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/lh378)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 6:20pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/macros-nutrition/9808/10 "2020-05-28T18:20:47Z")
> [@Eric](#): > > When I consider all of that, 50% of calories from fat would be way too high for me. I’ll keep an eye on it- I just started Carb Manager a few days ago. Two of the days, I had Haagen Ice Cream popsicles. Another contributor to fats: nuts/seeds. I eat some walnuts and pumpkin seeds; not a lot, perhaps a quarter cup a day in total. Maybe they all add up? 61 g of fat, about 550 calories is the largest amount of fat in the past few days (ice cream and nuts). 35 g of fat may be more the customary; I don’t eat ice cream daily. My food intake is about 1,000 calories a day. @Eric ETA:. It’s the avocado! I just noticed that Avocado and nuts in one day easily pushes my fats to 50g of fat. ---
**Author:** ![Trying](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/trying/32/4078_2.png) [@Trying](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Trying)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 9:08pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/macros-nutrition/9808/11 "2020-05-28T21:08:19Z")
> [@lh378](#): > > I’ll keep an eye on it- I just started Carb Manager a few days ago. I use [bitesnap](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bitesnap-photo-food-journal/id1108291490#see-all/reviews) on my iPhone. You can take a photo of your food/meal and it does its best to recognize the ingredients (seldom ALWAYS accurate though!), and then gives you the breakdown of what you might find on the back label, including all nutritional Daily Values of individual ingredients and the complete meal. My meals are not too varied but this app is fairly easy to use once the complicated menu items are entered, and I like to know the total DV percentages! It doesn’t offer anything in particular for carbs though other than just the carb count. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_YYC](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/jim_yyc/32/9553_2.png) [@Jim\_YYC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Jim_YYC)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2022, 12:13am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/macros-nutrition/9808/13 "2022-11-29T00:13:58Z")
> [@jo\_jo](#): > > Curious if you still eat like this? @jo_jo Up until about 2 months ago I kept pretty much to a low carb diet (under 30 grams of carbs per meal), and it is far easier to avoid post-prandial blood sugar spikes eating that way. You might want to give it a try if you’re trying to tighten your control, although given your A1C is currently under 7 I’m not sure how much difference it would make for your retinopathy progression 🤔. Whatever you decide to do, I wish you all the best! ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_YYC](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/jim_yyc/32/9553_2.png) [@Jim\_YYC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Jim_YYC)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2022, 3:56am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/macros-nutrition/9808/15 "2022-11-29T03:56:58Z")
> [@jo\_jo](#): > > what I meant was an A1C under 7 is my treatment aim. @jo_jo If your next A1C is mid or late January you best get started right away. It’s quite doable, my A1C’s haven’t been over 5 since I got a CGM and began eating LC. I had PDR in both eyes in the mid 90’s, but laser photocoagulation saved / restored my vision.