I am using an online chart for my food and exercise and I can set my own numbers. I set 1200 calories (I did have 1000 but then life sucked) and now I've got 20% carbs, 40% fat and 40% protein. There is not a WAY I can eat 150g of protein in a day, and I drink a protein supplement! Anyone have any realistic figures on what my percentages should reasonably be? By the way, 20% carbs at 1200 calories is 60g carbs, and until recently I ate 20 carbs a day... which I'm not sure how many grams it is, just calories. Thanks.

"Anyone have any realistic figures on what my percentages should reasonably be? "

If I was you, and I'm not, I'd be doing 80-15-5. But I'm not you, I'm me

If you're uncomfortable eating so much protein maybe you'll have to eat more fat or carbs to hit the magic calorie number you've set at 1200. I really do wish I had some good advice for you but I don't other than try something for a while and make observations. Change if needed.

Things don't really scale by percentages. Sedentary, your brain might burn 20 percent of the day's calories, this is where most of the obligatory requirement for glucose is, whether from carbs in the diet, or from gluconeogenesis. So where a given percentage carbohydrate might very well be ketogenic at one level of intake/activity, it might not at another. Most ketogenic calculators/sites I see don't work with percentages, they'll set a limit on carbohydrates, a requirement for protein, and then the rest of the calories would come from fat, very often protein and fat will go up if more food is needed, but carbs stay down.

I've been eating mostly a little under a gram of protein per kg goal weight since the beginning of the year, and under 20 grams net carbs, with the rest of my calories as fat, that's been working pretty good for me. Lots of people say they do better on a bit more protein, 1.5 grams per kg goal weight is a pretty common number, that would put you around 100 grams of protein per day.

Thank you so much for responding. I'm grateful for the input.

Many suggest starting with a 5-20-75% goal, but it is more accurate to use grams. (You can do that on the MFP paid edition, the free version can be customed only with 5% goal increments)
On whatever app you have, can you set it as teaser suggests...grams of protein, grams of carbs, and whatever amount of fat needed to hit a calorie limit?

I have mine set to, respectively, 60%, 35% and 5%. That would therefore be,

Fat - 100g/day
Protein - 131g/day and
Carbs, 19/20g/day.

I've got my calorific intake set to 1500 calories/day, but I hardly ever meet this target.

to be brutally honest, I haven't a clue what calorie intake I 'should' be having. The reason is, that a calorie isn't just a calorie. A calorie is a calorie + information.
Calories from protein will be markedly different to calories from sugar.
You may have 200 calories from sugar, and 200 calories from protein, but I'd bet anyone will agree that the benefits and effects are wildly different.... However, a ready calorie calculator online*, isn't a reliable source of nutritive or beneficial/detrimental effects.

That said, I haven't a foggiest idea how to create dietary intake entries on this website. I can't get the hang of the data input method. I'm going to have to practise and find my way around it....


(*I'm referring to a calorie/intake calculator on a different website.)

This is an excellent summary. I, too, like to adjust my macros not based on percentages. While in the beginning percentages can be a good way to get an overall idea of where one is in terms of baseline ratios, I start with a certain baseline of ratios and then rely more on eating to satiety and making adjustments based on hunger sensations over time (between meals). Fat is always the macro that keeps me satiated, then protein. If adjusting the first two don't work, then I further cut carbs, and increase fat, then protein again. Note that too much protein can result in increased hunger for some. This is a clear example of "one approach does not suit all" and each one of us must start with a baseline ratio of macros and adjust from there. Be patient with this, as in the beginning, you will need to make adjustments. At a certain point, you'll no longer need to adjust. That's your sign that you're hitting the "sweet spot" for you. Enjoy the journey!!!