How to start to watch PFC balance: 20-10-35 Rule

Protein, fat, and carbohydrate are referred to as the PFC. You require these three macronutrients in order to survive. When trying to lose weight, it’s common to monitor only “calorie intake.” But since your ideal calorie intake depends on the ratio of all three macronutrients, it’s important to manage how much of each you consume. If you consume 2,000 kcal a day, for instance, you must be aware of what you put in your body. Note that 1gram of carbohydrate = 4kcal, 1 gram of protein = 4kcal, 1 gram of fat = 9kcal. You now realize that counting calories alone will not tell you what and how much of each macronutrient you are getting.

When I started my fitness journey, I was watching only calorie intake, I can now tell my diet was definitely lacking in protein and carbohydrates because I was eating mainly salad without any meat as my main meal. I did lose weight because I was in a calorie deficit, but I am 100% sure I lost not only fat but also muscle. Some of you might just want to lose weight and do not mind losing muscle, but if you are looking at this journey as long-term, you want to care about your muscle. If you get more muscle, your metabolism rate goes up, meaning you burn more calories daily. Then protein intake turns out to be very important because protein is required to build muscle. Not only do carbohydrates and fat play a significant function in your daily intake but also in your muscle gain, in addition to protein. Carbohydrates fuel your muscle and prevent your muscles from fatigue.

Now you might think, “How do I know how much of each macronutrient I should take? How do I track PFC? That seems like too much work.” Yes, that is true. It will require extra work to track your PFC. So if you are new to this, let me introduce you to my rule, “the 20-10-35 rule.” The numbers in the rule are the number of grams in P (protein), F (fat), and C (carbohydrate). When you choose finished product for your meal or snack, pick one with more than 20 grams of protein, less than 10 grams of fat, and roughly 35 grams of carbohydrate. In my rule, the amount of carbohydrate could vary depending on your daily activity. (For example, if this is your pre-snack for your strength training of your legs, a higher amount of carbohydrate might help!)

For example, if you look at this “green chili chicken bowl” from Trader Joe’s, the total amount of protein is 22 grams, the total amount of fat is 9 grams, and the total amount of carbohydrate is 38 grams. All the numbers of amounts in PFC match my “20-10-35 rule.”

As I said, this rule works better with finished products, which already have all the nutrition facts. When you cook or prepare your meal or snack by yourself, this might be more difficult because you have to weigh and check all the numbers to get the exact amount of protein, carbohydrates, and fat. Here is a list of things you can work on to watch your PFC balance closely but easily, without any weighting or calculations.

• Protein: Add protein source in every meal or snack.
  Add protein source in your breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, yes on EVERY meal/snack.
  
  Some examples of protein source I often add to my meal or eat are: salmon, eggs, mackerel, shrimp, edamame, chicken breast, lean beef, tofu, canned tuna, and so on.
  Some examples of protein source I often add to my snack or eat are: cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, hummus, nuts, soy milk, protein bar and so on.
  
  I think protein bars are very useful and convenient but please check nutrition fact because protein bar tends to have high fats in general. My recommended protein bar is the one by Barbell. (Pictures below). Salty peanut is my favorite, this is my alternative for Snickers. This bar can give you 20 grams of protein yet it has only total fat of 8 grams.
  

• Fat: Fat is not your enemy. You just have to watch what you are getting fat from and how much you are getting. Try to get fat from food itself as much as possible, but not much from “fat added.” In addition, when you get fat from food, try to get “good fat” instead of “bad fat”. Get good fat from olive oil, nuts, nut butter, avocado, chia seeds, salmon, and other fatty fish, but you can avoid getting bad fat from regular oil, greasy meats, butter, and so on.
  
  For example, you are having a salmon salad with avocado. You are already getting a good amount of good fat from avocado and salmon. You probably want to avoid salad dressings that have additional oil and sugar in them. I personally think “salt” is actually a great option to add to your cooking or meal. You can look for your favorite salt.
  
  In addition, “in moderation” is always a key for pretty much everything but especially in fat because it has higher calories than protein and carbohydrates as stated earlier. Just remember both “good fat” and “bad fat” have same calories.

• Carbohydrates: While a low-carb diet and a keto diet have been trending for a while, I just want you to know that carbohydrates are the main source of your energy. If you are doing strength training, carbohydrates definitely help your performance and prevent you from becoming fatigued. Carbohydrates themselves are not always the ones that add extra calories to your diet, but those extra calories tend to come from fat, which accompanies the carbohydrates. For example, if you are eating a piece of bread, you might want to put butter on it. If you are eating a bagel, you might want to add cream cheese. For the selection of fat, we already covered what kind of fat you can choose from, so let’s talk about what kind of carbohydrate source you can choose!
  
  You can always put “whole” for your carbohydrate source, whole grains—grains that are less processed or unrefined. Whole grains are a great source of carbohydrates as well as fiber. You can consume whole-grain cereals, whole-grain bread, whole-grain pasta, etc. instead of white-grain products. You can also eat a variety of fruits and vegetables that give you not only a source of carbohydrates but also minerals and vitamins.

Even if the concept of a well-balanced PFC is unfamiliar to you, you are now aware of what PFC balance is. This is only the start; stay tuned for additional suggestions and guidance! You can now follow the 20–10–35 guideline when choosing a meal or menu and pay attention to the quantity and quality of protein, fat, and carbs you are putting into your body.