The protein/carb balance

I had this IM mini conversation with my husband recently. I thought it made an excellent blog prompt, so here it is:

J: So does the BFL [Body for Life] mantra still hold true in your eyes - for every carb you eat, you should eat a protein?

InstantBlue: Mostly, but not so strictly. If you're going to eat a carb, you should have protein to go with it. But really, it's about averaging it out across the day. It's fine to have just a carb by itself, if the protein balances it later and, you don't HAVE to have a carb always. Just protein alone is ok, too. For example, on BFL, you would not eat just a chicken breast and veggies for lunch, you'd add some whole grain bread or oatmeal or something too. Now, I often eat just protein and veggies, no carb. And I'll often save the carby English muffin from my breakfast and save it for about an hour after I eat my eggy-protein dish. In general, I try to keep my carbs to less than 40% of my daily intake, and my proteins to 30% or more. (I have no restrictions on fats at all, but it's pretty hard to eat too much fat if you're eating the kinds of things you should be eating anway! (: ) Works for me so far!