Macros Help! Fat and carb addict!

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trish56832
trish56832 Posts: 43 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I need help figuring out if I am understanding the Macro concept correctly and then some ideas for low fat protein besides chicken and fish! I want to add a little muscle my arms and shoulders are terribly weak but I need to lose about 35 pounds of fat... I heard higher protein will help keep the muscle while losing fat so I changed my settings to 30% protein 30% fat 40% carbs... I am 169 pounds that is 78g of protein... Am I doing this correctly??

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  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    Okay, there are a few things I want to touch on here.

    One, if I'm doing the math correctly (and there's a good possibility that I'm not) for 78g of protein to add up to 30% of your diet, your calorie goal must be set at or slight below 1200 calories. Is that accurate? If so, I think that might be a little low for your goals. If you want to maintain your already existing muscle mass generally you want to keep your calorie goal as high as possible. I don't know your full stats or settings, but with 35 pounds to lose you'll want to consider resetting your weight loss goal to 1 pound per week and see if you get more calories to play with.

    Two, the suggestion I've always heard for muscle retention while losing weight is something like .6-.8 grams of protein per pound of body weight. Some people say .8-1 gram per pound of lean body mass, but that's going to be hard to figure without an estimate of your body fat percentage. At 165 pounds, that's going to be between 100 grams - 130 grams of protein per day.

    I happen to like this thread for more on setting your calorie and macro goals: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets It will help walk you through some of the math better than I can!
  • sjp_511
    sjp_511 Posts: 476 Member
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    There are 4 calories per gram of protein. If you are consuming 30% protein with only 78 grams, then you are eating too few calories. It is nice to have a balance of fats, carbs, and protein in you diet, and by your percentages it looks like you intend to do this. So why does your protein have to be low fat?

    Eggs are a good source of fat and protein. Diary also has protein. Beans (such as black beans) are great for protein and fiber.
  • lgrimm70
    lgrimm70 Posts: 15
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    my trainer has me on 165 pro 45 carb and 40 fat works for me
  • trish56832
    trish56832 Posts: 43 Member
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    I entered to lose 2 pounds a week and MFP gave me 1040 calories but my understanding is I can eat my exercise calories so I usually eat about 1600 calories a day. I'm 5' 5" (really 5 51/2 but nowhere gives you credit for .5 inches lol) I am looking for low fat protein because I struggle to eat less than 30% fat in my diet - I do allow a treat everyday or else I think I would fall off. My treat is often frozen yogurt or chocolate. I also snack on nuts which adds fat in pretty easily
  • trish56832
    trish56832 Posts: 43 Member
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    sjp_511 wrote: »
    There are 4 calories per gram of protein. If you are consuming 30% protein with only 78 grams, then you are eating too few calories. It is nice to have a balance of fats, carbs, and protein in you diet, and by your percentages it looks like you intend to do this. So why does your protein have to be low fat?

    Eggs are a good source of fat and protein. Diary also has protein. Beans (such as black beans) are great for protein and fiber.
    I entered to lose 2 pounds a week and MFP gave me 1040 calories but my understanding is I can eat my exercise calories so I usually eat about 1600 calories a day. I'm 5' 5" (really 5 51/2 but nowhere gives you credit for .5 inches lol) I am looking for low fat protein because I struggle to eat less than 30% fat in my diet - I do allow a treat everyday or else I think I would fall off. My treat is often frozen yogurt or chocolate. I also snack on nuts which adds fat in pretty easily
  • trish56832
    trish56832 Posts: 43 Member
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    diannethegeek wrote: »
    Okay, there are a few things I want to touch on here.

    One, if I'm doing the math correctly (and there's a good possibility that I'm not) for 78g of protein to add up to 30% of your diet, your calorie goal must be set at or slight below 1200 calories. Is that accurate? If so, I think that might be a little low for your goals. If you want to maintain your already existing muscle mass generally you want to keep your calorie goal as high as possible. I don't know your full stats or settings, but with 35 pounds to lose you'll want to consider resetting your weight loss goal to 1 pound per week and see if you get more calories to play with.

    Two, the suggestion I've always heard for muscle retention while losing weight is something like .6-.8 grams of protein per pound of body weight. Some people say .8-1 gram per pound of lean body mass, but that's going to be hard to figure without an estimate of your body fat percentage. At 165 pounds, that's going to be between 100 grams - 130 grams of protein per day.

    I happen to like this thread for more on setting your calorie and macro goals: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets It will help walk you through some of the math better than I can!

    I entered to lose 2 pounds a week and MFP gave me 1040 calories but my understanding is I can eat my exercise calories so I usually eat about 1600 calories a day. I'm 5' 5" (really 5 51/2 but nowhere gives you credit for .5 inches lol) I am looking for low fat protein because I struggle to eat less than 30% fat in my diet - I do allow a treat everyday or else I think I would fall off. My treat is often frozen yogurt or chocolate. I also snack on nuts which adds fat in pretty easily
  • brookesdsu
    brookesdsu Posts: 47 Member
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    You need to recalculate your info on your computer, not on your phone. The app has a glitch and it should not be giving you less than 1200 calories. Start there and your macros will adjust accordingly, then you can mess with them how you like.
  • pzarnosky
    pzarnosky Posts: 256 Member
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    1040 is really low.. You can play with your macro percents on MFP which is what i did until i got it where i'm happy. My cal limit is 1400, 40% protein (140g), and 30% for carbs (105g) and fats (47g).
    If you want to add muscle to your arms, make sure you hit the weights. Losing fat is awesome, but weightlifting gives you shape and definition and the more muscle you add on the more calories you burn at rest.
    I know you're looking for more ideas for lean protein, but there's a reason why chicken breast and fish are so popular. They're packed with protein and lower in calories. Look into protein powder supplements. They can be really helpful. Also chobani PLAIN greek yogurt is a pretty lean source (add vanilla protein powder and some berries for breakfast). Eggs are good. A lot of times after the gym I'll make 2 eggs, 4 egg whites, spinach, and chicken breast. You just have to learn how to balance everything and get creative so your taste buds don't get too bored with the same stuff every day. Also look into quinoa (I've found it tastes best if you add chicken boullion to the water).
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    There is a glitch with the app right now. It should not set anyone below 1200 calories. You might want to log in from the website and reset your goals. I'd also suggest that 2 pounds per week might be too aggressive for most people.
  • trish56832
    trish56832 Posts: 43 Member
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    brookesdsu wrote: »
    You need to recalculate your info on your computer, not on your phone. The app has a glitch and it should not be giving you less than 1200 calories. Start there and your macros will adjust accordingly, then you can mess with them how you like.

    I will do this tonight! I am so curious what my numbers will be without the glitch! Thank you!
  • trish56832
    trish56832 Posts: 43 Member
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    diannethegeek wrote: »
    There is a glitch with the app right now. It should not set anyone below 1200 calories. You might want to log in from the website and reset your goals. I'd also suggest that 2 pounds per week might be too aggressive for most people.

    Yep you are the second person mentioning a glitch I will try to get on my laptop tonight and see if my numbers change. Thank you for the replies- I appreciate the feedback :smile:
  • Azexas
    Azexas Posts: 4,334 Member
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    diannethegeek wrote: »
    There is a glitch with the app right now. It should not set anyone below 1200 calories. You might want to log in from the website and reset your goals. I'd also suggest that 2 pounds per week might be too aggressive for most people.

    You'd think they would have fixed that glitch by now. It's getting a little ridiculous.

    OP: For low fat protein ideas: Beef jerky and greek yogurt are the only things I can think of at the moment.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    Lean pork. Lean ground beef. Venison. Egg whites if one must. Any vegetarian protein sources like beans and soy.
  • trish56832
    trish56832 Posts: 43 Member
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    Ok suddenly after resetting the same goals from my laptop I have 1200 calories and I can only lose 1.5/ week- I also think my macros look better although I did adjust up protein by 5% and carbs down 5%. Thank you for the replies!!
  • trish56832
    trish56832 Posts: 43 Member
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    Troutsy wrote: »
    diannethegeek wrote: »
    There is a glitch with the app right now. It should not set anyone below 1200 calories. You might want to log in from the website and reset your goals. I'd also suggest that 2 pounds per week might be too aggressive for most people.

    You'd think they would have fixed that glitch by now. It's getting a little ridiculous.

    OP: For low fat protein ideas: Beef jerky and greek yogurt are the only things I can think of at the moment.

    I can't believe I forgot about jerky! Great thing to munch on while waiting for dinner to be done! And I also saw a person mix an egg with extra egg whites which I am totally trying! I don't like pure egg whites so this may be perfect!

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