Protein macro too low?

dcglobalgirl

Hey there, I'm looking at my food for the day so far and I can't figure out why it's telling me I'm already over my protein macro. I had 3 egg whites with a little mozz cheese for breakfast and 3/4 of a chicken breast with veggies for lunch. I had some sweet stuff too but none with significant protein and I've still got 400 calories left for dinner, not even counting that I will walk home and go to salsa class tonight. Why is my protein macro so low?

IsaackGMOON

It's just how MFP sets it up.

doktorglass

Your macro split is currently 50C/20P/30F. Which translates to 60g of protein on a 1200kcal diet. I think general recommendations for protein, for the average person is 15-20% of daily calories. If you think it is too low, you should research what you think would be a good split for you and change the settings. Or increase daily calorie allowance to allow for an increase in total protein intake, while keeping the other macros constant.

taylorizal

It looks like you are eating some good, high protein foods. Your protein setting is pretty standard for your goals, but everyone is different. If you want to get really personalized goals, talk a nutritionist or other healthcare professional.

lemurcat12

The generic advice for protein is 10-35% of calories, but that's not terribly helpful and you should probably aim higher when at a low calorie level. I think 20% is too low for most at 1200, especially since protein tends to be satiating.

On the whole it makes sense to focus on total grams rather than a percentage of calories. For basic nutrition for someone NOT cutting calories, at least 1 gram/kg of body weight is recommended (or your 60 grams if you are 132 lb or less). But it's typically recommended that more would be desirable in various situations including when cutting calories, exercising, attempting to gain or maintain lean body mass, all of which commonly apply to dieters.

The advice to optimize results for people in these circumstances is more like at least .8-1 gram per lb of lean body mass or .6-.8 g per lb of bodyweight. So for our 132 lb woman before you'd have a recommendation of at least 79 to 106 grams, not the 60.

Also, this is a minimum, there's generally no harm to going over unless you go nuts or fail to get adequate fat or have too few carbs for you personally to feel comfortable at.

When I first started losing and had a lower calorie goal (I did 1250 for a while), I aimed at 35% protein and fat, 30% carbs, as that's what felt good for me. I now do a lower percentage as my overall calories are higher, but I still like getting over 100 and aim at more like 115 grams. (I'm 125.)

TL, DR: don't worry about it and if you find yourself feeling better on more protein that's probably for the best. The MFP goal for people on low calorie levels is awfully low.

dcglobalgirl

Thanks for the great advice! I'm not too worried about it. I just thought it seemed strange when I don't feel I'm eating all that much protein but I'm in the red. I'll keep focussing on the overall calories and see how it goes.