Would like some help setting my macros

PumpkinRunning

Hi everyone!

I'm just getting back on the LC bandwagon; I followed a LC diet on the recommendation of a doctor a few years ago, and had been very successful, so I know it works for me/my body (I have some insulin resistance/PCOS issues).

Anyway, I've seen some info on the LaunchPad about how set macros, and was hoping for a little more guidance. Specifically with the amount of protein. I've seen the recommendation of calculating .5g for every pound of lean body mass, but I'm not sure how much of my body is lean mass...I weigh 255, and I'm guessing probably 50%+ of that is not lean (I'm 5'3"). Then I saw someone else say to just set it to 100g. I also saw a suggestion that you use a number from your BMI "healthy weight" range. For me, about 140lbs would be the high end of that range, so that would suggest 70g of protein (right?).

As far as carbs, I'd like to ease into it a little, so right now I've been shooting for somewhere between 80-100g; I'd like to experiment with that a little bit over time though.

I don't pay for Premium, so MFP won't let me set my macros by grams. I thought if I just played around with the percentages, I'd be OK, but then I ran into the problem of my exercise calories (I run and do dance aerobics 3-4 times a week). Should I turn the calorie adjustment off so that my numbers don't change? Should I manually increase my calorie setting (MFP has me at 1570)?

Or maybe I'm just overthinking it...?

Thanks in advance! The threads in this group have been an excellent resource for me!

Schmeggly80

I don't have Premium either, but once I set my macros by percentage, the grams are automatically updated in the food diary goals. I don't follow any other recommendations other than my keto percentage ratio of 80/15/5

ceciliaslater

If you want to start out between 80-100g of carbs, I'd recommend setting it at 80g (play with your percentages until you get as close as you can). That way, when your exercise calories bump up your grams, you should still be within your 80-100 range. Personally, I leave my exercise calories on, so that I stay as close to my selected deficit as possible every day.

As for protein, I've seen people say .8-1g per pound of body mass (total), or .5-.7g per pound of lean body mass. Like Schmeggly, I just set my macros by percentage. I think I'm at 65-30-5 (fat-protein-carbs). That usually puts me around 90-100g of protein per day, and the same for fat.

PumpkinRunning

Thanks for the responses! I've tweaked my percentages to get as close to 80g carbs (thanks for the idea of shooting for 80g so that with the exercise adjustment it still only tops out around 100g), and 100g of protein.