Help establishing my macro intake (IIFYM)

baybeejulia

Hi there,

I've done so much research, used so many online calculators, done the manual calculations, but I can't seem to settle on what my macro intake should be. How do I know? Each site/calculator recommends a different intake for each macro than the other.

MyMy long term goal is to lose fat and build muscle. I want to establish macros that are sustainable as I am making a lifestyle change, not doing a crash diet. Currently I aim for 30% fat, 30% carbs and 40% protein.

I eat 1400 calories a day.
I am 145cm tall (4 feet 93⁄32 inches).
I weigh approx. 50kg (110lbs).

Any advice/experience will be much appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

baybeejulia

HappyCampr1 wrote: »

I'm not an expert and you'll probably get a bunch of different recommendations to the question. The reason is that everyone is different and a lot of it is just personal preference.

For me, I like to figure the protein macro first. You can either do 1g per pound of lean body mass (if you know it), or .8 grams per pound of total body weight. For you, this works out to 88g of protein, which is only 25% of your intake. You could adjust up if you want to 30%, and that would be plenty of protein for you. No reason to go as high as 40%. Your fats look fine to me. That would give you a 40% carbs, 30% protein and 30% fats split. Again, it's personal preference and sort of trial and error on what makes you feel best.

ETA - My personal preference for 1400 calories at your weight would be 25% protein, 35% fats, 40% carbs.

Thanks for that ☺ that actually looks good!

baybeejulia

@happycamr1 - I wanted to add that I'm so torn between whether protein should be high or carbs. Each article you read gives you a different answer.

baybeejulia

@happycamr1 - Thanks again for your detailed response!

After seeing your comments and doing a bit more research, I think I'm set on 110g of protein (1g x 110lbs), 116g of carbs and about 50g of fat. It seems to be the best for me at the moment.

I'll see how I go with it

psuLemon

To set expectations, you cannot lose fat and gain muscle at the same time (outside of some newbie gains and minor recomp).

Carbs and fats are something that is a bit more individualistic. Many of us will tend to promote about .35g per lb of lean body mass for fats and let carbs fall out, some will promote more of a low carb diet. For me, I cut fats down to .35g when I cut and then increase them during maintenance/bulk. This is because carbs have a greater impact on my training and many fill me up more than fats.

Assuming that since you essentially want to lean out that you have a progressive lifting program already in mind? If not, I would highly look into programs like strong curves, new rules of lifting for women, strong lifts, starting strength.