Having Trouble Hitting my Macros...

lemurcat12

Traveler120 wrote: »

I think what happened is that Americans would rather not be bothered to convert Kgs to Lbs and then when you combine that with the 'more is more' mentality, you end up with the widespread recs in g/lb instead of g/Kg, which means it's twice as much as you actually need.

No, it has nothing to do with a confusion between kg and lb. It's about the difference between RDA and what may be beneficial when eating at a deficit or trying to gain muscle/not lose muscle. That's why typically the advice given on MFP is NOT 1 g/lb of bodyweight, as it would be if it were just confusion.

Here's a good example of the recommendations (http://examine.com/faq/how-much-protein-do-i-need-every-day/):

If you are an athlete or highly active person currently attempting to lose body fat while preserving lean muscle mass, a daily intake of 1.5-2.2g/kg bodyweight (0.68-1g/lb bodyweight) would be a good target.

If you are an athlete or highly active person, or you are attempting to lose body fat while preserving lean mass, then a daily intake of 1.0-1.5g/kg bodyweight (0.45-0.68g/lb bodyweight) would be a good target.

If you are sedentary and not looking to change body composition much, a daily target of 0.8g/kg bodyweight (0.36g/lb bodyweight) and upwards would be a good target.

Also, as I noted above:

If you are obese, using a protein intake relative to body weight is a bad idea. Either calculate your lean mass (overall weight after subtracting fat mass, which can be calculated by body fat percentage) or use your goal/target weight for calculations.

There's more support at the site I linked, but I found this interesting:

According to the International Society of Sports Nutrition, protein intakes of 1.4-2.0 g/kg of bodyweight (0.6-0.9g/lb of bodyweight) for physically active individuals is not only safe, but may improve the training adaptations to exercise training. The American Dietetic Association, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine also support high protein intake for active individuals in the range of 1.2-1.7 g/kg of bodyweight (0.5-0.8 g/lb of bodyweight).

Also this:

High protein diets have been found to preserve lean body mass when dieting in both obese people and athletes and has also been shown to improve overall body composition. A doubling of protein intake from 0.9g/kg (near the daily recommended intake for the general population) to 1.8g/kg is able to preserve lean muscle mass during short-term and relatively drastic drops in calories.

It is certainly not bad for one's health to eat at the RDA number (1 g/kg), but people ought to be aware of the reasons they might want to eat more.

revolucia78

Thanks lemurcat12 for the extra info! I will consider my goals, etc.

Traveler120

lemurcat12 wrote: »

Traveler120 wrote: »

I think what happened is that Americans would rather not be bothered to convert Kgs to Lbs and then when you combine that with the 'more is more' mentality, you end up with the widespread recs in g/lb instead of g/Kg, which means it's twice as much as you actually need.

There's more support at the site I linked, but I found this interesting:

According to the International Society of Sports Nutrition, protein intakes of 1.4-2.0 g/kg of bodyweight (0.6-0.9g/lb of bodyweight) for physically active individuals is not only safe, but may improve the training adaptations to exercise training. The American Dietetic Association, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine also support high protein intake for active individuals in the range of 1.2-1.7 g/kg of bodyweight (0.5-0.8 g/lb of bodyweight).

The bolded is close to that of the Olympic Committee recommendations I listed above of 1.2-1.6g/kg. My point is that if this is what is recommended for ELITE/PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES, then all the other recs that we're accustomed to seeing and are regurgitated everywhere, including the rest of your post from examine etc, are mostly overly exaggerated for the vast majority of us who are not professional athletes.

lemurcat12

Traveler120 wrote: »

The bolded is close to that of the Olympic Committee recommendations I listed above of 1.2-1.6g/kg. My point is that if this is what is recommended for ELITE/PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES, then all the other recs that's we're accustomed to seeing and are regurgitated, including the rest of your post from examine etc, are mostly overly exaggerated for the vast majority of us who are not professional athletes.

No--nothing in it is limited to elite athletic performance, and non professional athletes may still care about eating in a way that best helps with athletic performance/fitness (I do) and, even more significantly for most here, there are benefits when someone is eating at a deficit for preserving muscle.

Traveler120

lemurcat12 wrote: »

Traveler120 wrote: »

The bolded is close to that of the Olympic Committee recommendations I listed above of 1.2-1.6g/kg. My point is that if this is what is recommended for ELITE/PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES, then all the other recs that's we're accustomed to seeing and are regurgitated, including the rest of your post from examine etc, are mostly overly exaggerated for the vast majority of us who are not professional athletes.

No--nothing in it is limited to elite athletic performance, and non professional athletes may still care about eating in a way that best helps with athletic performance/fitness (I do) and, even more significantly for most here, there are benefits when someone is eating at a deficit for preserving muscle.

So, you're saying based on your earlier post:
quote - "Here's a good example of the recommendations (http://examine.com/faq/how-much-protein-do-i-need-every-day/):
If you are an athlete or highly active person currently attempting to lose body fat while preserving lean muscle mass, a daily intake of 1.5-2.2g/kg bodyweight (0.68-1g/lb bodyweight) would be a good target." - quote

You're saying, if you don't consume MORE than a professional olympic athlete's recs of (1.2-1.6 g/kg) then you don't care about performance and you'll not benefit from muscle preservation? That don't make no sense.

It is logical to assume that the more active a person is the more their protein needs. It's also logical to assume that olympic athletes are probably 5-10 times more active than the average active individual with a regular job. So how is it that my needs should somehow equate to those of an olympian and by your post, exceed them? I consider myself an active person and get 10-15 hours of deliberate exercise per week. Compare that to olympians who spend 6+ hrs/day. All I'm saying is that logically, if 1.2g/kg is good enough for them (according to the Olympic Committee), then 1g/kg is good enough for me for performance, muscle preservation, health etc. And it's not just theoretical either. My performance keeps improving, I haven't lost muscle mass and my labs are perfect. 1g/kg.

lemurcat12

Traveler120 wrote: »

lemurcat12 wrote: »

Traveler120 wrote: »

The bolded is close to that of the Olympic Committee recommendations I listed above of 1.2-1.6g/kg. My point is that if this is what is recommended for ELITE/PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES, then all the other recs that's we're accustomed to seeing and are regurgitated, including the rest of your post from examine etc, are mostly overly exaggerated for the vast majority of us who are not professional athletes.

No--nothing in it is limited to elite athletic performance, and non professional athletes may still care about eating in a way that best helps with athletic performance/fitness (I do) and, even more significantly for most here, there are benefits when someone is eating at a deficit for preserving muscle.

So, you're saying based on your earlier post:
quote - "Here's a good example of the recommendations (http://examine.com/faq/how-much-protein-do-i-need-every-day/):
If you are an athlete or highly active person currently attempting to lose body fat while preserving lean muscle mass, a daily intake of 1.5-2.2g/kg bodyweight (0.68-1g/lb bodyweight) would be a good target." - quote

You're saying, if you don't consume MORE than a professional olympic athlete's recs of (1.2-1.6 g/kg) then you don't care about performance and you'll not benefit from muscle preservation? That don't make no sense.

No. Look at those again -- the one you focused on is for someone trying to both improve athletic performance AND lose weight (so eating at a deficit). If you are merely trying to do one of those, the rec is lower.

The recommendations for sports nutrition included in the sections I quoted are not limited to elite athletes.

RebeccaNaegle

I am 5' 4" and I eat macros consisting of 150G Protein, 120G Carbs and 27G of Fat a day. Around 1325 Calories total. I am usually under a bit, due to trying to cut some more weight, but a higher protein, around 1.2G per pound of body weight, is necessary to at least maintain your current muscle while cutting.

juggernaut1974

RebeccaParmenter wrote: »

I am 5' 4" and I eat macros consisting of 150G Protein, 120G Carbs and 27G of Fat a day. Around 1325 Calories total. I am usually under a bit, due to trying to cut some more weight, but a higher protein, around 1.2G per pound of body weight, is necessary to at least maintain your current muscle while cutting.

No it's not - what's your source for this?

As has been quoted and sourced multiple times (in this thread alone) - 0.6-0.8 g per pound of body weight is all that is generally required.