Calories or Macros??

basmith0702

In the past I've followed the 21 day fix eating plan which focuses on eating within a certain calorie brackett by eating a certain number of macros a day. I have never been able to stick with that plan because for me it's too restrictive in terms of starchy carbs like bread and rice.

My question is, can I lose weight just restricting my calories (and enjoy a few more servings of starches than the 21 day fix allows) or do I need to pay attention to the macros as well and restrict starchy carbs??

Thank you in advance!!!

yarwell

You need to get enough protein and fats to meet your needs, MFPs settings include this so you're good to go with the standard macros on here 20% protein etc etc leaves plenty of room for starch if that's your thing.

psuLemon

Calories are for weight loss, macros effect things like satiety, muscle retention, hormone regulation and energy.

PeachyCarol

:::Ortega girl gif:::

^What Lemon said.

To expand on what Yarwell said, protein and fat are pretty important targets to hit. However, at lower calorie limits, the percentage calculation might not provide adequate protein. It might be better to calculate it based on grams per pound of bodyweight. Dieters need more protein to preserve muscle mass. .65g - 85g per bound of bodyweight. For fat, it's recommended to get .35g - 45g per pound of body weight.

Any calories after that can be distributed in any way you prefer. It can be all carbs, or more fat or protein or some of all three. Experiment and try to see which you find most satisfying.

basmith0702

Thanks so much! You have to upgrade MFP to change the macros to grams right?

psuLemon

basmith0702 wrote: »

Thanks so much! You have to upgrade MFP to change the macros to grams right?

Premium allows you to modify things by grams, but you can modify percentages to get roughly the grams you want with non premium.

basmith0702

So right now I have it set at 40/30/30 (c/p/f). Is this a good place to start and modify from there?

psuLemon

basmith0702 wrote: »

So right now I have it set at 40/30/30 (c/p/f). Is this a good place to start and modify from there?

That depends. What is your height, weight, age, sex, and workout routine? Do you have any medical conditions?

Macros are generally determined by goals and stats.

basmith0702

I'm 5'3", 150 lbs, female, 37 years old and am working out about 5-6 days a week cardio and weights. No medical conditions.

GaleHawkins

@basmith0702 we all can be different when it comes to learning the best way of eating.

In my case it was not until I got my macro figured out was I able to manage my pain by diet. After that I was able to manage my weight by counting calories within my fixed macro. psulemon makes a good point by asking about medical conditions. Even after I started to eat for better health weight loss did not come until after my medical conditions started to improve/heal.

Welcome to MFP forums. Best of success.

AJ_G

basmith0702 wrote: »

Thanks so much! You have to upgrade MFP to change the macros to grams right?

Do you use google chrome, and are you at least slightly tech savvy? If so, this is the way to go: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/myfitnesspal-macro-settin/glpkdgpldbbdpjbpimehpkpgdicibgpi

psuLemon

basmith0702 wrote: »

I'm 5'3", 150 lbs, female, 37 years old and am working out about 5-6 days a week cardio and weights. No medical conditions.

Based on your stats, I would probably put you around 1700 calories, macros are fine at 40/30/30 (c/f/p) based on personal preference. That should allow you to get 1g of protein per lb of lean body mass...


BTW, this is the TDEE method (not MFP), so you wouldn't eat back exercise calories.

basmith0702

Thanks so much everyone for all the help!! That's more calories than I've been getting so that makes me happy.

AJ_G I tried a macro setting MFP hack before and it didn't work. Will try again though!

psuLemon

basmith0702 wrote: »

Thanks so much everyone for all the help!! That's more calories than I've been getting so that makes me happy.

AJ_G I tried a macro setting MFP hack before and it didn't work. Will try again though!

I would suggest getting a food scale to help with accuracy. Also, the reason its probably more is the tdee method (one i used) already factors in exercise which is why you dont need to eat back exercise calories and i project a 20% reduction from your estimated maintenance calories, vice whatever per week loss you chose (which most people choose 2 lbs per week).

basmith0702

Already have one! Thanks again!!