Macros: To change or not to change?

bsbprincess

Hello all I'm just getting back to a healthy life, and before when I lost weight it was with WW, so I didn't really learn about watching macros; they did it for me.

I did a search and couldn't really find a post that was all about whether to change them, and if so, how, in a general manner.

I am 29, 5'9", weigh 187, and looking to get down to 150 for now. I have 40% body fat (*cringes*) according to my fitbit aria scale, so that's important to note possibly. My first focus is losing weight, but I also want to workout and get toned. I've started with Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred (On week 1 for now). My stomach is horrendous (literally, it hangs down... ugh) and I would kill to be able to wear a bathing suit one day, even a one piece, comfortably.

My question is, should I change my macros from the default or leave them? Some people tell me to eat mostly protein, but I feel like that would be hard for me to get that all in. However, if the general consensus is that I should, then I can work on it.

Right now they're set at: Carbs: 50% Fat: 30% and Protein: 20%

ise311

I think most do 40/30/30?

maxit

I do 40/30/30 - and I just went to look at my "goals" on MFP and they are reset to default (not by me) and unable to be edited at the moment. Grr.

Edit: I was able to change them back. Really, I focus on at least meeting the 30% protein goal (if I go over a little, no biggie) and the 30% fat goal (similarly, I don't sweat exceeding this a bit), and let the carbs fall where they may - within my calories for the day. I often exceed recommended fiber (included in the carb goal). I feel the best with this.

juggernaut1974

Percentages are hard to generalize. It's preferable to calculate macro needs in grams, then back into the percentages.

For protein - eat a minimum of 0.6-0.8 grams per pound (roughly 110-150 grams; 440-600 calories)
For fat, eat a minimum of 0.3-0.4 grams per pound (roughly 55-75 grams; 495-675 calories)

And fill in the rest however you like.

ransaka

I was going to link a post that goes into deep details about macros but:

juggernaut1974 wrote: »

Percentages are hard to generalize. It's preferable to calculate macro needs in grams, then back into the percentages.

For protein - eat a minimum of 0.6-0.8 grams per pound (roughly 110-150 grams; 440-600 calories)
For fat, eat a minimum of 0.3-0.4 grams per pound (roughly 55-75 grams; 495-675 calories)

And fill in the rest however you like.

..it would have boiled down to exactly this ^^^^

bsbprincess

Thank you guys!!! I couldn't get fat that high without cutting out carbs... and this is my minimum calorie count so I suppose they'll go up the days I work out... How does this look? Again, I weigh 187 right now... I feel like fat is high. Is it really supposed to be that high?

Calories 1200
Carbohydrates 60 g 20 %
Fat 53 g 40 %
Protein 120 g 40 %

juggernaut1974

bsbprincess wrote: »

Thank you guys!!! I couldn't get fat that high without cutting out carbs... and this is my minimum calorie count so I suppose they'll go up the days I work out... How does this look? Again, I weigh 187 right now... I feel like fat is high. Is it really supposed to be that high?

Calories 1200
Carbohydrates 60 g 20 %
Fat 53 g 40 %
Protein 120 g 40 %

How did you come to the overall 1200 calorie goal? That seems a bit low for someone with your stats and activity level.

bsbprincess

I put in that I weigh 187, want to weigh 150, and that I'm sedentary. Right now I'm a stay-at-home fiancee lol, so I don't get much activity in except for my workouts. My fitbit usually gives me about 400 extra calories and I usually try to only eat a bit of those.

bsbprincess

Well I saved my stats here but the default %s are still showing in the app on my phone

juggernaut1974

bsbprincess wrote: »

I put in that I weigh 187, want to weigh 150, and that I'm sedentary. Right now I'm a stay-at-home fiancee lol, so I don't get much activity in except for my workouts. My fitbit usually gives me about 400 extra calories and I usually try to only eat a bit of those.

What did you choose for how fast you want to lose the weight?

And yeah, you'll want to consider how you're going to add in your exercise calories as well.

I'd probably recommend upping your total to something like 1500 calories per day

55 grams of fat would be 495 calories or ~35%
120 grams of protein would be 480 calories or ~30%
That leaves 525 calories for carbs - 130-ish grams - ~35%

And if you vary by +/- 5% on any given day, I wouldn't sweat it.

lemurcat12

bsbprincess wrote: »

I am 29, 5'9", weigh 187, and looking to get down to 150 for now. I have 40% body fat (*cringes*) according to my fitbit aria scale, so that's important to note possibly.

Probably not -- those things aren't accurate. I wouldn't worry about that until you get to the 150 and then you will be better able to judge where you are.

My question is, should I change my macros from the default or leave them? Some people tell me to eat mostly protein, but I feel like that would be hard for me to get that all in. However, if the general consensus is that I should, then I can work on it.

Right now they're set at: Carbs: 50% Fat: 30% and Protein: 20%

No, no need to eat mostly protein -- there's no basis for that.

What there is, is evidence that eating about .65-.85 grams of protein per lb of healthy body weight can be helpful in not losing more muscle than necessary (as is having a moderate goal and not cutting calories too low and, of course, doing some weight-bearing exercise).

For you, that protein range would be about 100 to 125 grams or 400-500 calories. What percentage that is depends on your calorie goal. I did 30% protein when losing and do about 20% at maintenance -- same basic number based on my weight.

As for carbs vs. fat, IMO, doesn't really matter. Some find having more fat is more satisfying and leaves them less hungry, others find they feel more energetic when they have more carbs, still others (like me) find it doesn't make a huge difference (although I do feel better with at least 40% as I do lots of cardio and it does make a difference to my training and energy and have read that more can be helpful so I'm experimenting with that).

What I think is more important if you are trying to maximize health and body composition is to generally eat an overall healthful diet and get in your nutrition, although that doesn't mean to the exclusion of everything else. Beyond that, track for a while and see if you tend to notice a difference.

lemurcat12

bsbprincess wrote: »

I put in that I weigh 187, want to weigh 150, and that I'm sedentary. Right now I'm a stay-at-home fiancee lol, so I don't get much activity in except for my workouts. My fitbit usually gives me about 400 extra calories and I usually try to only eat a bit of those.

Do you at least log and eat back calories for your workouts?

Cutting too low can lead to more muscle loss than necessary, so you'd want to avoid that.

bsbprincess

juggernaut1974 wrote: »

What did you choose for how fast you want to lose the weight?

Oops, sorry, left that out. I set it at -2 a week

bsbprincess

So having that high of fat grams in my diet won't be unhealthy? I don't need heart problems on top of being fat :P

EDIT: Yes, I usually eat back some, but not all. I'm afraid of un-doing my hard work

juggernaut1974

bsbprincess wrote: »

So having that high of fat grams in my diet won't be unhealthy? I don't need heart problems on top of being fat :P

Well your body does require a certain amount of minimum good fat for vitamin absorption and organ function. It's still recommended to minimize saturated fats and trans fats, but other than that, the 'low-fat' craze of the 90's has been widely deemed to be counterproductive.

bsbprincess

juggernaut1974 wrote: »

Well your body does require a certain amount of minimum good fat for vitamin absorption and organ function. It's still recommended to minimize saturated fats and trans fats, but other than that, the 'low-fat' craze of the 90's has been widely deemed to be counterproductive.

didn't know that! Thank you!

Are you thinking my calorie goal is too low? The reason I wanted it there is because I do very little on the days I don't work out, so i didn't want to un-do my workouts

juggernaut1974

bsbprincess wrote: »

juggernaut1974 wrote: »

Well your body does require a certain amount of minimum good fat for vitamin absorption and organ function. It's still recommended to minimize saturated fats and trans fats, but other than that, the 'low-fat' craze of the 90's has been widely deemed to be counterproductive.

didn't know that! Thank you!

Are you thinking my calorie goal is too low? The reason I wanted it there is because I do very little on the days I don't work out, so i didn't want to un-do my workouts

In my opinion yes.

Remember - your body burns calories all day long - even if you're just sitting there.

There are a number of online calculators you can use to estimate...I used this one: http://www.iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

I put in your stats, and estimated your activity level to be "sedentary" and that you did 4 days/30 minutes per day of moderate exercise.

That estimated your TDEE (average daily total calorie burn) at around 2000. So you should lose 1 lb per week by eating 1500. The number would be higher if I've underestimated your activity in any way.

I'd recommend that 1 lb per week is a much more reasonable rate of loss for someone looking to lose less than 40 lbs than 2 lbs per week.

bsbprincess

I would call it moderate, so I think that's right on.

Wow, I guess I was being too hard on myself. Before, when I was doing well on WW, I had lost 60 lbs and was eating 1400 and stopped losing. I asked people on another forum and they told me to eat more. Soon after that I lost my way and have since gained about half back. It seems that again I am being too strict.

I can't thank you enough for taking the time to help me. I really appreciate it

juggernaut1974

bsbprincess wrote: »

I would call it moderate, so I think that's right on.

Wow, I guess I was being too hard on myself. Before, when I was doing well on WW, I had lost 60 lbs and was eating 1400 and stopped losing. I asked people on another forum and they told me to eat more. Soon after that I lost my way and have since gained about half back. It seems that again I am being too strict.

I can't thank you enough for taking the time to help me. I really appreciate it

You're very welcome.

Remember - ultimately the BEST method is simply trial and error. Pick a way...whatever advice you choose...and stick with it for 4 weeks or more and assess your results. If they're not matching expectations, or if you're having issues sticking to the plan - make some tweaks.

If you're patient and consistent, you'll succeed in the long run.

bsbprincess

juggernaut1974 wrote: »

You're very welcome.

Remember - ultimately the BEST method is simply trial and error. Pick a way...whatever advice you choose...and stick with it for 4 weeks or more and assess your results. If they're not matching expectations, or if you're having issues sticking to the plan - make some tweaks.

If you're patient and consistent, you'll succeed in the long run.

You are awesome!! I will do that

Sued0nim

Awesome thread full of good advice from good people

OP if it helps...I'm 5'8, 48 and started at 210lbs...I always eat my fitbit calories, lost most of my 52lbs eating 1500-1800 calories, meet the minimum protein and fat goals for my bodyweight up thread and have maintained my goal weight range (158-162lbs) for 11 months

I also lift heavy stuff and put it down again which really helps pull everything in tight and taut

It works

You've got this

bsbprincess

rabbitjb wrote: »

Awesome thread full of good advice from good people

OP if it helps...I'm 5'8, 48 and started at 210lbs...I always eat my fitbit calories, lost most of my 52lbs eating 1500-1800 calories, meet the minimum protein and fat goals for my bodyweight up thread and have maintained my goal weight range (158-162lbs) for 11 months

I also lift heavy stuff and put it down again which really helps pull everything in tight and taut

It works

You've got this

Thank you!!! Great to hear. Appreciate the encouragement too

May I ask, were you eating 1500-1800 PLUS the fitbit calories earned? Or 1500-1800 including the fitbit calories?

Sued0nim

I just had a look back to October / November 2014 ..and I was eating 1500 plus exercise calories so averaging around 1800 across the week ...I have always viewed my calorie goal as weekly but my protein macro as daily

HTH

Yi5hedr3

40/30/30 will do better for you.....and count those calories!!!

bsbprincess

Thank you!!! I already buckled and set my macros back to default I was feeling so tired and hungry and like I needed more carbs. I'm gonna do what juggernaut mentioned, and see if I can successfully lose for weeks with defaults. If I stall, I'll reevaluate. I'm so glad I got all of the above advice from you guys so that I know what to do if I don't lose this way.