My macros? & a few other questions

chalaivy
chalaivy Posts: 101 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I'm just getting started and feel that I'm doing pretty well, except I don't really have as much knowledge as I would like to (working on it!)
I was wondering if anyone could give me their opinions on macros, how to set them (my goal is fat loss), my calorie goal was set by MFP at 1400 but I just changed it to 1200 because I was hoping that would help me see results faster (opinions on this? And is this the "deficit" I keep on reading about?)

My macros say I should be at like 20% carbs, 45% protein and 35% fat. I need help understanding this because I always thought protein turns into fat if you're not an active person?
Hopefully there's someone willing to help me out there! I'm just a few days into this and if anyone wants to add me because I don't know how to add

Replies

  • MelaniaTrump
    MelaniaTrump Posts: 2,694 Member
    edited March 2016
    If I had to eat 1,200 calories a day, I would be googling how to cook my house cats (I would be that hungry).
    I went with what MFP set up for me.
    I later googled it and all other websites pretty much stated the same exact thing.

    I like carbs. I'm at 60% and happy. I can do this diet for life. MFP set this up for me.
    Lentils, beans, plain oatmeal, sweet potatoes, brown rice, quinoa, barley, fruits, even whole wheat pasta.
    They provide high fiber which can help you feel full.
    I try to get at least 46 grams of protein a day (minimum recommended). Goal is 68 grams.
    Open diary.

  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
    Lower calories will mean fast weight loss. This sounds great but it isn't necessarily so.

    People who lose faster tend to:
    • Have more trouble sticking to their diet
    • Are more likely to see their diet as something to get done and then go back to "eating normally" which can often lead to regain of the lost weight
    • Are more likely to lose a high proportion of muscle along with the fat

    My advice: If MFP gives you 1400, eat 1400.

    The deficit: eating less calories than you consume means that you are in deficit. The deficit can be large or small but it is still a deficit.
    chalaivy wrote: »
    I always thought protein turns into fat if you're not an active person?

    No, excess calories (surplus calories) cause fat whether those calories are protein, carbohydrate, or fat.

    Which macros are best for weight loss is a topic that comes up frequently on MFP and the sensible answer is that as long as you are not completely excluding or minimizing to practically zero a macro, whatever feels good and fits in with your lifestyle will work. Obviously for health, rather than just weight loss, you should be eating a good variety of vegetables, some decent protein and consuming some fat.

    Best wishes.
  • ahamm002
    ahamm002 Posts: 1,690 Member
    chalaivy wrote: »
    I'm just getting started and feel that I'm doing pretty well, except I don't really have as much knowledge as I would like to (working on it!)
    I was wondering if anyone could give me their opinions on macros, how to set them (my goal is fat loss), my calorie goal was set by MFP at 1400 but I just changed it to 1200 because I was hoping that would help me see results faster (opinions on this? And is this the "deficit" I keep on reading about?)

    My macros say I should be at like 20% carbs, 45% protein and 35% fat. I need help understanding this because I always thought protein turns into fat if you're not an active person?
    Hopefully there's someone willing to help me out there! I'm just a few days into this and if anyone wants to add me because I don't know how to add

    The main reason to track macros is to ensure you get adequate protein to preserve muscle mass while losing weight. It's also important to get adequate fat because that is a necessary nutrient. Many people also track fiber. Once you achieved an adequate amount of protein and fat, you can fill in the remaining calories with whatever macro's you want. 20% carbs is much lower than most people eat.
  • chalaivy
    chalaivy Posts: 101 Member

    Wow! I greatly appreciate the info, I didn't think anyone would want to help me out! As far as my calories go, I feel content at the end of the day at 1,200 but I do get kind of junky towards the end of the day, I think because before I started all this I was a junkaholic. Doing waaaay better now. I really am enjoying it though, so far it's nothing like the other diet/crashes I've done in the past. I'm more interested now in really knowing what's best for my body while trying to lose weight at the same time, and continuing a healthy lifestyle after that.

    Is it bad if I eat way more carbs and fat than protein? I don't really have any muscle to conserve... At least I don't think so... Should I still be looking at protein as much?

    Can anyone tell me how I can add people? I would love to have more interaction! It's providing me more knowledge just in this post alone
  • sbl1881
    sbl1881 Posts: 213 Member
    I'm currently at 1400 calories/day and my macros are between what's considered the "Zone" diet and a "Moderate" distribution. 45% Carbs, 30% Protein, 25% Fat. This works for me most of the time, although I can go over on fat if I'm not careful. I'm very low energy and crabby if I don't get my carbs, so this is a good balance for me. When I lose a few more lbs, and increase my workouts, I will also slightly increase my calories and macros. I feel better eating 1,400 calories and losing weight a bit slower than I ever did restricting at 1,100 - 1,200.

    You just need to test it out one way for a few weeks, see how you feel, adjust if you need to, and try that for a few weeks and so on.
  • ahamm002
    ahamm002 Posts: 1,690 Member
    chalaivy wrote: »
    Is it bad if I eat way more carbs and fat than protein? I don't really have any muscle to conserve... At least I don't think so... Should I still be looking at protein as much?

    Don't skimp on the protein. If you don't have much muscle then preserving what you have is even more important. Solid protein is also very filling, so it's helpful for achieving your calorie goals too.
  • chalaivy
    chalaivy Posts: 101 Member
    Interesting. Do you all research stuff hardcore or where do you learn these things? Besides MFP lol. Any other cool apps or websites for me to look into as a beginner?
  • Michael190lbs
    Michael190lbs Posts: 1,510 Member
    edited March 2016
    Everything stores as fat in excess of your TDEE not just protein. Track Fats and protein take your weight times .4 for fats and your weight times .8 for protein then adjust your calories for weight loss 250 under TDEE is a great place to start. Don't go under 1200 calories on any given day in fact I would stay at the 1400 the site gave you.
  • Yi5hedr3
    Yi5hedr3 Posts: 2,696 Member
    Set macros: 15c/20p/65f. :)
  • ASKyle
    ASKyle Posts: 1,475 Member
    chalaivy wrote: »
    Wow! I greatly appreciate the info, I didn't think anyone would want to help me out! As far as my calories go, I feel content at the end of the day at 1,200 but I do get kind of junky towards the end of the day, I think because before I started all this I was a junkaholic. Doing waaaay better now. I really am enjoying it though, so far it's nothing like the other diet/crashes I've done in the past. I'm more interested now in really knowing what's best for my body while trying to lose weight at the same time, and continuing a healthy lifestyle after that.

    Is it bad if I eat way more carbs and fat than protein? I don't really have any muscle to conserve... At least I don't think so... Should I still be looking at protein as much?

    Can anyone tell me how I can add people? I would love to have more interaction! It's providing me more knowledge just in this post alone

    Technically you can, as this is all about eating less calories than you burn to lose weight.

    BUT, you may find that a diet of more protein/fat may help you feel more satisfied and less hungry. Try out different ratios and see how it goes!
  • chalaivy
    chalaivy Posts: 101 Member
    Michael190lbs wrote: »
    Everything stores as fat in excess of your TDEE not just protein. Track Fats and protein take your weight times .4 for fats and your weight times .8 for protein then adjust your calories for weight loss 250 under TDEE is a great place to start. Don't go under 1200 calories on any given day in fact I would stay at the 1400 the site gave you.

    I just looked up what my TDEE was... It says about 1800 calories a day... So are you saying I should shoot for 1550 calories a day?
    I weigh 165, so 66 grams of fats and 132 grams of protein? That just seems like a crazy amount to me.. Can I switch the two to meet my cravings better? I've been craving more of fatty things lately, avocados esp. haha
  • Michael190lbs
    Michael190lbs Posts: 1,510 Member
    edited March 2016
    chalaivy wrote: »
    Michael190lbs wrote: »
    Everything stores as fat in excess of your TDEE not just protein. Track Fats and protein take your weight times .4 for fats and your weight times .8 for protein then adjust your calories for weight loss 250 under TDEE is a great place to start. Don't go under 1200 calories on any given day in fact I would stay at the 1400 the site gave you.

    I just looked up what my TDEE was... It says about 1800 calories a day... So are you saying I should shoot for 1550 calories a day?
    I weigh 165, so 66 grams of fats and 132 grams of protein? That just seems like a crazy amount to me.. Can I switch the two to meet my cravings better? I've been craving more of fatty things lately, avocados esp. haha

    You can do what ever you want too I'm just showing you what works through science. If you want to lose a pound a week shoot for 500 below your 1800 TDEE per day. 500 calories less a day times 7 days is 3500 calories which equals one pound. Lower protein levels will just make you lose muscle weight I would say get in at least 60 grams of protein a day just to be healthy but if your going to lift and want results jump it upto 115-140..
  • chalaivy
    chalaivy Posts: 101 Member
    Michael190lbs wrote: »
    chalaivy wrote: »
    Michael190lbs wrote: »
    Everything stores as fat in excess of your TDEE not just protein. Track Fats and protein take your weight times .4 for fats and your weight times .8 for protein then adjust your calories for weight loss 250 under TDEE is a great place to start. Don't go under 1200 calories on any given day in fact I would stay at the 1400 the site gave you.

    I just looked up what my TDEE was... It says about 1800 calories a day... So are you saying I should shoot for 1550 calories a day?
    I weigh 165, so 66 grams of fats and 132 grams of protein? That just seems like a crazy amount to me.. Can I switch the two to meet my cravings better? I've been craving more of fatty things lately, avocados esp. haha

    You can do what ever you want too I'm just showing you what works through science. If you want to lose a pound a week shoot for 500 below your 1800 TDEE per day. 500 calories less a day times 7 days is 3500 calories which equals one pound. Lower protein levels will just make you lose muscle weight I would say get in at least 60 grams of protein a day just to be healthy but if your going to lift and want results jump it upto 115-140..

    I didn't mean to sound questioning like that, just if it would work out for me with my goals. I'm not very knowledgeable about all this so thank you! That's really helpful.

  • johnwelk
    johnwelk Posts: 396 Member
    chalaivy wrote: »
    Interesting. Do you all research stuff hardcore or where do you learn these things? Besides MFP lol. Any other cool apps or websites for me to look into as a beginner?

    The problem is learning to avoid the mass amount of misinformation on the web. Stick with MFP communtiy for a while. Vast majority of those who post have waded through the Internet muck and are giving good quality info. A very good website to have a look at is:

    Sciencebasedmedicine.org

    Type diet or nutrition into the search box and read every post that comes up. Also read the comments at the end of each post. You'll see what happens when people have some knowledge and then think they are experts. You don't want to become that person.
  • chalaivy
    chalaivy Posts: 101 Member
    johnwelk wrote: »
    chalaivy wrote: »
    Interesting. Do you all research stuff hardcore or where do you learn these things? Besides MFP lol. Any other cool apps or websites for me to look into as a beginner?

    The problem is learning to avoid the mass amount of misinformation on the web. Stick with MFP communtiy for a while. Vast majority of those who post have waded through the Internet muck and are giving good quality info. A very good website to have a look at is:

    Sciencebasedmedicine.org

    Type diet or nutrition into the search box and read every post that comes up. Also read the comments at the end of each post. You'll see what happens when people have some knowledge and then think they are experts. You don't want to become that person.

    So the comments at the end of those posts on that website I shouldn't look at too much?

    Yeah I think the problem is just that it's so easy to just look specific things up and read a little on it, but not really hear or learn anything about it anywhere else.... I want to learn a lot, I really do... It's just hard without having one person that is very knowledgeable who can answer all my questions. Because I feel like the deeper you get into things with nutrition and exercise, people start having a *kitten* ton of different opinions and that's overwhelming and frustrating for someone that has little to no knowledge really... So. I guess I am going to try that mentor board that I thought was corny! Wish me luck. Haha
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    chalaivy wrote: »
    My macros say I should be at like 20% carbs, 45% protein and 35% fat. I need help understanding this because I always thought protein turns into fat if you're not an active person?
    Hopefully there's someone willing to help me out there! I'm just a few days into this and if anyone wants to add me because I don't know how to add

    Where did you get these macros? They aren't the MFP default ones.

    I think the MFP default ones are fine (and would stick with the 1400 for now, as you normally adjust down as you lose and don't want a deficit that will increase the risk of muscle loss -- yes, it matters and if you don't have that much it makes it more important to preserve what you have).

    If you don't want to use the MFP default, lots of people like 40% carbs, 30% each protein and fat, or a really good way to figure it out is to take .65-.85 g of protein per lb of HEALTHY body weight (if you have a good bit to lose use goal weight). Pick a number within that range (I did .8, which gives me around 100 g), and then split the remaining amount between fat and carbs however you like and try it for a while. If it's hard to stick to the fat/carb split adjust. Food choice makes more difference than the amount of carbs vs. fat you eat unless you are someone for whom it makes a difference to satiety or you have particular goals (like training, which often involves higher carbs, or doing low carb or some such).

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