Open Diary-IIFYM just looking for some reassurance

tmraines87

Hi there!

tmraines87

Not sure where my post went...
But anyways
I'm looking for some reassurance that my macros look alright as I'm fairly new at it.

Stats are:
Female
29 years old on Friday
5'2
142 lbs
Sedentary Job
Lifts 5-6 days a week

GothamVeggie

Your diary is private currently. If you change that, we can definitely take a look & provide comments.

Dano74

Macros are dependent... or should very much be aligned with... your goals, so definitely clue us in to that as well.

Habiteer

First thing I see is the protein goal is set too high. Even for highly trained athletes, 0.82 g per lb of body weight is the maximal benefit. It is likely that people need a lot less to preserve muscle/gain muscle. The 1 g protein per lb of body weight is a myth.

Are you cutting or bulking? If cutting, here is a recommendation from the conclusions section of a 2011 review titled Dietary protein for athletes: From requirements to optimum adaptation:

To optimize the ratio of fat-to-lean tissue massloss during hypoenergetic periods, athletes areadvised to ensure that they lower their carbohy-drate intake to*40% of their energy intake(with an emphasis on consumption of lower GIcarbohydrates), which usually means no morethan 3–4 gkg71day71, and increase theirprotein intake to*20–30% of their energyintake or*1.8–2.7 gkg71day71. Consid-eration of how low carbohydrate intake shouldgo would be dictated by how much exerciseperformance may be compromised by consum-ing lower than recommended carbohydrates.By engaging in resistance exercise during ahypoenergetic dieting period, athletes will alsoprovide a markedly anabolic stimulus to retainmuscle protein. All of the aforementionedstrategies will, however, result in less absoluteweight loss than if protein is not increased andresistive exercise is not performed, which maybe important for some athletes.

I've seen people that head to the gym a lot like to go with 50C/30F/20P as macro goals. I think 40C/35F/25P is pretty good as goals too. Or whatever you feel works for you best, you can set your own goals based on how you feel. Just keep lifting at least 3x a week, preferably with a routine, and eat between 0.6-0.8 g protein/lb of bodyweight in my opinion.

Habiteer

Protein goal might be a little high, highly trained athletes only need 0.82 g protein / lb of body weight. Going above that gives them no benefit. 1 g protein/ lb of body weight is a myth.

I wrote more and cited some sources earlier, but that post is under moderation so I've kept it short this time. If you're fairly new at lifting, you would probably benefit more from going with a workout routine that lifts 3x a week so your body gets adequate rest and ensuring your muscle grow and there is less risk of injury and overtraining. Starting Strength, Stronglifts 5x5, etc...

Sued0nim

Dano74 wrote: »

Macros are dependent... or should very much be aligned with... your goals, so definitely clue us in to that as well.

This

tmraines87

Hey guys. Sorry I'm just now getting to respond.

Okay, so my goals are mostly cutting for now.
I set my protein goals a little high mostly because I do feel the best at that amount and with pretty good energies, but I can definitely lower it if you think it's necessary for results.

vismal

Drawoc wrote: »

First thing I see is the protein goal is set too high. Even for highly trained athletes, 0.82 g per lb of body weight is the maximal benefit. It is likely that people need a lot less to preserve muscle/gain muscle. The 1 g protein per lb of body weight is a myth.

Are you cutting or bulking? If cutting, here is a recommendation from the conclusions section of a 2011 review titled Dietary protein for athletes

I disagree that her protein is too high. Higher than needed, yes. Too high denotes that it needs to be lowered whereas higher than necessary denotes that it could be lowered. Additionally, there is emerging research (Helms, et al.) that a higher protein intake is beneficial when losing body fat.

If your goal is weight/fat loss, calories will matter more than macronutrients. Your calories are at 1582 which is an okay starting point. If weight loss does not occur its because your calorie goal is either set too high or you are eating more than you think. Explore the latter exhaustively before deciding that the former is your issue. Most people, especially people new to logging foods are eating much more than they think. Make sure you are tracking everything, using a food scale, etc.

For your macros, as I stated above protein is higher than necessary. That is not to say it's "too high", just more than you need to preserve lean muscle whilst losing weight. Your protein could probably stand to be as low as 110 grams with no risk of any ill effects. That being said, if eating higher protein makes compliance easier for you or you simply enjoy eating that way, there's no need to decrease it. Your fat seems a bit low, I'd rather see at least 50 grams but I wouldn't say it's dangerously low or anything. Since you are fairly new give it some time. Try out your numbers and see what happens as far as your weight and performance in the gym. What is your training like?

tmraines87

Thank you! Your response was very informative. I have my Fitbit connected and synced with MFP so it adds back in calories most days but I typically try to stay for the most part under the 1500 calorie mark. I have it set to 1500 but it moves up by the end of the day based on my Fitbit.

I'm definitely hoping to lose fat. I like a nice athletic physique. I was doing Crossfit for 2 years, but took some time off and am now back in a traditional gym doing lots of lifting and little to no cardio. I hate cardio.

I try to switch things up to prevent stalling my results, but here is an example of a week for me.

Monday- legs (I do heavy backsquats, weighted lunges, lots of glute work, calf raises, and a few machines that work my quads but I don't know their names)

Tuesday- shoulders (I basically do shoulder press and various other movements with dumbells and the machines at my gym)

Wednesday- back and biceps and again (I do just basic stuff in the gym and bicep curls, supersets, etc)

Thursday- sometimes I take a rest day OR I train Legs again

Friday- chest and a little bit of abs

Saturday- triceps...this is a weak area for me so I have been trying to do a lot of isolated work on them.

Sunday- rest

Sorry if it seems all over the place. I am accustomed to crossfit so now that I'm in a traditional gym I watch a lot of YouTube videos to learn movements, etc.

kellyw0624

I have my Fitbit synced but I can't get it to bring my steps and calories burned over. Suggestions?

Christine_72

kellyw0624 wrote: »

I have my Fitbit synced but I can't get it to bring my steps and calories burned over. Suggestions?

Make sure you don't have "Dont track steps" ticked, and have "fitbit tracker- your fitbit tracker can sync steps with my fitnesspal" ticked. You can find the steps page in your app, not sure about pc.

Sued0nim

tmraines87 wrote: »

Thank you! Your response was very informative. I have my Fitbit connected and synced with MFP so it adds back in calories most days but I typically try to stay for the most part under the 1500 calorie mark. I have it set to 1500 but it moves up by the end of the day based on my Fitbit.

I'm definitely hoping to lose fat. I like a nice athletic physique. I was doing Crossfit for 2 years, but took some time off and am now back in a traditional gym doing lots of lifting and little to no cardio. I hate cardio.

I try to switch things up to prevent stalling my results, but here is an example of a week for me.

Monday- legs (I do heavy backsquats, weighted lunges, lots of glute work, calf raises, and a few machines that work my quads but I don't know their names)

Tuesday- shoulders (I basically do shoulder press and various other movements with dumbells and the machines at my gym)

Wednesday- back and biceps and again (I do just basic stuff in the gym and bicep curls, supersets, etc)

Thursday- sometimes I take a rest day OR I train Legs again

Friday- chest and a little bit of abs

Saturday- triceps...this is a weak area for me so I have been trying to do a lot of isolated work on them.

Sunday- rest

Sorry if it seems all over the place. I am accustomed to crossfit so now that I'm in a traditional gym I watch a lot of YouTube videos to learn movements, etc.

So lose weight and preserve muscle? Looking to build eventually?

In defecit set protein and fats as minimums ...protein at 0.64-0.8g and fat at 0.35-0.4g per lb of bodyfat ...these are minimums to hit no issue if you go over and carbs can fall where they will

In gym as a previous crosffitter I would suggest tightening up on your form, crossfit can result in very poor form unfortunately. Take one of the very well establishing programmes...all free, with videos on Google search
Stronglifts5x5
Starting strength ...Rippetoes form videos on YouTube are excellent
PHUL even if you like the split

There's a lot of programmes out there and there's a link in the recommended pin at the top of the fitness board

In surplus same macros ..but eat more and train the same

Focus on wide nutritional base and eating foods you love

tmraines87

Thank you so much!!! I definitely will look these up and make some changes to the macros. Y'all are a great help!