Do macros matter?

kkress92

I feel like I'm constantly chasing after protein. Having a hard time getting enough, and if I even get close, I'm over in fat and carbs. For reference, I'm 38 years old, 160 lbs. 5'5" I lift wts. 5 x per week, cardio 3x per week. Goals: Lose 10 lbs and improve muscle tone. Daily Protein target is 130g. How much should I worry about macros?

trigden1991

The honest answer is, not really.

If you are weight training and sufficient protein (0.8g/lbs of Lean Bod Mass) then you will be retaining the maximum amount of muscle mass. I have no clue what your bodyfat is but even using your total weight, 120g of protein is enough.

kommodevaran

I always wonder how people end up with (extreme) protein targets. (MFP's default is 20% and not hard to reach at all.) If you go by grams, the lower the calorie allowance, the bigger proportion of calories would be taken up by protein. In theory, it's not difficult - you'll just base your intake on egg whites and protein shakes - but it will be very boring and you risk not getting enough of other nutrients you need. Calories is what counts for weight loss. Weight loss is a slow process. Good nutrition is crucial to be able to stick to a calorie deficit for the time it takes to lose the desired weight, and even more importantly, not EAT ALL THE FOODS the moment you stop eating at a calorie deficit.

If your goal weight is 150 pounds, and you're not a bodybuilder doing competition prep, I would say 70-100 grams of protein is a good goal.

lemurcat12

Macros are not important except getting enough protein and then whatever makes things easier for you.

I think even for maximizing muscle-preservation when at a deficit (and when doing strength-bearing exercises), the goal doesn't need to be any more than .8-1 g of lean mass or (if you don't know it) .65-.85 g per lb of a middle of the BMI scale weight (or goal weight -- but you don't have to be strapped in by that).

At 5'5, 135 is 22.5, so using that, 108 g of protein is .8 g/lb. So, really, 105-110 g of protein is plenty. If more is easy for you, great, but no need to make things harder to get more, even if you are really concerned with preserving muscle (which I think is a quite reasonable thing when losing weight, especially for a woman in her later 30s -- I am in my 40s and am concerned about this since it's common to lose muscle as one gets into the late 30s and after).

Gallowmere1984

kommodevaran wrote: »

I always wonder how people end up with (extreme) protein targets. (MFP's default is 20% and not hard to reach at all.) If you go by grams, the lower the calorie allowance, the bigger proportion of calories would be taken up by protein. In theory, it's not difficult - you'll just base your intake on egg whites and protein shakes - but it will be very boring and you risk not getting enough of other nutrients you need. Calories is what counts for weight loss. Weight loss is a slow process. Good nutrition is crucial to be able to stick to a calorie deficit for the time it takes to lose the desired weight, and even more importantly, not EAT ALL THE FOODS the moment you stop eating at a calorie deficit.

If your goal weight is 150 pounds, and you're not a bodybuilder doing competition prep, I would say 70-100 grams of protein is a good goal.

I have the opposite problem, personally. I just rather enjoy the hell out of protein rich foods, and end up having to chase carbs and fats. It's not that difficult, but I really do like greek yogurt more than regular, chicken breast more than wings and thighs, and sirloin more than ribeye. It's not hard for me to hit 350g+ of protein in a day with less than 100 of the other two, if I'm not attentive.

kkress92

I arrived at the protein target using a website calculator (sorry, can't remember which one) that suggested eating 45%carbs
30%protein
25%fat
For someone who wants to lose weight while still building muscle. The calculator factored in age, weight, height, gender and activity level and also provided a calorie target (TDEE) the calorie target was 1650 per day

Michael190lbs

Gallowmere1984 wrote: »

kommodevaran wrote: »

I always wonder how people end up with (extreme) protein targets. (MFP's default is 20% and not hard to reach at all.) If you go by grams, the lower the calorie allowance, the bigger proportion of calories would be taken up by protein. In theory, it's not difficult - you'll just base your intake on egg whites and protein shakes - but it will be very boring and you risk not getting enough of other nutrients you need. Calories is what counts for weight loss. Weight loss is a slow process. Good nutrition is crucial to be able to stick to a calorie deficit for the time it takes to lose the desired weight, and even more importantly, not EAT ALL THE FOODS the moment you stop eating at a calorie deficit.

If your goal weight is 150 pounds, and you're not a bodybuilder doing competition prep, I would say 70-100 grams of protein is a good goal.

I have the opposite problem, personally. I just rather enjoy the hell out of protein rich foods, and end up having to chase carbs and fats. It's not that difficult, but I really do like greek yogurt more than regular, chicken breast more than wings and thighs, and sirloin more than ribeye. It's not hard for me to hit 350g+ of protein in a day with less than 100 of the other two, if I'm not attentive.

I agree same problem if it wasn't for bread and peanut butter I would never hit my carb or fat goals protein is super easy

lemurcat12

kkress92 wrote: »

I arrived at the protein target using a website calculator (sorry, can't remember which one) that suggested eating 45%carbs
30%protein
25%fat
For someone who wants to lose weight while still building muscle. The calculator factored in age, weight, height, gender and activity level and also provided a calorie target (TDEE) the calorie target was 1650 per day

Percentages aren't really a great approach because you end up with such different numbers when calories change.

For example, I am 5'3, and estimate my reasonable protein goal at around 100 g (I know my lean mass is around 95 and built in a little extra because I like round numbers and want to aim a bit high because I am in my 40s, making muscle preservation more of a concern). At a deficit of around 1300 (which would make sense if I weren't that active or even doing mostly strength-training and wanted to lose a lb a week), that would mean about 30% protein (and that's what I did when I first started and had an aggressive deficit). My usual deficit now is 1600-1800, though, so aiming for 25% protein or even a bit less is plenty (easily just to focus on a total). If I was aiming for a higher number (as on maintenance, which is what I'm doing for the rest of the year), about 20% protein is plenty.

Anyway, there is, of course, nothing inherently wrong with 45-30-25 -- I am sure it works for many people (I did 40-30-30 for a time and liked it, because I do tend to like higher protein foods and it was only 100-110 or so grams anyway, at that point) -- but if you are struggling to hit 130 I don't see any benefit. If you did lower protein (say, 110) and found you were hungry increasing protein might be something to try (along with various other thing), but there's no benefit, let alone one that would outweigh making things harder on yourself. Sites that claim there is a particular "most beneficial macro ratio" are not to be believed, and although MFP has a default macro ratio (50-20-30, I think, maybe 50-25-25), it also is no better than plenty of others (and given how many people get 1200 recommendations can be too low in protein often IMO).

kkress92

How do you find your lean mass or body fat %?

J72FIT

Jakep2323 wrote: »

Chase a cow and you get everything you want really - lose weight, extra muscle and extra protein if successful - best of luck mate

LMAO! Nice one...

J72FIT

kkress92 wrote: »

How do you find your lean mass or body fat %?

You find your lean mass once you determine your body fat.

Say you weight 150 lbs and you determine your body fat to be 15%.

Take your total weight (150lbs) and multiply by your body fat (.15) and you get 22.5lbs.

150 (total body weight) - 22.5 (body fat) = 127.5 (Lean mass)

As far as determining body fat, calipers are a fair choice...

psuLemon

So percentages are considered an old way of looking at things. Like others suggested grams of protein per lb of lean body mass, is largely more important. Generally, one should strive for .8 to 1g of pro/lb of lbm. For you, that would probably be between 100 to 120g.

One of the bigger areas of concern would be your training, especially if you goal is to gains some muscle, or try to gain some, while losing fat. The biggest thing I would suggest would be a solid progressive overload lifting program, that would focus on compound multi-joint moves, that will maximize strength gains because forcing yourself to get stronger will give you a chance to gain some muscle. But be aware that it is difficult to gain muscle in a deficit, even if small, especially for a women. But at best, you gain some muscle, at worst, you maintain what you have and see improvements in fat loss. Below is a good thread that links a variety of programs. Depending on what your goals are, and if you have any focus areas, will depend on what program you should follow.


http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

lemurcat12

kkress92 wrote: »

How do you find your lean mass or body fat %?

It's not necessary, that's why I gave the body-weight-based numbers above, but I did a DEXA because I was interested in bone density and a benefit is you also get a good BF%/lean mass estimate.

kkress92

Thanks for all the information! Nice to be a part of a supportive community that doesn't take itself too seriously!