Macro advice?

birdtobe

I know everyone is different, but how did you determine the right macros for you: research, trial and error, percentages? Any insight into formulas (or examples) would be great! I am currently consuming 1250 calories a day, with an aim for 78g carbs, 20g sugar, 56 g fat, and 109 g protein. Thoughts, tips, ideas? I've down 14 pounds in 5 weeks and want to keep it going!

TavistockToad

Where did you get that breakdown from?

I go for 45/30/25 cos it works for me.

TeaBea

Macros are about staying full, health issues, and fitness goals. There is no set "correct" percentages. You've lost weight because your calories are low.

The "correct" macro percentage for me will also help me during maintenance. It's not going to be one set of macros for weight loss.....then a different set for maintenance. I've regained weight in the past .....I know that won't work for me.

crzycatlady1

I've just started paying attention to macros (now almost 4 years into maintenance, lol), and I do better on a higher carb diet,175g + range. For protein I have mine set for the RDA minimum requirement for my stats (47g), and then try to hit a little above that (60-80ish range). And then fat falls where it falls.

But macros ratios are pretty much a preference thing and will be different based on people's goals, satiety levels etc. In terms of weight loss though, the only thing that really matters is that you're hitting the appropriate calorie target for your weight goals

trigden1991

Ultimately macros are preference based and calories dictate your weight loss.

A fairly standard macro breakdown might be;

Protein = 0.8-1.2g/lb of LBM
Fat = 0.4g/lb of LBM
Carbs = remainder

birdtobe

Thanks, all. I am staying at my calorie goal each day and will continue to do so. I was just curious if any of you paid special attention to macros. Looks like calories are king here!

lemurcat12

How I did it (not currently logging, although I doubt my macros have changed that much):

Protein=.8 g/lb of healthy goal weight or, if you know it, 1 g/lb of LBM. For me this is around 96 either way, and I round it up to 100 since I like easy numbers.

That gives me 400 calories of protein, which is 25% if I eat around 1600 (which I do on a deficit). I don't much care about fat vs. carbs, but don't cut either especially low and make sure I get my healthy fats. In general I aim for 40-50% carbs and the remainder fat, which comes in at around 160-200 g carbs and 45-60 g fat.

For sugar (not a macro), I don't care about it, since most of my sugar is from whole foods like fruit, vegetables, sweet potatoes, plantains, and I know my diet is balanced and has plenty of fiber, protein, and healthy fats, so is not excessive as to carbs in general or lower-nutrient sources of calories. If I were concerned about this I'd look over my results to make sure I wasn't getting too much from lower-nutrient sources, however. (As a caution, I could not get in all the vegetables I eat with only 20 g of sugar, and that assumes no fruit, no dairy, no sweet potatoes, etc. The low sugar recs like that referred to added sugar and are really about calories if you look at the reasoning.) Similarly, if I had a history of being low on fiber I'd watch that, but it's not been an issue. I do occasionally look at sat fat to make sure I don't have any surprises.

Mostly, though, I care about protein and calories and make an effort to eat an overall healthy, balanced diet and make good choices for carbs and fats, without worrying about specific numbers.