Fluctuating protein target.

mnfarmgal

Why does my protein goal keep changing throughout the day?

malibu927

Are you logging exercise?

usmcmp

Do you have an activity tracker sync'd to MFP? Have you added in exercise? Both of those change your goals.

nutmegoreo

Do you have an activity tracker synced with MFP? As the exercise calories adjust the macro targets will as well. I consider my protein and fat (original goal) as a minimum. As long as I hit that I'm happy.

mnfarmgal

Yes.. my Fitbit does sync with MyFitnessPal.. I didn't realize that would affect it.. i only notice the protein changing.. no other macros. I guess I thought they were all weight based.

lemurcat12

The macros are a set percentage of your total calories. (50% carbs, 20% protein, 30% fat, I think.)

I think for protein it makes more sense to set a gram goal -- I like .8 g*/lb of a healthy goal weight -- that maximizes muscle retention on a deficit. Then, treat that as a minimum and don't worry about going over, but also don't worry about hitting some increased number when your calories go up.

I'd say it makes sense to set a minimum for fat too, and treat it the same way, except that for me getting enough fat was never an issue.

*I like this because there's room for error and because I am a woman in my 40s, so muscle retention is a priority and building muscle is tough. If it feels too hard to hit really the benefit is for a range of .65-.85 g/lb of healthy goal weight (again going over is fine), so you would be fine setting a lower number.

mnfarmgal

lemurcat12- your first sentence made me realize I knew that.. I really only watch my protein and fiber.. I rarely meet my protein goal so I think in my frustration of not meeting it I realized it was a moving target and couldn't figure out why!!
Thank you everyone for helping me! One less frustration on my list to worry about.