HELP PLEASE

LaurensWorld18

Hi Everyone!!!

I am new and completely confused about how to determine what I should be eating... there is a pre-set option that I have chosen for now but I am not sure if it correct? Also the calories chosen for me seem very low, is this right? I am 5'2' at 180... want to be 105... majority carbs in the settings followed by fat and then protein?

Thank you for any help!!!

cwolfman13

LaurensWorld18 wrote: »

Hi Everyone!!!

I am new and completely confused about how to determine what I should be eating... there is a pre-set option that I have chosen for now but I am not sure if it correct? Also the calories chosen for me seem very low, is this right? I am 5'2' at 180... want to be 105... majority carbs in the settings followed by fat and then protein?

Thank you for any help!!!

The default macro settings are fine to start with and don't really have anything to do with weight management. Calories are what is important for weight management.

You calorie target is derived from your stats, activity level, and targeted rate of loss. Most people go with a 2 Lbs per week target which is really aggressive, so you're going to get a low calorie target.

Your activity level is also only supposed to be your day to day hum drum...if you exercise, you log it and get additional calories to consume to account for that activity. If you want to eat more, you have to move more.

janejellyroll

Why do you feel MFP's goal for you isn't correct?

Your calorie goal will be lower the more aggressive your goal is. Did you tell MFP you wanted to lose two pounds per week? If so, choose a more reasonable calorie goal and you will get more to eat each day. Something like .5 pounds or 1 pound per week would be better at your current weight, I think. Keep in mind that with MFP's goal, you will also be logging your exercise and eating back the calories burnt from that. So if your starting goal is 1,400 and you go for a walk and burn 100 calories, your new calorie goal for that day is 100.

malibu927

I'm assuming you selected 2 pounds a week and received a goal of 1200 calories? If you think you won't be able to eat that little, you can lower your rate of loss to 1.5 or even 1 pound a week. Plus you can eat back your exercise calories. As for the macros, don't worry about those right now. Once you get your logging down, you can play around with the percentages to see what works best for you. I personally lost fine using the default percentages.

spiriteagle99

What did you choose for your weekly weight loss? If 2 lbs. then the amount of calories would be very low. If that seems too low, change it to 1.5 or 1 lb. a week. If you log your daily exercise then you can eat back some or all of those calories as well, so the total amount that you are eating will be higher than the initial amount. When I was losing weight, MFP gave me only1200 calories, but I ran and walked one to two hours a day, so my actual calorie budget was closer to 1800-2000 calories.

diannethegeek

Can you be more specific about your concerns? Are you worried about the fallacy that carbs won't lead to weight loss? I found the default macros here at MFP to be fine, especially when I was just starting out and getting a handle on what filled me up and what didn't.

The thing is that, for general health, a wide variety of macro splits will work. There are tons of different ways to set up your numbers and they'll all work just fine as long as you're in a calorie deficit and hitting basic nutrition goals. Where macros really help out is if you have very specific body shaping goals or if you want to work on what keeps you feeling fuller and more satisfied throughout the day.

Satiety is highly individual. The way that I eat works very well for me but it might make another person want to gnaw their own arm off. It's important to play around and see what works best for you instead of sticking to some cookie-cutter nonsense.

If carbs don't fill you up or you have specific reason to go lower carb, then adjust the macros to suit whatever makes you feel best. I found success using the setup described here: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets/p1 You might try it and see, but sometimes I worry that it's too in depth for someone just starting out.

MegaMooseEsq

malibu927 wrote: »

I'm assuming you selected 2 pounds a week and received a goal of 1200 calories? If you think you won't be able to eat that little, you can lower your rate of loss to 1.5 or even 1 pound a week. Plus you can eat back your exercise calories. As for the macros, don't worry about those right now. Once you get your logging down, you can play around with the percentages to see what works best for you. I personally lost fine using the default percentages.

I agree. It's entirely possible to lose weight eating more calories than 1200 if you're careful about tracking your calories and are patient with a slower rate of loss. I'm also 5'2" and I've lost from 180 to 157 in the last seven months averaging around 2000-2200 calories net.

kimny72

LaurensWorld18 wrote: »

Hi Everyone!!!

I am new and completely confused about how to determine what I should be eating... there is a pre-set option that I have chosen for now but I am not sure if it correct? Also the calories chosen for me seem very low, is this right? I am 5'2' at 180... want to be 105... majority carbs in the settings followed by fat and then protein?

Thank you for any help!!!

Macros are personal preference based on what you find satiating. A lot of folks look at the MFP protein and fat numbers as minimums they want to exceed, and then let carbs fall where they may.

Remember that you are expected to log your exercise and eat back at least some of those calories, so your MFP goal is only for days you don't do any exercise.

If you chose 2 lbs, that is the most aggressive goal and probably not appropriate. Typically with 75 lbs to lose you are right on the borderline as "maybe" able to pull off 2 lbs per week. But you are also aiming for the absolute bottom of the healthy weight range for your height. Try starting with a goal of 1.5 lbs per week, and once you get within 40-50 lbs of goal, switch it to 1 lb per week.

IMHO the best place to start with "what to eat" is take a week or two and just eat what you would normally eat. Weigh out your portions, log accurately and consistently, and see if you can hit your calorie goal that way. Start to look over your diary - where do you waste calories? what foods fill you up? on days you hit your goal easily, is there one macro that was particularly high or low? Just keep tweaking and adjusting until you find your sweet spot. And read the stickies at the top of each board as well, lots of great info.

Good luck!

RodaRose

Change to one pound a week.

cmriverside

I don't know, I'm going to go with this: If you weigh 180 at 5'2" I would stick with "Lose 2 pounds per week," for a while, like the first 30 pounds at least. I know it's hard in the beginning, but losing weight is a big adjustment and if you want to weigh a healthy weight you do have to buckle down.

Take a walk for 30-45 minutes at least five days a week, add that to your Exercise tab and you'll get enough calories added to your goal that it will be reasonable, plus exercise tends to dull appetite.

JMcGee2018

cmriverside wrote: »

I don't know, I'm going to go with this: If you weigh 180 at 5'2" I would stick with "Lose 2 pounds per week," for a while, like the first 30 pounds at least. I know it's hard in the beginning, but losing weight is a big adjustment and if you want to weigh a healthy weight you do have to buckle down.

Take a walk for 30-45 minutes at least five days a week, add that to your Exercise tab and you'll get enough calories added to your goal that it will be reasonable, plus exercise tends to dull appetite.

I'd say that 1lb/week is not unreasonable for that height and weight. Where she is right now, if she is lightly active her TDEE is 2048 calories (I put in that she was 30, actual age will affect this somewhat). To lose 1lb/week she would need to eat 1500 calories/day. If she wants to get down to 135lbs, which would be the high end of a normal BMI range (I don't know her goal, either), her TDEE at that presumed goal weight would be 1768/day. Getting used to eating at 1500 cal/day (or less) is probably what she'll need to do to maintain her future weight, assuming she wants some freedom at maintenance to splurge some days and cut others.

For me, I'd cut closer to 1200-1300 unless I was more active, because I like the freedom to splurge now and then without it undoing my entire week's deficit, or have my deficit of only 250/day (half a lb/week) thrown off because I miscounted my calories).

jgnatca

Try weighing and logging your meals for a day just the way you ate now. What was the total calories for the day, and how did your macros shake out ?