HELP!! Newbie to 50/30/20

hatfielda74

Newbie here. I am having the hardest time trying to tailor my nutrition to the 50/30/20 concept. I have searched and searched for a meal plan that would show me what this looks like because I. HAVE. NO. CLUE. I am on a daily maximum calorie goal of 1450. Trying to lose about 45lbs this year. I have been working out 6 days a week but the nutrition part is really confusing me. My previous diet was mostly Whole 30 so now I don't know what to do!

janejellyroll

Are you logging now? If so, you should be able to see how far you're off from your goals and begin adjusting your meals accordingly.

kshama2001

What were your macros on Whole30? I tried to google this and couldn't find anything. Is it higher fat and lower carb? In that case, log what you are eating and tweak to get higher carb and lower fat.

lemurcat2

W30 is basically hardcore paleo. No special macros, but no grains, legumes, or dairy (and no added sugar, no alcohol). Used to be no potatoes, but they changed it. It does not have to be but often is lower carb as a result.

I recommend seeing what your numbers are now and then adjusting if you want. There's really nothing special about 50/30/20 -- you'll want to make sure you are close to hitting the protein and calories and that you aren't way under either. If you have more carbs, less fat (or the other way around), it doesn't really matter so long as you aren't hungry. (I do think hitting fiber can be important for many.)

jamespeck89

I do IIFYM, the first thing I do is try to at least map out my breakfast and lunch, then use that to figure out what I have left for the rest of the evening. For example, I use 101/200 carbs, 52/67 fat, and 75/150 Protein. that tells me I need to find a way to fit almost 100 grams carbs, and 75 grams Protein, but need to keep my fat low, 15 grams. I know it sounds like it's confusing, but it just requires a little homework to figure out what you like and how to fit that into your daily food. That will provide the structure it looks like you are looking for.

Good luck and keep up the good work.

amy19355

hatfielda74 wrote: »

Newbie here. I am having the hardest time trying to tailor my nutrition to the 50/30/20 concept. I have searched and searched for a meal plan that would show me what this looks like because I. HAVE. NO. CLUE. I am on a daily maximum calorie goal of 1450. Trying to lose about 45lbs this year. I have been working out 6 days a week but the nutrition part is really confusing me. My previous diet was mostly Whole 30 so now I don't know what to do!

1. Decide what you want to eat for the meal.
2. Open MFP and go to “add food”
3. Find the first food item in the database.
4. Weigh the amount you plan to eat.
5. Log it; don’t eat it yet.
6. Repeat for all the items you want for the meal.
7. Don’t eat anything yet.
8. Go to the nutrition/macros tab.
9. Look at the pie chart.
10. Go back and adjust the food portions as needed to make that pie chart line up with your targets.

That might look like a lot of work, and, the first few times, it is a little clumsy and slow, but, it gets quicker and easier over time.

The trick is check ahead of time by logging it as if you ate it.

You can adjust any entry with the edit function to reflect what you finally end up with on your plate.

Good luck.

AnnPT77

This is not something you have to get correct on day one, so don't panic. You're not malnourished yet, right?

Log your eating for a few days, and try to stay in your calorie goal. Then look back at your few days log data. See where you tend to be over what you'd prefer, or under what you'd prefer, by a significant amount. (No need to sweat a gram or four here or there: It doesn't need to be exact.) Then:

1. Notice where you have relatively higher calorie foods that aren't contributing well to macros you need (especially any foods that aren't hyper-tasty to you personally, or really satiating - maybe things you're just mostly eating out of habit). These are opportunities to reduce that food, or find a lower calorie substitute, to free up calories.
2. Notice cases where you are way over your desired macro goal, on average. These are your opportunities to reduce foods high in that macro, again freeing up calories for #3. (Again, consider satiation and tastiness/pleasure.)
3. Notice cases where you're way under your desired macro goal, on average. These are you opportunities to better "spend" the calories you freed up via #1 & #2.

So, gradually remodel your eating in a positive direction. Every few days, review and repeat the process. Before you know it, you'll be where you want to be, no need for stress or drama.

If you need to identify foods with certain characteristics, search in the forums, ask Google, post yourself ask in the forums. (Example: "What are high protein low fat foods?")

Don't eat things you don't like: It shouldn't be necessary for most people (but it's good to try new things, if you don't know whether you like them . . . who knows, they might be great). Don't fall for myths about individual "superfoods" or evil foods: Look at the calories, nutrition, satiety, and tastiness in the context of your own personal preference and in the context of your overall way of eating. There is no one good or bad food; it's all about context and dosage.

Best wishes!

hatfielda74

Wow! Thank you for all the advice! I have already taken a few and implemented them. I will try not to stress too much about it, it is after all, a journey.

cmriverside

Also, 50/30/20 is just a guideline. Eat the way you like to eat. I'm nearly always over on fat and under on carbs. It has always worked fine for me for both weight-loss and maintaining that loss for ten years now.