Help for a newb

DaNkinator

So I'm new to using the Myfitnesspal app. A little history, I am very serious about trying to lose weight and get my diabetes under control.

Because I'm a type 2 diabetic, my first choice was to cut the carbs. I also joined the gym and have been going about 3-4 times per week. At work, I walk on my breaks, So I usually get in about 4-5 miles per day in walking. All of this has had a huge effect on my sugar levels, they're all in range of exactly where they should be, which I'm absolutely thrilled about. I've also worked on portion control and just no over eating.

But the draw back has been, that I haven't lost much weight at all. This has been very frustrating and discouraging...

So I've set my goals and I guess the app calculates what you're calorie intake should be, and then breaks it down based on carbs, protein, and fat. However, the carb amount seems to be super high (276g) and I'm just not sure how this all works. How do macros work? Can I adjust my calories to something different (lower) than the suggested amount? How do I figure out "calories deficit"?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

MichelleSilverleaf

MFP gives you a deficit based on the stats you inputed, the level of activity you chose and how much weight you want to lose per week. So whatever number the app gave you is the number you're supposed to eat to. Macros can be adjusted, I believe there's a manual way to change it but I don't know where/how. That being said by tracking your food you'll be able to see how many carbs you're eating and just eat to the number you prefer. Weighing and tracking your food will help you begin to see weight loss.

magnusthenerd

MFP calculates an estimated amount of calories to get you to lose weight, and then uses a standard way to distribute those calories between the 3 macronutrients (technically alcohol is a 4th): carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. All calories you take in come from one of those 3 things. MFP has a default breakdown that follows general guidelines on it - the carbohydrate level will therefore be set towards someone without special dietary needs.

You should be able to adjust your macro distribution at the same calorie deficit - lowering carbohydrates will increase your fats and proteins.

thanos5

fellow type 2 here, i feel your pain! i believe you can click 'edit goals' and modify whatever percentages mfp gives you. i think out of the box they give you like 40 or 45% carbs? i switched mine to 30 carbs 30 fat 40 protein but kept the calorie recommendation mfp gave me

cwolfman13

DaNkinator wrote: »

So I'm new to using the Myfitnesspal app. A little history, I am very serious about trying to lose weight and get my diabetes under control.

Because I'm a type 2 diabetic, my first choice was to cut the carbs. I also joined the gym and have been going about 3-4 times per week. At work, I walk on my breaks, So I usually get in about 4-5 miles per day in walking. All of this has had a huge effect on my sugar levels, they're all in range of exactly where they should be, which I'm absolutely thrilled about. I've also worked on portion control and just no over eating.

But the draw back has been, that I haven't lost much weight at all. This has been very frustrating and discouraging...

So I've set my goals and I guess the app calculates what you're calorie intake should be, and then breaks it down based on carbs, protein, and fat. However, the carb amount seems to be super high (276g) and I'm just not sure how this all works. How do macros work? Can I adjust my calories to something different (lower) than the suggested amount? How do I figure out "calories deficit"?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

MFP defaults to 50% carbohydrate if I remember correctly. You can manually change your macros to whatever you like.

kimny72

You can manually reset your macro distribution. MFP just gives you a standard generic one, because macros don't directly affect weight loss. They are personal preference or affected by health conditions, which MFP doesn't and can't get involved with.

If you set up your profile with a goal of losing weight, the goal MFP gave you already has your deficit in it, so there is no reason to eat less than that. This post might be useful as well:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

Congrats on getting your numbers headed in the right direction and good luck!

1BlueAurora

I edited my macros when my doctor said to keep carbs at 100 g. The calorie allowance is the same, I just eat more protein.

DaNkinator

kimny72 wrote: »

You can manually reset your macro distribution. MFP just gives you a standard generic one, because macros don't directly affect weight loss. They are personal preference or affected by health conditions, which MFP doesn't and can't get involved with.

If you set up your profile with a goal of losing weight, the goal MFP gave you already has your deficit in it, so there is no reason to eat less than that. This post might be useful as well:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

Congrats on getting your numbers headed in the right direction and good luck!

Everyone has been super helpful, so thanks to all of you!

InsertFunnyUsernameHere

DaNkinator wrote: »

So I'm new to using the Myfitnesspal app. A little history, I am very serious about trying to lose weight and get my diabetes under control.

Because I'm a type 2 diabetic, my first choice was to cut the carbs. I also joined the gym and have been going about 3-4 times per week. At work, I walk on my breaks, So I usually get in about 4-5 miles per day in walking. All of this has had a huge effect on my sugar levels, they're all in range of exactly where they should be, which I'm absolutely thrilled about. I've also worked on portion control and just no over eating.

But the draw back has been, that I haven't lost much weight at all. This has been very frustrating and discouraging...

So I've set my goals and I guess the app calculates what you're calorie intake should be, and then breaks it down based on carbs, protein, and fat. However, the carb amount seems to be super high (276g) and I'm just not sure how this all works. How do macros work? Can I adjust my calories to something different (lower) than the suggested amount? How do I figure out "calories deficit"?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

There is no min/max for carbs. They are irrelevant for most people (obviously not you if you're diabetic). In general, just worry about meeting your daily minimums for fat and protein and then you can fill up the rest of your calories with any combination of fat, protein, and carbs as you want.

fat (min) = 0.35 (g/lb) * bodyweight (lb) = minimum number of grams of healthy fats to shoot for.
protein (min) = 1 (g/lb) * LBM = minimum number of grams of protein to shoot for.

LBM is lean body mass. You need to estimate your BF% to derive this. Look at photos of various BF% or get yourself measured. LBM = (100% - BF%) * bodyweight (lb)

Once you meet those minimums, you can fill out the remainder of your calories however you want.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/833026/important-posts-to-read/p1

e.g., let's say you weigh 185lbs and your BF% is 22% and you have your calories set at 1600.

fat (min) = 0.35 * 185 = ~65g
protein (min) = 1 * ((100% - 22%) * (185)) = 1 * (78%) * (185) = ~145g

since 1g fat = 9 cals and 1g carbs = 1g protein = 4 cals, this means:

65 * 9 + 145 * 4 = 1165 cals will be spent on fats and protein
1600 - 1165 = 435 cals remaining

You can eat whatever mix of fats/protein/carbs you want in those remaining 435 calories.

The protein goal may seem a little high. For people not trying to build muscle, but just retain it while losing weight, you can probably go lower. For people trying to gain weight and muscle mass, you can probably get better results going higher. There's a lot of debate about what is the right amount of protein and when it should be ingested, so you can google for that info if you're interested. Since protein costs more than fats/carbs, you can save money by not eating more protein than you need. The excess just ends up excreted and wasted.

DaNkinator

InsertFunnyUsernameHere wrote: »

There is no min/max for carbs. They are irrelevant for most people (obviously not you if you're diabetic). In general, just worry about meeting your daily minimums for fat and protein and then you can fill up the rest of your calories with any combination of fat, protein, and carbs as you want.

fat (min) = 0.35 (g/lb) * bodyweight (lb) = minimum number of grams of healthy fats to shoot for.
protein (min) = 1 (g/lb) * LBM = minimum number of grams of protein to shoot for.

LBM is lean body mass. You need to estimate your BF% to derive this. Look at photos of various BF% or get yourself measured. LBM = (100% - BF%) * bodyweight (lb)

Once you meet those minimums, you can fill out the remainder of your calories however you want.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/833026/important-posts-to-read/p1

e.g., let's say you weigh 185lbs and your BF% is 22% and you have your calories set at 1600.

fat (min) = 0.35 * 185 = ~65g
protein (min) = 1 * ((100% - 22%) * (185)) = 1 * (78%) * (185) = ~145g

since 1g fat = 9 cals and 1g carbs = 1g protein = 4 cals, this means:

65 * 9 + 145 * 4 = 1165 cals will be spent on fats and protein
1600 - 1165 = 435 cals remaining

You can eat whatever mix of fats/protein/carbs you want in those remaining 435 calories.

The protein goal may seem a little high. For people not trying to build muscle, but just retain it while losing weight, you can probably go lower. For people trying to gain weight and muscle mass, you can probably get better results going higher. There's a lot of debate about what is the right amount of protein and when it should be ingested, so you can google for that info if you're interested. Since protein costs more than fats/carbs, you can save money by not eating more protein than you need. The excess just ends up excreted and wasted.

Thanks. I have a few questions based upon this..

1.) What exactly do you mean by "minimum number of grams of healthy fats to shoot for"? Specifically, what you mean by "healthy fats"?

2.) Using your equation, I want to see if I understand correctly -
fat (min) = 0.35 (g/lb) * 239 (lb) = 83.65 grams to shoot for?
protein (min) = 1 (g/lb) * LBM = minimum number of grams of protein to shoot for. I used a LBM calculator which told me approximately 161 lbs. So I'd set my protein intake at 161 grams?

DaNkinator

I actually am still a bit confused. My goals are set as the following -


Calories
1743
Carbohydrates 20 %
88 g
Fat 43 %
83 g
Protein 37 %
161 g

I did this by Using the fat min equation of at (min) = 0.35 * 240 (my weight) = 84
And Protein: 1 x 240 x 0.67 (LBM) = 161g x 4 calories = 643 calories divided by 1740 (calorie target) = 37%

It just seems to me that the fat intake is really high?

kimny72

DaNkinator wrote: »

I actually am still a bit confused. My goals are set as the following -


Calories
1743
Carbohydrates 20 %
88 g
Fat 43 %
83 g
Protein 37 %
161 g

I did this by Using the fat min equation of at (min) = 0.35 * 240 (my weight) = 84
And Protein: 1 x 240 x 0.67 (LBM) = 161g x 4 calories = 643 calories divided by 1740 (calorie target) = 37%

It just seems to me that the fat intake is really high?

That's a lot of maths

What I generally see suggested here is 0.3g of fat and 0.6-0.8g of protein per lb of your goal body weight. So don't use your current weight, use what your healthy weight would be. And regardless, it's just something to keep in mind, not anything earth shattering. You'll find differing opinions on where these numbers should sit.

Having said that, I don't think 80g fat is all that high Just play around with it until you are feeling satisfied at the right calories and feeling good.

InsertFunnyUsernameHere

DaNkinator wrote: »

I actually am still a bit confused. My goals are set as the following -


Calories
1743
Carbohydrates 20 %
88 g
Fat 43 %
83 g
Protein 37 %
161 g

I did this by Using the fat min equation of at (min) = 0.35 * 240 (my weight) = 84
And Protein: 1 x 240 x 0.67 (LBM) = 161g x 4 calories = 643 calories divided by 1740 (calorie target) = 37%

It just seems to me that the fat intake is really high?

I would disregard macro ratio thinking. It's meaningless and makes meal planning really difficult. Your body needs a certain amount of fat and protein every day to perform all of its functions. Once you meet those goals, you're done worrying about macros for the day. Figure out your minimum daily fat and minimum daily protein and monitor those when you log. It's much easier. If you're in the ballpark from day to day, you're fine. If you're off by 40g-50g or so, then make some dietary changes so that you are getting enough.

Healthy fats are good for you. Unhealthy fats (e.g. trans fats) should be avoided.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-truth-about-fats-bad-and-good

80g fat and 160g protein as a daily goal is typical. If you're not lifting heavy to add mass on a surplus, you probably don't even need 160g, but there is MUCH debate about the right amount for the average Joe. Keep in mind, competitive bodybuilders and power lifters often eat 300g of protein a day.

DaNkinator

Another question that has come up for me. With my daily excessive built in, my allowance for calories - carbs, protein and fat all go up. So even if I stick to my goal for the day, I don't hit the recommended amount with the exercise built in. Will that cause me to stall and not get the results that I want?

Megan_smartiepants1970

Are you doing the MFP way of things? If you are doing the MFP way they do not add exercise in so you are suppose to eat your exercise calories back..some people eat only 50% of them back due to overestimating the calories burned....Also a fellow diabetic(type II) I am on a keto diet which means I eat very low carb.....May I suggest you play around with the amount of carbs to see what fits you....some people do 100g, some do 50g etc. Wishing you the very best on your journey....Feel free to add me as a friend if you would like

DaNkinator

Megan_smartiepants1970 wrote: »

Are you doing the MFP way of things? If you are doing the MFP way they do not add exercise in so you are suppose to eat your exercise calories back..some people eat only 50% of them back due to overestimating the calories burned....Also a fellow diabetic(type II) I am on a keto diet which means I eat very low carb.....May I suggest you play around with the amount of carbs to see what fits you....some people do 100g, some do 50g etc. Wishing you the very best on your journey....Feel free to add me as a friend if you would like

I am using the app, but I did edit my macros because what MFP suggested was super high in carbs for me. But I have the app connected with my fitbit, which tracks my steps daily. Because of this, it adjusts my calories. So they go up. It just confuses me that it suggests that I eat those calories back, how am I to be in a deficit and thus able to lose weight?

kimny72

DaNkinator wrote: »

Megan_smartiepants1970 wrote: »

Are you doing the MFP way of things? If you are doing the MFP way they do not add exercise in so you are suppose to eat your exercise calories back..some people eat only 50% of them back due to overestimating the calories burned....Also a fellow diabetic(type II) I am on a keto diet which means I eat very low carb.....May I suggest you play around with the amount of carbs to see what fits you....some people do 100g, some do 50g etc. Wishing you the very best on your journey....Feel free to add me as a friend if you would like

I am using the app, but I did edit my macros because what MFP suggested was super high in carbs for me. But I have the app connected with my fitbit, which tracks my steps daily. Because of this, it adjusts my calories. So they go up. It just confuses me that it suggests that I eat those calories back, how am I to be in a deficit and thus able to lose weight?

Because your original calorie goal already has your deficit. If you tell MFP you want to lose 1 lb per week, and it gives you a let's say 1800 cal goal, that cal goal is already a 500 cal deficit. If you exercise for say 300 cals and don't eat them back, you are now at an 800 cal deficit and will lose faster than you intend.

DaNkinator

kimny72 wrote: »

DaNkinator wrote: »

Megan_smartiepants1970 wrote: »

Are you doing the MFP way of things? If you are doing the MFP way they do not add exercise in so you are suppose to eat your exercise calories back..some people eat only 50% of them back due to overestimating the calories burned....Also a fellow diabetic(type II) I am on a keto diet which means I eat very low carb.....May I suggest you play around with the amount of carbs to see what fits you....some people do 100g, some do 50g etc. Wishing you the very best on your journey....Feel free to add me as a friend if you would like

I am using the app, but I did edit my macros because what MFP suggested was super high in carbs for me. But I have the app connected with my fitbit, which tracks my steps daily. Because of this, it adjusts my calories. So they go up. It just confuses me that it suggests that I eat those calories back, how am I to be in a deficit and thus able to lose weight?

Because your original calorie goal already has your deficit. If you tell MFP you want to lose 1 lb per week, and it gives you a let's say 1800 cal goal, that cal goal is already a 500 cal deficit. If you exercise for say 300 cals and don't eat them back, you are now at an 800 cal deficit and will lose faster than you intend.

Thank you! Now it makes sense.

EmHorn4

DaNkinator wrote: »

Megan_smartiepants1970 wrote: »

Are you doing the MFP way of things? If you are doing the MFP way they do not add exercise in so you are suppose to eat your exercise calories back..some people eat only 50% of them back due to overestimating the calories burned....Also a fellow diabetic(type II) I am on a keto diet which means I eat very low carb.....May I suggest you play around with the amount of carbs to see what fits you....some people do 100g, some do 50g etc. Wishing you the very best on your journey....Feel free to add me as a friend if you would like

I am using the app, but I did edit my macros because what MFP suggested was super high in carbs for me. But I have the app connected with my fitbit, which tracks my steps daily. Because of this, it adjusts my calories. So they go up. It just confuses me that it suggests that I eat those calories back, how am I to be in a deficit and thus able to lose weight?

Based on this, I'd recommend you try to eat to what the original goals are for the day (set by MFP and/or by you), and then do not eat your exercise calories/macros back. You might start to see some scale movement then. (Just so you are aware, the philosophy "to eat, or not to eat your calories back" is a huge discussion topic across MFP, so if you want to go down that rabbit hole there is plenty of opinions out there!) For me, I work a desk job but I get out for walks on occasion, and I go to the gym 3-4 days a week. Even with that, I picked my MFP lifestyle as "sedentary" and set weight loss at 0.5lbs per week. Then, I still eat towards the original calorie/macro goal without accounting for the calorie increase that is auto-adjusted into MFP from Fitbit.

The other option as far as Fitbit is concerned is to just turn off the auto-updates into MFP so that it doesn't come in and increase your cals, but I personally get satisfaction out of seeing those numbers come in. I have committed to memory what my calories and macros intake should be for any given day, so for me, seeing the increase from Fitbit activity doesn't mess me up. It really comes down to understanding how MFP works and then finding your own way of managing the numbers that works best for you. Good luck!

ETA: I started working with a nutritionist last July and and eating macros with a focus on protein in order to continue to gain muscle while also losing weight. They recommend I stick strictly to my macro plan and do not eat back any macros due to exercise. So far I'm down 17lbs on this plan and seeing a lot of PRs in the gym (so presumably still gaining muscle). Slow and steady!

InsertFunnyUsernameHere

DaNkinator wrote: »

Another question that has come up for me. With my daily excessive built in, my allowance for calories - carbs, protein and fat all go up. So even if I stick to my goal for the day, I don't hit the recommended amount with the exercise built in. Will that cause me to stall and not get the results that I want?

No. This is why I think trying to adhere to macro ratios is ridiculous. You get energy from food. As that energy is mostly extracted from fats and carbs, proteins are generally broken down into amino acids that your body uses for various functions. If the body doesn't have fats and carbs to break down, then proteins can be used for energy as well. However, that's a bit of a waste because protein is expensive ($$$). This is what happens if you eat too much protein... it just gets wasted. Just eat your daily minimums. If you do extra exercise that increases your TDEE on the day, you just need a source for the extra energy. That can either be from stored glycogen, fat deposits, or more food intake.

Your body stores glycogen, mostly in muscles, for ready use as energy. When that is depleted, or if it cannot be used fast enough, it will start using stored fat and/or muscle. If you don't eat enough to constantly replace the glycogen, you'll be in a deficit. That's why fat reserves shrink when you eat less than you burn (CICO). If your TDEE is too high for your calorie intake due to extra exercise and you feel hungry, you can eat back some or all of those extra calories. MFP assumes you will eat back all, but this is a personal decision.

Carbs are cheapest and also most readily converted to energy. Fats and protein will work too, but you pay more ($$$) for those than carbs. It's your choice though and it doesn't have to follow your macro ratio because the point of these extra calories is simply extra energy (assuming you already met your fat and protein minimums).