Macros vs calories

Cat_A_89

Should I be focusing on my macros right now or just make sure I stay within my calories? The app has my protein pretty low and carbs higher than Id expect. 69g for protein and 134g for carbs, does this sound right?

heybales

Depends on your goal which you failed to mention.

Like weight loss?
Lifting workouts?

And the default settings are decent enough, but higher protein can be beneficial for several reasons, especially in a diet.

Because really - hitting macros will hit calories anyway - if food items in database you use are accurate.
Hence, it's not even a "vs" situation, as if you could do one without the other.

Panini911

it's not one or the other. it's both.

For weight loss calories are king. you need to eat at a calorie deficit regularly over time to lose weight. (or for weight GAIN, eat at a calorie surplus)

For overall health satiety (feeling full) and health you want a decent balance on the macros. a good amount of protein and fat but the percentage will vary by pereson on what keeps them "full". some people need more protein, others more carbs, others more fat. there is no one solution, do what works for you. may mean testing things out.

personally I used the defaults given by MFP. I eat at the recommended calories (with exercise) and then ensure i get enough protein daily. i don't watch carbs. i do ensure i get enough fat (i tend to eat low fat to get more volume)

Cat_A_89

My goal is weightloss im currently 225 at 5'2 and would like to lose around 90 pounds.

lemurcat2

The defaults at 1200 are 150 g carbs, 60 g protein, and 40 g fat, so you must have adjusted it somewhat.

That said, at 1200, I think the protein goal is a little low for most (1200 is a goal too low for many, but it might work for you as you are only 5'2 -- I ate 1250 for a while and then 1250+exercise calories, once I had meaningful exercise calories, and I was 5'3 and had a lot to lose).

My preference for protein when losing is at least 0.65-0.85 g per lb of a healthy goal weight. At 5'2 you could use 115 as a healthy goal weight (I'm just picking middle of the BMI range or thereabouts), and that would suggest a protein range of around 75 g at min, and could easily be higher (I had a 90 g min when doing low cals).

134 g is not high for carbs, under 150 g is often considered somewhat lower carb. But with such low cals you have to cut cals somewhere so if you wanted to adjust to have higher protein and lower carbs that might work for you. You could also cut a bit from fat to allow for the protein although I wouldn't go low fat personally.

The important thing for weight loss is of course calories.

Scottgriesser

Then you really only need to worry about cals.

You will naturally lose muscle mass when eating at a deficit, but having an appropriate protein amount will help retain as much as possible. Carbs/fats are up to you and what you enjoy eating and will be able to stick to.

Weight loss comes down to 2 things:
1. attaining a caloric deficit
2. maintaining a caloric deficit

Cat_A_89

lemurcat2 wrote: »

The defaults at 1200 are 150 g carbs, 60 g protein, and 40 g fat, so you must have adjusted it somewhat.

That said, at 1200, I think the protein goal is a little low for most (1200 is a goal too low for many, but it might work for you as you are only 5'2 -- I ate 1250 for a while and then 1250+exercise calories, once I had meaningful exercise calories, and I was 5'3 and had a lot to lose).

My preference for protein when losing is at least 0.65-0.85 g per lb of a healthy goal weight. At 5'2 you could use 115 as a healthy goal weight (I'm just picking middle of the BMI range or thereabouts), and that would suggest a protein range of around 75 g at min, and could easily be higher (I had a 90 g min when doing low cals).

134 g is not high for carbs, under 150 g is often considered somewhat lower carb. But with such low cals you have to cut cals somewhere so if you wanted to adjust to have higher protein and lower carbs that might work for you. You could also cut a bit from fat to allow for the protein although I wouldn't go low fat personally.

The important thing for weight loss is of course calories.

Nope nothing adjusted. MFP gave me 1380 calories daily. These are the defaults that I got.

diannethegeek

I think it's safe and probably advisable to start watching just calories. Macros are more of a guideline than a rule and people survive and thrive and lose weight on all kinds of different macro splits. As you progress, you'll be able to keep an eye on your macros and see if there are trends or if you want to adjust at all. But calories are king for weight loss so unless you have other reasons for watching your macros it's fine to skip that for now, imo.

MikePTY

You can adjust your macros as you see fit. The macros are defaulted at 50% carbs/30% fat/ 20% protein. They will work fine for most people but there is nothing special about them. A lot of us choose to up our protein percentage.

lemurcat2

Cat_A_89 wrote: »

lemurcat2 wrote: »

The defaults at 1200 are 150 g carbs, 60 g protein, and 40 g fat, so you must have adjusted it somewhat.

That said, at 1200, I think the protein goal is a little low for most (1200 is a goal too low for many, but it might work for you as you are only 5'2 -- I ate 1250 for a while and then 1250+exercise calories, once I had meaningful exercise calories, and I was 5'3 and had a lot to lose).

My preference for protein when losing is at least 0.65-0.85 g per lb of a healthy goal weight. At 5'2 you could use 115 as a healthy goal weight (I'm just picking middle of the BMI range or thereabouts), and that would suggest a protein range of around 75 g at min, and could easily be higher (I had a 90 g min when doing low cals).

134 g is not high for carbs, under 150 g is often considered somewhat lower carb. But with such low cals you have to cut cals somewhere so if you wanted to adjust to have higher protein and lower carbs that might work for you. You could also cut a bit from fat to allow for the protein although I wouldn't go low fat personally.

The important thing for weight loss is of course calories.

Nope nothing adjusted. MFP gave me 1380 calories daily. These are the defaults that I got.

That shouldn't be right. At 1380, MFP's defaults would be 172 (or 173) g carbs, 69 g protein (that one makes sense), and 46 g fat. Can you double check the carbs (and fat) numbers? 134 g carbs is less than 40% at 1380, and MFP would not give that as a default.