really confused about macros

its_cleo
its_cleo Posts: 544 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So the title sums it up. My goals are common- lose weight, build muscle. Activity- weight lifting 2-3 x a week. Run or other cardio approx 3 times a week.

For a long while I have focussed primarily on CICO and protein. I eat approx .8 grams of protein per lb. I think that is slightly more than recommended but it has worked for me, and I have seen some benefits. Also it fluctuates so some weeks less.

Recently looking at carbs and fats. I'm confused how to estimate how many of these I need. I don't like special diets, I'm just looking for what is a healthy general balance. My splits vary over the last month. I'm thinking 30% carbs, 40% fats, 30% protein. That is slightly less carbs than currently, and slightly more protein.

But that is arbitrary and based on how I feel. I noticed I eat a bit less overall when my fats are up, like it seems to kill my appetite a little afterward....

I can google and I have, but there's a million different approaches. (Also FYI my fat intake is from cheese, nuts, avocado, etc. and I do eat meat. Pretty much everything. )

Replies

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
    edited August 2019
    its_cleo wrote: »
    So the title sums it up. My goals are common- lose weight, build muscle. Activity- weight lifting 2-3 x a week. Run or other cardio approx 3 times a week.

    For a long while I have focussed primarily on CICO and protein. I eat approx .8 grams of protein per lb. I think that is slightly more than recommended but it has worked for me, and I have seen some benefits. Also it fluctuates so some weeks less.

    Recently looking at carbs and fats. I'm confused how to estimate how many of these I need. I don't like special diets, I'm just looking for what is a healthy general balance. My splits vary over the last month. I'm thinking 30% carbs, 40% fats, 30% protein. That is slightly less carbs than currently, and slightly more protein.

    But that is arbitrary and based on how I feel. I noticed I eat a bit less overall when my fats are up, like it seems to kill my appetite a little afterward....

    I can google and I have, but there's a million different approaches. (Also FYI my fat intake is from cheese, nuts, avocado, etc. and I do eat meat. Pretty much everything. )

    That's because there is no singular optimal macro ratio. This is a lot of hand wringing over something that is not particularly important to anything other than your personal performance and preferences.

    ETA: I do quite a bit of endurance training on my bike...I'd wager that probably 50% or more of my diet is from carbohydrates as I also eat a substantially plant based diet. A bodybuilder would likely have a different optimal macro split.
  • todds404
    todds404 Posts: 16 Member
    its_cleo wrote: »
    So the title sums it up. My goals are common- lose weight, build muscle. Activity- weight lifting 2-3 x a week. Run or other cardio approx 3 times a week.

    For a long while I have focussed primarily on CICO and protein. I eat approx .8 grams of protein per lb. I think that is slightly more than recommended but it has worked for me, and I have seen some benefits. Also it fluctuates so some weeks less.

    Recently looking at carbs and fats. I'm confused how to estimate how many of these I need. I don't like special diets, I'm just looking for what is a healthy general balance. My splits vary over the last month. I'm thinking 30% carbs, 40% fats, 30% protein. That is slightly less carbs than currently, and slightly more protein.

    But that is arbitrary and based on how I feel. I noticed I eat a bit less overall when my fats are up, like it seems to kill my appetite a little afterward....

    I can google and I have, but there's a million different approaches. (Also FYI my fat intake is from cheese, nuts, avocado, etc. and I do eat meat. Pretty much everything. )

    In general, you shouldn't base your protein intake on percentages. A good rule of thumb is to consume 1 g of protein per 1 lb of goal body weight. Then 20-30% of total calories go to fats and the rest to carbs.
  • nighthawk584
    nighthawk584 Posts: 1,992 Member
    Right now I found a good balance that works for me and still stay within my calorie deficit. 35C 35F 30P ....I was restricting my carbs really low for the first few months, but now adjusting them up a bit the fitter I get. I seriously don't know how fans of KETO can stay that low with C, probably the reason most of them fail. You are taking the right approach, stay away from fad diets!
  • MikePTY
    MikePTY Posts: 3,814 Member
    its_cleo wrote: »
    So the title sums it up. My goals are common- lose weight, build muscle. Activity- weight lifting 2-3 x a week. Run or other cardio approx 3 times a week.

    For a long while I have focussed primarily on CICO and protein. I eat approx .8 grams of protein per lb. I think that is slightly more than recommended but it has worked for me, and I have seen some benefits. Also it fluctuates so some weeks less.

    Recently looking at carbs and fats. I'm confused how to estimate how many of these I need. I don't like special diets, I'm just looking for what is a healthy general balance. My splits vary over the last month. I'm thinking 30% carbs, 40% fats, 30% protein. That is slightly less carbs than currently, and slightly more protein.

    But that is arbitrary and based on how I feel. I noticed I eat a bit less overall when my fats are up, like it seems to kill my appetite a little afterward....

    I can google and I have, but there's a million different approaches. (Also FYI my fat intake is from cheese, nuts, avocado, etc. and I do eat meat. Pretty much everything. )

    That is as good a reason to choose a macro percentage as any. Unless you have specific medical needs, or are training for elite athletic competition, outside of getting a decent intake of protein your macro percentage can be whatever you want it to be.
  • its_cleo
    its_cleo Posts: 544 Member
    Ok thanks all for the check. I just wanted to make sure I wasnt doing anything terrible. I also dont want to spend hours trying to monitor it.

    So I will keep with really watching CICO and protein, and may tinker with eating more fats depending how I feel.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,027 Member
    Some minimum of fats is also important. Personally, I like 0.35-0.45g per pound of healthy goal weight, but some say 0.3g. You need some to absorb fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K); to maintain healthy cell structure; for hormonal balance (especially true for women); and they smooth digestive throughput. It's useful to get a fair fraction as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats (nuts, seeds, avocados, olive oil, and that sort of thing), and to get some Omega-3s (some nuts, fatty fish, etc.).

    I'm not sure why fats are often de-emphasized in importance here, but I suspect it has something to do with many people not having much difficulty getting an adequate minimum. For me, it's the macro I'm most often low on, and I don't do well if I lowball them.

    Macros are somewhat flexible though, and carbs are probably the most flexible. If they spike your appetite or cravings, eating less may be helpful; if your energy tanks with lower carbs, eating more may be helpful; but those are individual issues, not core nutritional ones.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Some minimum of fats is also important. Personally, I like 0.35-0.45g per pound of healthy goal weight, but some say 0.3g. You need some to absorb fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K); to maintain healthy cell structure; for hormonal balance (especially true for women); and they smooth digestive throughput. It's useful to get a fair fraction as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats (nuts, seeds, avocados, olive oil, and that sort of thing), and to get some Omega-3s (some nuts, fatty fish, etc.).

    I'm not sure why fats are often de-emphasized in importance here, but I suspect it has something to do with many people not having much difficulty getting an adequate minimum. For me, it's the macro I'm most often low on, and I don't do well if I lowball them.

    Macros are somewhat flexible though, and carbs are probably the most flexible. If they spike your appetite or cravings, eating less may be helpful; if your energy tanks with lower carbs, eating more may be helpful; but those are individual issues, not core nutritional ones.

    This is me. I'm never low on fat. I go with the 0.3 number (and focus on type of fat over total amount). That gives me a minimum of about 36 g, and I'd have to work to get there. (My natural diet is pretty much 30P-30F-40C when I just eat what I want and eat reasonable cals.)

    In that the typical US diet is something like 35% fat (at a high cal level), I don't think it's surprising that many people don't have to think about hitting a fat min.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,961 Member
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Some minimum of fats is also important. Personally, I like 0.35-0.45g per pound of healthy goal weight, but some say 0.3g. You need some to absorb fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K); to maintain healthy cell structure; for hormonal balance (especially true for women); and they smooth digestive throughput. It's useful to get a fair fraction as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats (nuts, seeds, avocados, olive oil, and that sort of thing), and to get some Omega-3s (some nuts, fatty fish, etc.).

    I'm not sure why fats are often de-emphasized in importance here, but I suspect it has something to do with many people not having much difficulty getting an adequate minimum. For me, it's the macro I'm most often low on, and I don't do well if I lowball them.

    Macros are somewhat flexible though, and carbs are probably the most flexible. If they spike your appetite or cravings, eating less may be helpful; if your energy tanks with lower carbs, eating more may be helpful; but those are individual issues, not core nutritional ones.

    This is me. I'm never low on fat. I go with the 0.3 number (and focus on type of fat over total amount). That gives me a minimum of about 36 g, and I'd have to work to get there. (My natural diet is pretty much 30P-30F-40C when I just eat what I want and eat reasonable cals.)

    In that the typical US diet is something like 35% fat (at a high cal level), I don't think it's surprising that many people don't have to think about hitting a fat min.

    Me, too. I have a minimum fat goal, but the occasions that I fall below it are literally about once in a blue moon, so it doesn't seem worth the mental bandwidth to worry about hitting it. Most days I am significantly over my minimum, often double the minimum, so the rare day when I fall 10 to 20 % short doesn't seem worth worrying about.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Some minimum of fats is also important. Personally, I like 0.35-0.45g per pound of healthy goal weight, but some say 0.3g. You need some to absorb fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K); to maintain healthy cell structure; for hormonal balance (especially true for women); and they smooth digestive throughput. It's useful to get a fair fraction as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats (nuts, seeds, avocados, olive oil, and that sort of thing), and to get some Omega-3s (some nuts, fatty fish, etc.).

    I'm not sure why fats are often de-emphasized in importance here, but I suspect it has something to do with many people not having much difficulty getting an adequate minimum. For me, it's the macro I'm most often low on, and I don't do well if I lowball them.

    Macros are somewhat flexible though, and carbs are probably the most flexible. If they spike your appetite or cravings, eating less may be helpful; if your energy tanks with lower carbs, eating more may be helpful; but those are individual issues, not core nutritional ones.

    i'm one of those weird ones who often struggles on fats...lol! i have to keep fat heavy food options around ebcause i'll often come up 20-30g short of mine (no issues hitting carbs or protein, but those fats)...

Categories