Macros?

sarahwinston2

Any tips on whether I should follow a 1268 cal diet or a 1482 one? I'm getting differing answers online. I'm a sedentary 27 y/o female, 5'3", 124 lbs, looking to lose body fat and get fit.

AnnPT77

WIthout specifically answering your question:

Some online "calculators" estimate your all-day calorie burn from all activity, including intentional exercise. This "all day activity" is also known as TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). They take a cut off from that, for weight loss.

MFP (plus a few others) is different: It estimates the number of calories you'd burn routinely without intentional exercise (this is known as NEAT, or non-exercise energy thermogenisis).

These two different approaches yield different base calorie goals, and have different assumptions.

With a TDEE estimate (and subtraction to allow weight loss), you're intended to eat the same calories every day, because your planned exercise is included, averaged over the week. (The risk is that if you skip the exercise, weight loss may not happen).

With MFP's NEAT estimate, you're intended to log intentional exercise when you actually do that exercise, and eat more on those days.

At your current weight, you're at BMI 22, close to the middle of the healthy range. IMO, your best bet would be either slow loss at 0.5 lb/week, or recomposition (eat at maintenance calories, train to improve body composition).

There's information about the latter option here:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat

That's a great option, for best aethetics, if that's your goal.

Best wishes!

P.S. I'm 5'5", mid-130s pounds, and 1200 calories was way too low for me when I was around mid 150s pounds at age 59. This stuff is very individual, but as you're solidly in the healthy BMI range, I'd encourage you to consider recomposition: Eating at maintenance, working on increasing muscle mass. That's usually a pretty sweet spot for aesthetics and long-term well being. (P.S. I'm 64. That's pretty long term, compared to your age. ).

sarahwinston2

Thanks! I guess my question is what eating at maintenance would be?

cmriverside

sarahwinston2 wrote: »

Thanks! I guess my question is what eating at maintenance would be?

You'll have to do some experimenting.

Online calculators are just a starting point. If you know how they work and you answer their questions honestly, you should be able to get an answer within a couple hundred calories.

Then you do what we ALL have to do. You use those numbers, log food and adjust if needed.

For me (like Ann) the calculators (all of them) are wrong in a pretty big way. I've been at Maintenance weight for over a decade and I eat 500 calories per day MORE than any of the calculators suggest I should.

AnnPT77

sarahwinston2 wrote: »

Thanks! I guess my question is what eating at maintenance would be?

If the question is how to determine the calorie level to maintain weight, there's a thread about that here:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10638211/how-to-find-your-maintenance-calorie-level/p1

Adtamayo2695

I’ve been struggling with the same. I kept getting different answers on the online calculators and then came across Gaugegirlfitness on Youtube. She basically broke it all down and explained the formula etc and it helped me finally figure out how to figure out my macros. Check it out. If you are confused - which honestly, so was I, shoot me a message and I can help you out. Took me a week to understand all the math but i finally get it haha

Luke_rabbit

Everyone is different, but here is an example near to you.

I am 5'3", 122 lbs, and 55 years old. My maintenance calories are in the 1600-1700 range. I get about 10k steps (life + walking as exercise) a day and do yoga 2 days a week.

I have some serious issues with joints and connective tissue (tendons and ligaments) so I'm gentle about exercise. 10 years ago I was doing more exercise including strength training and had more muscle but weighed the same, I would estimate that my maintenance calories were about 100 - 200 calories more. I didn't track using MFP then, but my diet is basically the same, only a little less.

xxxpopeyexxx

how much weight/fat are you looking to lose? how many calories were you consuming before?