Newbie here protein carbs fat??

Melissa_mojo

Hi everyone newbie here I am 39 yrs old 5’3 and aprox 129 lbs I’m skinny fat BAD I noticed I need to set my protein % carbs and fat to determine my intake on a daily basis. How do I determine this? I’ve searched google only to get more confused and frustrated. I want to tone and lose fat build some muscle. I just started back at the gym today since being closed for three months. I’d say my body fat percent is in the 30% range ☹️ I’ve never been able to tone just get skinnier. I slowed down cardio and started lifting weights, well at least what I can do which isn’t super heavy. Please help!

deannalfisher

For majority of ppl MFP default calories work fine - log as consistently as possible; eat back portion of MFP exercise calories (base cals don’t include purposeful workouts)

AnnPT77

Calories are what count for weight loss. Nutrition is important for health. Specifically, getting enough protein is a factor in strengthening muscles. Getting enough fat is important for hormonal balance, cellular healthy, good digestive throughput, and more.

The MFP defaults are a good start. You don't have to be exact on macros every day, close is fine (ditto for calories). Over on fat or protein is OK, as long as the other of those two isn't consistently very low as a consequence.

You can work on improving your nutrition gradually: If you didn't start the process with a diagnosed-by-doctor deficiency, you have time to tweak your eating to hit the macro goals, over a period of a few weeks or so, without worrying about major malnutrition. First, get so you're comfortable (feeling satiated and happy) eating close to the MFP defaults, then you can learn more and tweak them if you want to.

BTW: "Heavy lifting" means lifting what's heavy for you, not some imaginary bodybuilder. Furthermore, it can be good to start at light-to-moderate (for you) weights until you have gotten to the point where good lifting form is diialed in, as an injury avoidance strategy. It's a learning process, and you're doing fine. :flowerforyou:

Best wishes!

mmapags

How often are you doing weight training and are you hoping to build some muscle? If so, I'd suggest .8 grams of protein per lb of body weight and, for a woman, at least .35 grams of fat per lb of body weight (For hormonal health. Men can get away with a little less) and let carbs fill in the rest.

It's a little tricky with MFP because, unless you have premium, it's set in %. Just get it close and when you log exercise, it isn't necessary to eat more fat and protein.

I really think the MFP defaults are typically ok but a little more protein for weight training is helpful for recovery and muscle protein synthesis.

ecjim

At 5'3" 129 lbs , I wouldn't worry about gaining or loosing weight but more like a re- comp. Set your MFP cals to maintain your weight. Eat 130 gms of protien per day , a minimum of 50 gms fat , and the rest can be carbs or what ever. For weight training look at Starting Strength, Grey Skull LP. and Strong Curves. Pick the one you like and follow it. Track your weight & how you look in the mirror, you may have to adjust your cals up or down. If you follow this you will drop some fat and add some muscle. Adding muscle can be a slow process.