Micronutrients percentages

bradleysatchel7838

Hey my name is Bradley. I'm currently 322lbs. I'm having a hard time trying to figure out what I should set my micronutrients percentages at. I want to do a low carbohydrate, high protein diet. But I'm needing to know how many grams I should eat each day for carbohydrates, proteins and fats to be more effective at losing weight.

dmmadonna

Hi everyone.....I'm 52 and am starting the keto diet but I am struggling with how many calories to have per day and how to set up my macros. Can anyone help? Currently 156lbs, goal is 135lbs by October 1st.

AnnPT77

Put your personal data (age, weight, etc.) into your MFP profile. Set your activity level in your profile based on your life before intentional exercise, i.e., things like your job, home chores, etc. Pick a weight loss rate that's no more than 1% of your current weight weekly. In Bradley's case, 2 pounds a week should be fine.

In Donna's case, I'd suggest 1 pound a week. (I don't like deadline-type weight loss goals**, but a pound a week would get you to your goal on your desired schedule, even with some slowing down toward the end (which would be wise to do). (** Because we can't control outcomes. Process goals, like "I'll log my food daily" are better, in that we can control those things. If we do the process reasonably, good outcomes will follow. The timeline can vary a bit.)

Based on al of that, MFP will give you a calorie goal. That's your starting point.

When you exercise (if you do - strictly speaking, it's optional, but good for a body) - log your exercise and eat those calories, too.

Better yet, if you have a good brand/model of fitness tracker that's compatible with MFP, synch it to MFP and enable negative calorie adjustments, then eat whatever your adjusted eating goal may be. (Since a tracker may create multiple adjustments and readjustments through the day, don't worry if you're a little off at end of day; averaging over a few days is fine, and close is good enough anyway).

Based on your calorie goal, MFP will also give you nutrient goals. They're a good starting point for most people; you can tweak them later, if needed. However, if you want to do keto, or low carb/high protein, it's fine to lower the carb goal to the level you want, then fill in with extra protein and/or fats to hit the needed calorie level. (Presumably you know that keto isn't essential for weight loss, but if you like it, it's fine - some people like it. People lose weight without doing it, though - I did.)

Follow the calorie goal for 4-6 weeks (a little over/under is fine; stay close, maybe +/- 50 calories on average, as averaged over a few days to a week).

If the first couple of weeks look odd (in terms of weight loss results), ignore those and go another couple of weeks. (Sometimes the first week or two have weird water weight fluctuations in them, that can distort what's happening with body fat.)

Then, when you have a reasonable 4+ week, figure out your average actual weekly weight loss over that time period. (If you're adult, female, not yet in menopause, look at whole cycles, i.e., compare weight at the same relative point in at least 2 different cycles. Hormonal water retention fluctuations can also mislead.)

If your average weekly weight loss is pretty close to what you were shooting for, keep going. If you lost too fast (can create health risks), eat a bit more. If you lost slower, eat a bit less. To figure out how much more or less, assume that 500 calories a day makes roughly a pound a week difference in fat loss.

I hope that makes sense. Best wishes!

P.S. to Bradley: The nutrient goals don't directly affect body weight. That's all about calories.

However, nutrients can have an indirect effect. For example, sub-par nutrition may make us fatigued, so we burn fewer calories in daily life or exercise; or it may spike our appetite, make it hard to stick with calorie goal long enough to lose meaningful amounts of weight. But those are indirect effects on weight, working through calories as the direct mechanism.