Need help with macros!

sojcherb
sojcherb Posts: 23 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm trying to listen to my trainers advice but am feeling frustrated. Have been on Weight Watchers for a long time and recently have not been losing. I am 5'6" and weigh 193. Would like to be at 180. Have been training 3x week for 8 years. My trainer says to eat 1800-200 calories a day, 150g protein, 100g carbs and 88g fat. I eat a lot of veggies which is taking up my carbs budget and not getting me to the calorie amount. Also, because I have a poor relationship with food this is making me a bit anxious. I need advice. Help!

Replies

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    edited March 2023
    Hm. It's not your macros...At your height and weight I'd say you should be losing weight anywhere from 1800-2000 if you are doing regular exercise. Your macros look reasonable. How sure are you about the actual food you're actually eating, though?

    It's usually logging errors. If you would open your FOOD page up for us to view we could check for common errors. ( FOOD > Settings >Public > Save )

    Have you been logging food diligently? Using a food scale? Logging Everything? Every day? It's all about staying within your intake goals...so if you get that dialed in you will most likely start losing. If not, then you'd need to lower calories, obviously. At 1800-2000 you can't afford many mistakes, and we all make them. A couple hundred calories in logging mistakes can erase weight loss. Measuring cups and spoons are big problems, so are estimating meat portions. Heck, the store bread I buy is often off by 25 or more calories per slice when I weigh it on the food scale.

    Here:

    You're probably eating more than you think:
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10012907/logging-accuracy-consistency-and-youre-probably-eating-more-than-you-think/p1

    and Logging instructions from a few years back (the USDA database has changed a little since then, but I have confidence you can learn how it works in about 10 seconds. Use the "SR Legacy" list now on USDA):
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1

  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 1,872 Member
    You don't have to worry about the macros so much. Focus on calories and protein in particular. Eat all the veggies you want. That 150g protein sounds like plenty. Is the 1800-2000 range targeting a certain weekly weight loss?
  • sojcherb
    sojcherb Posts: 23 Member
    @cmriverside I thought I was tracking quite accurately on the Weight Watchers app but with the free foods you can easily go over.

    @Retroguy2000 when you say to eat all the veggies I want, you are still staying to stay within the calorie range, right?
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    edited March 2023
    sojcherb wrote: »
    @cmriverside I thought I was tracking quite accurately on the Weight Watchers app but with the free foods you can easily go over.

    @Retroguy2000 when you say to eat all the veggies I want, you are still staying to stay within the calorie range, right?

    Oh, Weight Watchers...

    Try logging your actual food here on Myfitnesspal using a food scale.

    You are going to be shocked at how much you have been eating.

    **edit to answer for Retroguy :wink: yes you can go over with fruits and vegetables too..but you'll learn by logging on here just how many calories each has. I mean, I still weigh most vegetables. I can guesstimate on really low cal ones like lettuce, celery, broccoli - but not all of them. For instance I know the approximate portion my salad bowl holds so lettuce is easy. Things like avocado, potatoes, carrots, peas, I definitely weigh them. I weigh my fruits.
  • sojcherb
    sojcherb Posts: 23 Member
    For me the problem is that it's not completely sustainable to always weigh and measure foods. I really don't buy much takeout or rely on eating out but occasionally I do and in those cases you have to guesstimate.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    edited March 2023
    sojcherb wrote: »
    For me the problem is that it's not completely sustainable to always weigh and measure foods. I really don't buy much takeout or rely on eating out but occasionally I do and in those cases you have to guesstimate.

    Well it's not All or Nothing! If you did it for a while you would teach yourself the portions and amounts. It doesn't have to be forever, but you did ask for a solution to your no-weight loss dilemma - and it isn't your macros. How about doing it as much as you can just to learn the numbers. Everyone has the odd meal out and can't log or has to estimate.

    It takes me one or two minutes per meal to weigh then log food. It's no different than the two minutes I also spend to brush my teeth. I write it on a scrap of paper next to the food scale in the kitchen and log it later. Some people log the whole day beforehand and then edit if necessary or if the day changes. If I'm out I take a picture or just remember it when I get home.

    Up to you, though. Some people lose weight with WW, some don't log at all.
  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 1,872 Member
    sojcherb wrote: »
    For me the problem is that it's not completely sustainable to always weigh and measure foods. I really don't buy much takeout or rely on eating out but occasionally I do and in those cases you have to guesstimate.
    Maybe it's just me, but I have a select list of preferred meals from preferred restaurants. I know what I like. Once it's been entered once into MFP, it's there forever. Takes literally seconds. For that first time, maybe they don't have a nutrition guide so you have to estimate based on other sources. After that, it takes seconds.
  • StaciInGa
    StaciInGa Posts: 60 Member
    You don't have to weigh your food. But if you're not losing weight then you are eating at a level that sustains your current weight. (I'm assuming you are not gaining weight - if so you're eating more than your body needs so at a surplus.) Either you are burning less than estimated or eating more than you think. Weighing and accurately logging will help figure out how much you truly are eating.

    Calories matter for weight loss.
  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 2,248 Member
    sojcherb wrote: »
    I'm trying to listen to my trainers advice but am feeling frustrated. Have been on Weight Watchers for a long time and recently have not been losing. I am 5'6" and weigh 193. Would like to be at 180. Have been training 3x week for 8 years. My trainer says to eat 1800-200 calories a day, 150g protein, 100g carbs and 88g fat. I eat a lot of veggies which is taking up my carbs budget and not getting me to the calorie amount. Also, because I have a poor relationship with food this is making me a bit anxious. I need advice. Help!
    in your weekly calorie burning, your training calories are very minor. Your NEAT (normal day to day movements) are going to be a lot more important to look at.

    Figure how many calories you’ve been eating and lower that amount my a few hundred a day and in a month review how that has affected your weight and adjust if needed. Anecdotal calories eaten by others is not something to pay much attention as their lifestyle and inaccuracy in counting and tracking their calories will vary greatly.

    Bottom line is if you’re not losing over time then you are not in a calorie deficit. You most likely will need to be below 1,800 a day to lose.

  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,318 Member
    WW with free foods encourages you to make, let's call it better decisions for people who are trying to regulate their total calories mostly based on food choices.

    Sort of like if I'm not going any faster than the other cars on the highway I probably won't get a speed ticket.

    If you log every single item that you eat by weight and accurately before you open your mouth and allow it inside, then you're driving on that same highway with an eye on your calibrated speedometer and another eye on every single speed sign. Much harder to go over the speed limit without knowing.

    It's perfectly legitimate to be losing using a small deficit, In fact, for many people, I think it's much more sustainable than trying for larger deficits.

    But finesse requires more accuracy.

    Nothing is free, including items LABELED as zero calorie, when consumed in sufficient quantities. The zero calorie label applies to a 4.5 Cal per gram item if you can sell the customary portion as 0.5g -- think of non stick spray. What happens when you use 5g (which is a good coating for one of my pots)?

    Sure, you're guessing when you eat out. But you don't have to guess when you eat in.

    If you want to guess all the time you can always drop your calorie budget.

    I prefer to spend my budget to the max... as long as I still get the results I want. So I log. Carefully.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    There are mistakes that people commonly make that cause them to not lose weight that we might be able to spot if you change your Diary Sharing settings to Public: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings
  • sojcherb
    sojcherb Posts: 23 Member
    @PAV8888 For a couple of days I logged what I was eating on WW against calories on MFP. It was eye opening to see that I was hitting 1800 calories and sometimes going over using the free foods on WW. The only thing that makes me anxious with MFP is logging calories from veggies, which are bumping up my carbs. I don't want to feel guilty about having a bigger salad. This is what I liked about WW - that you can combine tracking and not tracking certain foods - but it hasn't been working for me for a while so obviously I have to make a change.

    @kshama2001 I need to know more about the public settings. Are you saying that if I make my diary public I will get comments from members about what I'm eating?


  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,691 Member
    edited March 2023
    You generally won’t get comments on a public diary unless you’ve asked for them.

    Logging is really pretty easy. Humans are creatures of habit. I just logged all the way through Friday. Other than dinners, I just hit “copy” and add breakfasts, meals, and my same beloved snacks to my diary. Easy peasy.

    For my salad, I have a base salad in meals that I can click a button to add to my diary. Then I can easily adjust quantities of carrots, cherry tomatoes etc, and add whatever meat or protein du jour Ieft over from the previous day’s dinner.

    If you look at my lunches, you can see I easily copied the tomato soup with chicken sausage from dinner Wednesday to lunches Thursday and Friday.

    Tomorrows salad is a simple click of “Mel’s salad” saved in meals list, because I make it so often.

    There’s no such thing as free food. There’s a lot of folks here who will tell you they were obese vegans and vegetarians. Everything that crosses your lips has a value. Even items we perceive as negligible add up. (Hello, carrots! That one was a surprise to my husband.)
  • sojcherb
    sojcherb Posts: 23 Member
    @springlering62 Yes, I'm shocked about how many carbs carrots have. I just hope I'm guesstimating my salad properly. I make a huge salad for my husband and myself several times a week so I'm taking an estimate of how much of everything is in each salad.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    sojcherb wrote: »
    @springlering62 Yes, I'm shocked about how many carbs carrots have. I just hope I'm guesstimating my salad properly. I make a huge salad for my husband and myself several times a week so I'm taking an estimate of how much of everything is in each salad.

    Why are you limiting carbs? Carbs from whole fruit and vegetable isn't something to fear.

    Your original post was about macros...100g of carbs is pretty low...why 100g? I mean, why not 150g? When I was in weight loss mode I was eating around 150g carbs. It doesn't stop weight loss.
  • sojcherb
    sojcherb Posts: 23 Member
    @cmriverside I must have my diary set wrong. I was playing with the percentages and couldn't get it quite right. I got those numbers from my trainer but perhaps I need to tweak it somewhat.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    edited March 2023
    Yeah, 150g protein is probably a bit overkill.

    My macros are just set to the default of 50% carbs 30% fat 20% protein, and then I eat proportionally more when I exercise. I am set to 85g protein but shoot for 100-120g, for instance.
  • sojcherb
    sojcherb Posts: 23 Member
    @cmriverside I just adjusted it to 30% protein 35% fat and 35% carbs which comes to 140g protein, 70g fat and 150g carbs.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    edited March 2023
    sojcherb wrote: »
    @cmriverside I just adjusted it to 30% protein 35% fat and 35% carbs which comes to 140g protein, 70g fat and 150g carbs.

    That sounds really good!
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,691 Member
    sojcherb wrote: »
    @springlering62 Yes, I'm shocked about how many carbs carrots have. I just hope I'm guesstimating my salad properly. I make a huge salad for my husband and myself several times a week so I'm taking an estimate of how much of everything is in each salad.

    I think you’ve stated your issue in a nutshell, sweetie. 😘

    My base salad is 152 calories for a mixing bowl sized salad of greens, radishes, carrots, cucumbers, and cherry tomatoes. If I’m low on one ingredient or feel like extra radishes (still waiting for watermelon radish season to come in!) I can pull that “salad entry” over to my diary and adjust each ingredient afterwards.

    FEIW….Folks also fail to pay attention to the add ins. Just a couple of servings of roasted edamame, feta, chopped bacon, or (and especially) dressings easily add up to more than the salad itself.

  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,691 Member
    edited March 2023
    PS: choose macros that work for you. I thrive in super high protein. I’d chew my arm off with high carb.

    …..As evidenced by the last couple weeks overseas, where we were so frantically busy I survived on chocolate bars and crusty bread sandwiches. The more I ate the more I craved.

    Learn to pay attention to what satiates you the most, not necessarily what a trainer or random internet person like me suggests. You’re all that matters in this equation.

    My philosophy is, I eat a darn sight better now than I did five years ago, and that in itself is a HUGE win, even if macros might be wonky or I’m simply passing out extra protein.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    springlering62 wrote: »
    PS: choose macros that work for you. I thrive in super high protein. I’d chew my arm off with high carb.

    …..As evidenced by the last couple weeks overseas, where we were so frantically busy I survived on chocolate bars and crusty bread sandwiches. The more I ate the more I craved.

    Learn to pay attention to what satiates you the most.

    well, chocolate bars and crusty bread are like crack.

    JS.

    150g of carbs is perfectly reasonable if it's carrots and salad. I bet your day of chocolate and bread was 500g of carbs.

    I'm the same way with sweets and wheat bread, but I can eat most other grains in a responsible way.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,691 Member
    edited March 2023
    cmriverside wrote: »
    springlering62 wrote: »
    PS: choose macros that work for you. I thrive in super high protein. I’d chew my arm off with high carb.

    …..As evidenced by the last couple weeks overseas, where we were so frantically busy I survived on chocolate bars and crusty bread sandwiches. The more I ate the more I craved.

    Learn to pay attention to what satiates you the most.

    well, chocolate bars and crusty bread are like crack.

    JS.

    150g of carbs is perfectly reasonable if it's carrots and salad. I bet your day of chocolate and bread was 500g of carbs.

    I'm the same way with sweets and wheat bread, but I can eat most other grains in a responsible way.

    Random sample. You weren’t far off. 😇

    giv6wh8atyvj.jpeg

    The absolutely crazy thing is, I didn’t gain anywhere near what I calculated. I’m so invested in numbers I’m usually right on the money down to the pound when returning from these trips. Ain’t complaining but, dang, I guess I was working even harder than I realized, and burnt through a lotta lotta calories.

    Sometimes weight management feels like weather forecasting. Best guess, no guarantees.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    edited March 2023
    @springlering62 LOL at your sugar, fiber, and fat.

    I do that probably twice a month and don't gain. The bigger problem is when I do it for a month and a half over the Holidays and then, yeah, I do gain.

    Still tryna get rid of that :no_mouth:

  • drjeff0609
    drjeff0609 Posts: 17 Member
    Retroguy2000 wrote: »
    You don't have to worry about the macros so much. Focus on calories and protein in particular. Eat all the veggies you want. That 150g protein sounds like plenty. Is the 1800-2000 range targeting a certain weekly weight loss?
    Retroguy2000 wrote: »
    You don't have to worry about the macros so much. Focus on calories and protein in particular. Eat all the veggies you want. That 150g protein sounds like plenty. Is the 1800-2000 range targeting a certain weekly weight loss?
    Retroguy2000 wrote: »
    You don't have to worry about the macros so much. Focus on calories and protein in particular. Eat all the veggies you want. That 150g protein sounds like plenty. Is the 1800-2000 range targeting a certain weekly weight loss?

    Solid advice

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