How to calculate calories and protein I need?

DeeGee82fal

Hi just starting off on the app and thinking about setting my target calories and protein with an aim to lose 1 stone/6.4 kg gradually.

How do I figure out how many grams of protein and calories per day that are actually tailored to me without randomly plucking numbers from thin air?

Any reliable websites that can help me set these?

yirara

With only so little to lose you should go with the guided setup and set your weightloss goal to 1/2lbs (1/4kg) per week, maaaybe just about 1lbs (0.5kg) per week. For weightloss you only need to reduce calories. Macros are for health, satiety and being happy with what you eat. You could stick with the general macros for now and just see where you end up. If you prefer more protein or fat, then just eat more. Maybe change the settings for macros by hand.

frhaberl

I second @yirara's suggestions. The calories and macro targets you will get after walking through the set up on MFP are a decent starting place. I would worry less about sticking with the macro targets vs the calorie target. Try that out for a few weeks and see how you're feeling. If you are starting with a small calorie deficit (I agree that a 250 calorie/day - 0.5 lb/week target is good for gradual and sustainable weight loss) then you should see about a 2-3 lb loss over a 4-6 week period. If you're concerned after 4-6 weeks about your rate of loss, you can check back here for advice.

On the macro side of things, it's good to see what your "normal" macro splits are when eating the same things you currently do, but with portion sizes that meet your calorie targets. If you're feeling hungry with that ratio, it can often be helpful to increase the protein percentage. Some people also find that increasing fat provides more satiety. And there's also the option to keep splits the same but focus on the type of carbs you're eating - reducing simple sugars and increasing complex carbs.

I used MFP about 20 years ago to lose 60+ lbs and found that I had more "hungry days" when I dropped my fat percentage too low. This time around I've found that increasing protein and making sure I hit my fiber target have helped me stay satisfied on the number of calories it takes to lose 0.5-1lb/week. I aim for >100g protein and >25g fiber/day. It doesn't take any special effort to hit my fiber target, but I do have to be intentional to hit my protein target within my calorie allotment. It has me choosing a bit more chicken in my salad instead of croutons, or snacking on turkey jerky instead of a crackers, but I find I don't feel as hungry, so I don't miss the carbs I'm trading for protein.

Retroguy2000

If you're lifting weights a lot, aim for at least 0.7g per pound protein. If you aren't, then around 0.5g should be fine. Aim for that as a gram goal for the day, not as a % of total calories.

Lietchi

For protein I like this evidence based calculator:
https://examine.com/protein-intake-calculator/