what should my macros be to lose 1lb a week?

beatles4ever2009

so i have started my journey 2 years ago, on and off, as is life, but i am ready to start again. at my heaviest i was 258 lbs. I got to 215 lbs but hurt my foot and now i am at 230 lbs. I want to be more serious about weight loss. anyway, I am at a loss as to where i can change my meals.

AnnPT77

For weight loss alone, macros only matter to the extent that a certain macro mix keeps your appetite manageable so you can stick to a sensible calorie level, and/or keeps your energy level up so you don't drag through the day burning fewer calories because of fatigue. Fat gain/loss alone is directly about calories.

Macros specifically, and nutrition generally, are more about health.

The MFP default macros are an OK starting point for most people as long as they don't cut calories silly-far in pursuit of very fast weight loss. There's no getting adequate nutrition on too-few calories.

Beyond that, protein and fat contain essential nutrients we need to eat, because our bodies can't manufacture them on its own. Carbs are more flexible. For that reason, I usually treat protein and fat goals as minimums, let carbs fall where they may to balance calories. But that's just me.

Some people have health conditions that require them to monitor one or more of the macros more closely. You don't mention that. Some examples are diabetes, alpha-gal syndrome, insulin resistance; but there are others.

Let MFP give you a calorie goal to lose a pound a week, then follow that for one full menstrual cycle if you have those, to compare body weight at the same relative point in at least two different cycles. Then you can adjust your calorie goal if necessary to fine-tune loss rate to a pound a week. If you don't have cycles, 4-6 weeks trial period is usually reasonable.

While you're in the trial period, I'd suggest focusing first on hitting close to the goal calories (like +/- 50 calories daily on average) while staying mostly full and happy so it isn't a struggle. Once you're kind of dialed in on that, that's plenty soon enough to review your diary, see where you're ending up - on average, again - compared to the default macro split. Exact isn't necessary, close should be OK, but if persistently low on protein or fats, try to bump that up a bit by changing routine eating patterns until it falls into place.

Along the way, you can also notice how certain combinations of foods or macros make you feel in terms of energy level, fullness, etc.; and you can also learn more about nutrition and begin adjusting your macro goals if necessary or desirable.

This is a process, not some kind of magic spell that needs to be exact from day one, or failure will happen. It's more like a search for sustainable eating and activity habits that will not just let us stick with it long enough to lose a meaningful total amount of weight, but also help us learn how to stay at a healthy weight happily long term, ideally forever.

In that context, routine habits are a power tool for success. That one rare day when I eat too much cake, or work out for 5 hours, is a drop in the ocean. The routine day-in, day-out habits are the ocean. Focus there.

Give yourself some grace if there are some bumps in the road as you figure this out. As long as you keep thinking about how to make your plan more realistic, health-promoting and doable, and modify tactics accordingly, you'll do fine. Only giving up the effort torpedoes long-term success.

Best wishes!

totameafox

Hello

I was born disabled. I am not an athletic person. While I 'exercise' it isn't enough to even worry about how many calories I have burned. I do it because when I was a child my doctor told me if I allowed pain to stop me from moving, I would lose the ability to move. So you can lose weight without exercise. You can also eat very well on 1200+ calories. I eat as much volume of food if not more than I did before I started working on weight loss.

I use eggs, cheese, chicken, turkey, tuna, salmon and sometimes beef for protein. But I also eat Lettuce, corn, rice, carrots, zucchini, green beans, peas, onion, bell pepper, pasta and chia seeds.

I make salads, casseroles even zucchini pizza. I hate cooking but I have put in the effort to try to find different recipes that I can meal prep with. You can do this. Just try to learn a little more each day and put in as much movement as you can, however you can.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/147555-speak-friend-and-enter