Macros?

jwolmfp

Hi all,

Today was my first day tracking, I went over by about 150 calories. I was really snacky (sure, that's a word) after dinner and ended up going over. In my defence, I'm used to eating a whole lot more so it may take me a bit to get used to 1200 calories:) My question is, how much to macros matter? I noticed I went over quite a bit on carbs. I have my diary open and would love any help. My stats are:

5'4" Tall
starting weight 152.0
goal weight 138.0

Please be gentle

michikade

Macros matter more for body composition than general weight loss. To just lose weight, all you need is for your input to be lower than your output.

HOWEVER, to retain lean body mass (muscles, bone, tendons and ligaments, etc) it's better to eat in a more balanced way. Your macros may be off in MFP (mine were when I got back on the wagon), but general opinion is that one should consume .8 gram to 1 gram per pound of lean body mass you have in protein, just under half that in fat, and the rest of your calories in carbs. Frankly, I don't see anything wrong with what you ate today, but I personally feel that your protein macro is set low for your height and weight. I may have subbed out that blueberry muffin for some, say, cottage cheese and blueberries instead, but hey, your food choices were pretty dang good for a first crack at it (good lord, girl, I want a blueberry muffin now!)

For someone of your height, weight and goal weight, however, I personally don't think that you need to try to only eat 1200 calories. You can eat more than that and still lose weight, and I would deffo suggest a strength training plan to help with body composition and to help retain muscle mass (note: this is in no way trying to discourage you and I don't know your basal metabolic rate or personal activity level - but I just don't necessarily think that 1200 is the end-all golden number. If you go for 1200, make sure it's net calories - meaning that you eat back your exercise calories - to make sure you're getting enough fuel)

michikade

Also - if you feel real snacky (hehehe) maybe try some protein based snacks. Protein will help you feel fuller longer because they take a bit longer to digest than carbs do. Just throwing that out there.

jwolmfp

Thank you so much for your input I'll pick up some protein snacky things tomorrow. I'll grab some cottage cheese and plain greek yogurt. Any other suggestions on how to up my protein?

AJ_G

First, why are you eating 1200 calories a day? Let me guess, you entered your info into MFP and chose an aggressive rate for weight loss and MFP spit out a goal of 1200 calories a day because that's the absolute lowest they'll tell anybody to go? Am I on the right track so far? If you set too aggressive of a weight loss goal you're going to end up being hungry all the time and you will end up going on one or more binges.

Secondly, as far as macros go, your carb goal is set to 172g per day. I eat 2000 calories a day and my carb goal is 184g a day. That right there shows you how absurdly low your protein goal is. A couple guidelines for macros:

Dietary Fat - You should be consuming a minimum of 0.4g per pound of body weight. Set your fat goal to 60g and use that as a minimum.

Dietary Fat is very important. It is responsible for hormone production, absorption of fat-soluble vitamins and minerals, brain and organ function, as well as skin and hair health.

Protein - You should be consuming a minimum of 0.8g of protein per pound of body weight. Set your protein goal to 120g a day and use that as a minimum.

Protein is important for muscle synthesis. Adequate protein intake ensures that you are getting the maximum potential for muscle synthesis.

Carbohydrates - Fill the rest of your calories with carbohydrates after you have set your protein and fat goal.

Carbohydrates are your body's preferred fuel source for high intensity exercise because it is easier and faster for your body to break down stored carbohydrates for energy than it is for your body to break down stored fat for energy.

jwolmfp

First, why are you eating 1200 calories a day? Let me guess, you entered your info into MFP and chose an aggressive rate for weight loss and MFP spit out a goal of 1200 calories a day because that's the absolute lowest they'll tell anybody to go? Am I on the right track so far? If you set too aggressive of a weight loss goal you're going to end up being hungry all the time and you will end up going on one or more binges.

Secondly, as far as macros go, your carb goal is set to 172g per day. I eat 2000 calories a day and my carb goal is 184g a day. That right there shows you how absurdly low your protein goal is. A couple guidelines for macros:

Dietary Fat - You should be consuming a minimum of 0.4g per pound of body weight. Set your fat goal to 60g and use that as a minimum.

Dietary Fat is very important. It is responsible for hormone production, absorption of fat-soluble vitamins and minerals, brain and organ function, as well as skin and hair health.

Protein - You should be consuming a minimum of 0.8g of protein per pound of body weight. Set your protein goal to 120g a day and use that as a minimum.

Protein is important for muscle synthesis. Adequate protein intake ensures that you are getting the maximum potential for muscle synthesis.

Carbohydrates - Fill the rest of your calories with carbohydrates after you have set your protein and fat goal.

Carbohydrates are your body's preferred fuel source for high intensity exercise because it is easier and faster for your body to break down stored carbohydrates for energy than it is for your body to break down stored fat for energy.

Thanks for the info, I didn't think I set my weight loss goals too aggressively, I set it to lose 1 lb per week. I'll take your advice on setting my fats and proteins. How many calories do you recommend? I sit at a desk all day

AJ_G

Thanks for the info, I didn't think I set my weight loss goals too aggressively, I set it to lose 1 lb per week. I'll take your advice on setting my fats and proteins. How many calories do you recommend? I sit at a desk all day

Well given your sex, height, weight, and age your calculated BMR is 1377 calories. Your BMR is the amount of calories your body burns just surviving basically (brain and organ function, respiration, metabolic function, etc.). This basically means that if you were to go into a coma and you didn't move an inch all day, you'd burn an estimated 1377 calories a day. Based on that, I think that 1400 calories a day would be a good starting point for a calorie goal. Even though sit at a desk all day, you burn more calories than being in a coma.

stacked

good info in here!

Sadi_Kalen

have you visited any websites to calculate your actual daily requirements, based on all your factors? sorry if you have already done so but i highly recommend

http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

this will give you the actual number of calories you need to consume to continue losing weight. you will have 3 sets of numbers based on your information: BMR (basal metabolic rate - the base amount of calories your body needs to survive in a coma) TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) which is basically your caloric requirement for maintaining your current weight and the last number is the amount of calories needed to lose weight. i think it's important to not go under your BMR rate too much as the body will then panic and believe you are starving and start to hold onto the fat! mine started at over 1500 calories per day and it haz since lowered to just under 1400 calories as i'm losing weight really effectively since upping the calories from 1200 to 1400. yours will be different taking into account your age, gender, starting weight and fitness levels.

if you like eating nuts - cashews, almonds and walnuts are powerhouses of healthy protein and fats that will help up your macros and calories to healthy levels while providing nutrients that are essential to help your body burn the fat. don't be afraid of healthy dietary fats from plant sources especially. also, if you are not allergic to eggs they are incredibly filling. i have an egg & cheese tortilla for lunch or dinner sometimes and it keeps me going for hours! not sure if my food diary is open or not for you to read (i'm new here) but feel free to check out what i eat every day. i have lost 11lb in 5 weeks - 2 pounds a week on average and this is the first time dieting haz ever worked for me.

as for snacking... i hear you! i waz a chronic snacker in the late hours when i gained all my weight and to remedy it i've taken to drinking a LOT more water during the day and after hours. i find drinking water can help resolve the desire to snack.

welcome to MFP! there's plenty of nice and helpful people here that may help you out better than i can.

sabaraba

Do you still eat you exercise calories back since upping to 1400? I too think about upping them to 1400 or even more, since the caloriecalculator from scooby told me to eat 1800 calories a day to lose weight. ( 25% calorie reduction ). But I'd still eat my calories I burned from exercises back..otherwise I'd be netting under 1200.

icrushit

Unless you're eating in a way where carb restriction is necessary, I would say just make sure you hit your protein target every day, and don't worry about your carb and fat intake, as long as you come in under your overall calorie target every day. Of course the more that your intake is composed of foods with good amounts of fat and protein, the more filling you should find what you're eating. Complex carbs should keep you full longer also, as with fibre-rich food, fibre being also important for many other things too, so would keep an eye that you are somewhere near the 25g for women or the 38g for men that is recommended.

Re: protein, personally I find the minimum amounts of protein often recommended here to be quite high, and personally am happy once my protein falls somewhere between what health organisations recommend for the average person, and the level of protein recommended here by many, which is more in line with what bodybuilders recommend.

jwolmfp

Okay, I've upped my calories to 1400 and adjusted my protein and fat. This is going to take me a while to get used to!

sabaraba

Are you now eating 1400, or netting 1400? - Means, eating exercise calories back too.

jwolmfp

I'm going to try netting 1400 calories and see where that gets me. I'm really in no rush so I have time to test things out

icrushit

This is going to take me a while to get used to!

Try not to overthink it too much, just focus that you're hitting your calorie target, and give yourself time to get used to everything else. It will all come, and if you're anything like me, you'll know yourself when you're ready/ need to add or change something. All beginnings are both difficult and humble, but stay the course and you can only end up in a good place. Consistency and stubborness go a long way!

jwolmfp

Try not to overthink it too much, just focus that you're hitting your calorie target, and give yourself time to get used to everything else.

I think this is really valuble advice, I'm feeling very overwhelmed already. It took me years to create all my bad habits, I can't expect to change them all at the same time Thank you!