What are your macros?

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Allegi32
Allegi32 Posts: 302 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi...just curious what you've set your macros to, why, and what your goals are (i.e. gain muscle, lose fat, etc.)? Thanks!

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  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 5,948 Member
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    Hi...just curious what you've set your macros to, why, and what your goals are (i.e. gain muscle, lose fat, etc.)? Thanks!

    At the moment...

    50% Carbs
    30% Fat
    20% Protein

    Eating at or slightly above maintenance at the moment 2700 calories per day
    (increasing calories each week until I see a steady gain then will roll back a bit and hold)
    Looking to put a little bulk on... not too much.

    Training 5 days per week Monday thru Friday). Stay active with family on weekends. Really trying to get 8 hrs sleep per night... that has been the biggest challenge.
  • hgycta
    hgycta Posts: 3,013 Member
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    My macros are 55% carbohydrates, 15% protein, and 30% fat. I'm currently in maintenance and found that this helps me achieve my goals by keeping me energetic and satisfied. Carbohydrates are your brain's preferred source of energy (it can only metabolize glucose), and if it metabolizes protein/fat into these molecules you can have some serious adverse side effects (toxic levels of ketones/irreversable organ damage). Fat is your body's preferred nutrient for low-endurance exercise or while at rest, and since my lifestyle is mainly sedentary, I make sure I don't deprive it of this. Protein, on the other hand, is used to build tissues (including organ and muscle), so while it may help you build muscle tissue if you're exercising, it's not a preferred energy source by your body.s. If you're doing high-endurance exercises, you should probably increase your carbohydrate intake so your muscles will have enough glycogen to use. You can find out a bunch about carbohydrate-loading online!
  • RockstarWilson
    RockstarWilson Posts: 836 Member
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    70% Fat, 20% Protein, max 10% carbs. My goal is losing weight.

    @ hgycta: carbs are recommended for use of hard and fast exercises, but for endurance (such as running for a long distance, or cycling), fat is a more sustainable and enduring energy source. Main reason is that those athletes that use carbs for energy often hit a wall once their glucose energy is depleted, and the body can't make the switch fast enough to use the fat, so the body gets fatigued and overwhelmed. This is exemplified at the gym, when you suddenly get sleepy on a very long workout, even though you should be wide awake. The diet I am on trains the body to use fat for energy all the time, even in intense cardio, and burns the fat faster because it is all it has to use. There is a wall eventually, but I can tell you that I have run farther than I ever have before in my life, and I have energy for days. I can run a half mile at over 5 mph and barely stress my body. I am 5'9" and 205, clinically on the obese side by about 45 lbs. I can run 4 miles in two mile increments at about 6 mph. People of my weight class at my height don't do what I do. I am quite giddy about it.

    I think you probably mean high-intensity/low-intensity in places where you talked about high endurance/low endurance. intensity is a sprint, like in football plays. Endurance is a marathon.
  • Cortelli
    Cortelli Posts: 1,369 Member
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    I set a fixed target (in grams) for protein and fat, and do my best to meet and exceed those targets everyday. I let the rest of the calories fall where they may. I shoot for minimum 1.1g of protein per pound of fat free mass (others feel that this is unnecessarily high, and believe somewhere around 0.8g is fine), and 0.35g of fat per pound of body weight. It's a little annoying the way MFP only allows for percentage breakdowns, which in turn increases the raw targets for each macro when exercise is logged, but at this point I just know I am shooting for about 170g of protein and 60g of fat regardless of what MFP's diary tells me after exercise is added. And then, as I said, the rest fall where my appetite and preferences lead them.

    I am currently losing fat slowly while strength training and incorporating some cardio work. When I turn back to a bulk again eventually, I will lower the protein target a bit, and make sure to up my carb intake.
  • ghosthackexe
    ghosthackexe Posts: 181 Member
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    My macros are 40% carb 40% protein 20% fat I've used this for healthy weight loss and for good energy in the gym ^_^ with my end goal being to look good at the beach this coming summer
  • rprussell2004
    rprussell2004 Posts: 870 Member
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    75% fat, 25% protein - MFP won't let me go zero on carbs, so TECHNICALLY it's 75/20/5 - but in my mind I know better :)
  • hmrambling
    hmrambling Posts: 321 Member
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    40/30/30 works for me.
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 5,948 Member
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    Carbohydrates are your brain's preferred source of energy (it can only metabolize glucose), and if it metabolizes protein/fat into these molecules you can have some serious adverse side effects (toxic levels of ketones/irreversable organ damage).

    I don't believe this is true...
  • RockstarWilson
    RockstarWilson Posts: 836 Member
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    Carbohydrates are your brain's preferred source of energy (it can only metabolize glucose), and if it metabolizes protein/fat into these molecules you can have some serious adverse side effects (toxic levels of ketones/irreversable organ damage).

    I don't believe this is true...

    Yes, where are the findings for this? Id like to know. What organs will I damage?
    http://authoritynutrition.com/top-13-nutrition-lies-that-made-the-world-sick-and-fat/
  • eric_sg61
    eric_sg61 Posts: 2,925 Member
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    I don't do percentages.
    Training days: 1g/lb protein, 2-3g/lb carbs, minimal fat
    Non-training days: 1-1.5 g/lb protein, <50g carbs, 150-200g fat
  • icrushit
    icrushit Posts: 773 Member
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    Think mine are something like 15/ 20% carbs, 20- 25% protein, and 60% fat, and my goals are to lose fat and retain muscle. Seems to be working quite well so far, and once this phase of weight loss comes to an end, I envisage something more along the lines of moderate intakes on all three macronutrient fronts.
  • tibby531
    tibby531 Posts: 717 Member
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    1925 calories.
    130g protein
    70g fat
    35g fiber
    then top it off with whatever I feel like. :flowerforyou:
  • ghosthackexe
    ghosthackexe Posts: 181 Member
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    I don't do percentages.
    Training days: 1g/lb protein, 2-3g/lb carbs, minimal fat
    Non-training days: 1-1.5 g/lb protein, <50g carbs, 150-200g fat

    hmmm that seems pretty neat so just raised carbs for training days and then raised fat for rest days? might look into that
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    40% carbs, 30% each protein and fat. My goals are fat loss, maintaining muscle, and improving my running performance (I'm trying to improve my half marathon speed). I tend to lose better with lower carbs--easier for me to feel satisfied with my diet, etc.--but I also tend to feel better with somewhat more carbs when I'm exercising a lot, so this works for me and my current goals.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
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    Whatever my day happens to bring. Usually averages around 50-55% carbs, 15-20% protein and 25-35% fat.

    Why? Because stressing about macros is detrimental to my progress. I have tried and tried hard, but getting more protein than I currently do is stressful for me and not sustainable long term. I decided losing weight and reaching a healthy weight are more important to me than preserving muscle. It's not like I'm going to lose all of my muscle mass.
  • iheartinsanity
    iheartinsanity Posts: 205 Member
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    How do you people go on so few carbs? I'd die!!!
  • RockstarWilson
    RockstarWilson Posts: 836 Member
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    It can all be summarized in just a few words: Bacon, Cheese, and more Bacon!

    No, but really: the extreme of low carb is ketosis. That is where we deplete the body of glycogen reserves, and we only feed it fat for energy. There is a process called ketosis in which stored fat molecules are converted into energy molecules and used by the body throughout the day, even during exercise. It really isn't bad, and actually provides more sustainable energy without the need to snack or refuel every couple hours. Heck, I could run laps around you in Insanity! lol

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