Question on Calories, macronutrients exercise and more...

Summercowboy
Summercowboy Posts: 2
in Food and Nutrition
Greetings Folks;

first off, I'd like to introduce myself, I'm new to the site. thus far I really like it. Access via IPad and IPhone really make logging useful.

First, a bit of history. I was once fairly overweight, about 250 pounds at my worst, at age 40, 5 feet 11 inches. I lost quite a bit of weight over a year or so through diet and exercise. I took up running, which I enjoy very much, even ran some races and got my wife into it. Well, 5 years later, and 2 kids, pretty much turned my time for running into birthday parties, play dates and the plethora of family functions that seem to pretty much take over my life anymore.

As time went on, I began to gain weight again. I did shorten my runs and even did the P90X routine for a year or so. It worked well, but as it stands today, I now have to wake up at 4:00AM for my workouts and don't get to bed until 10:00 or 11:00 at night sometimes. I still do a variation of P90x, but I've now taken up HIIT for my cardio in the interest of time. Here's the thing.

I now have to relearn how to eat. I didn't pay much attention when I was running 6 miles 4 times a week, with a 10 miler thrown in on a nice day. Now, I have to watch it. So that brings me to today.

I signed up for this site and ran through the setup for weight loss and such, couple of questions came to mind.

1. The calorie calculations for me to loose weight are coming in pretty low, below BMR. Does anyone have any insite as to how Myfitnesspal figures out your daily caloric intake? I thought I was pretty knowledgeable on the subject, but the fact that I keep gaining weight tells me it's time to ask for help. All the BMR and calorie intake calculators suggest I should be consuming 2100 calories to lose weight, 18oo calories is my BMR, roughly. I've been gaining weight steadily at this intake. Myfitness pal is suggesting around 1600 calories after exercise, 1200 with no exersice. Any thoughts?

2. Also, the defaults for macronutrients call for very low protein, like 40 or 50 grams, pretty high carbs, over 200 and high fat. All the research I've ever seen suggests jacking your protein and reducing carbs, while maintaining moderate fat intake. Am I missing something with the Myfitnesspal calculation?

Any guidance would certainly be appreciated. I have reached a point that I never thought I'd see again, tight fitting cloths. Yikes!! I'm not to the point where I need to buy new pants, but if I don't make appropriate changes soon, I fear the worst.

Thanks again, and I greatly appreciate your input

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