Daily Calories and Macros. What should I consume???

amandavictoria80

I've searched and searched to try and get a good idea about how many calories and macros I should be consuming. Not a whole lot of luck.

I've been on a 1200 calorie limit and have been told several times today that if I want to strength and weight train, I need to consume much more than that. So, I changed it to 1500 calories. As well as my micros at 58g of fat, 131g of carbs and 113g of protein per day. Which in the info I came up with after my research.

Does this sound good? I'm 167lbs. and 5'10 and I'll be training every nonconsecutive day. My goal is to lose body fat and gain a little muscle definition.

Thanks so much!

Urzu07

Hi Amanda,

Are you looking into losing weight, or gaining? Depending on your goals, your macros will vary of course.

General rule of concept, is that if you want to lose weight, then your macro ratio should be 40/40/20, where you get an even amount of carbs and protein, which totals to 40% each, while the remaining 20% of your caloric intake should be based on fats, and mainly the good kinds (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated). If you are looking to strength train with weights, and would like to add on muscle, then follow the macros of 50/30/20, where 50% of your caloric intake is based upon complex carbohydrates, while 30% consists of protein, and the remaining 20% to fats.

If you can post down if you are trying to lose or gain weight, then I am able to calculate your macros based on what I mentioned earlier, and from there, it's up to you on what you consume daily to hit your macros for your goals.

amandavictoria80

Hi.

I am actually looking to do both. :-/
I want to lose the excess body fat I have (body fat %) but also gain lean muscle. I've been doing cardio and basic strength for a year now. I've lost 46lbs in total (38lbs while on MFP).

I am reading The New Rules Of Lifting For Women right now. Hopefully will give me extra insight.

Cmonnowguys

I have the same goals as you. Right now I'm focusing on retaining as much muscle as I can, while losing fat. I eat 1900 calories a day and aim for 30%protein/30%fat/40%carbs. With these ratios I have been able to decrease my body fat from 34% to 27% and am working on getting to 19%. I have had very minimal muscle gains (because I'm eating at a deficit) but I have developed the muscle I have and have increased in strength.
If you want to gain muscle you will have to eat at a surplus, but done correctly you can retain most of your muscle while losing fat if you eat at a slight deficit (TDEE-15%) in combination with heavy lifting.

I have learned A LOT from the forums and these are groups that are very helpful to me:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/3834-eat-more-to-weigh-less

These two articles specifically:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/512956-tdee-what-is-it-and-why-you-should-not-eat-below-your-bmr
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/521728-upping-cals-what-to-expect-why-you-need-patience

CarrieMyPhilos

Alright, really, really basic question: I've seen this everywhere in the threads, and everyone seems to know what it means... but I'm new here, and I don't. What exactly are Macros?

Cmonnowguys

Alright, really, really basic question: I've seen this everywhere in the threads, and everyone seems to know what it means... but I'm new here, and I don't. What exactly are Macros?

It's just short for macronutrients and refer to the three main food components: protein, fats and carbohydrates.

Urzu07

While I am not sure at your current state of physical level, you are able to still gain muscle while losing fat if you are still a beginner to lifting. Trial and error is your best friend when it comes to determining which macros helps you with your progress. As for lifting weights, women do not need to train any differently than men, actually. Throw in some compound movements, along with being in a caloric deficit is a start.

meagans1984

I am 185, trying to lose 45 lbs - build lean muscle. What do my daily macros need to be in grams?

Thanks!
Meagan