What percent should my macros be set at?

amyhoss

I am trying to lose weight and I run 4 days a week. What mix of carbs, fat and protein should I aim for? Right now, I have it set at 45% Carbs, 30% protein, and 25% fat. I don't know if that is a good target or not.

ShaneOSX

A lot of people say 40-30-30, with carbs as the 40. I personally don't agree with this at all, because carbs are basically worthless, and don't keep you full. According to my research and my personal feelings, I shoot for:

.8-1g protein per pound of body weight. That works out to be 46-55% of my calories.

25% of target daily calories in Good fat.

And the remainder of the calories made up of complex, low-glycemic carbs.

amyhoss

I do notice that I am usually under on my carbs with these settings, but it is hard to hit the protein without going over on the fat. At least if I can get my macro set correctly, I can experiment with foods that help me to hit the macros.

hastinbe

The recommendation from the Institute of Medicine is 45-65% carbs, 20-35% fat, and 10-35% protein. The fewer calories you consume the larger portion of those calories should be from protein. When consuming carbs you need to make sure you are not exceeding your sugar intake, this is the biggest mistake people make because they focus on consuming X amount of carbs rather than the type of carbs. Your current macronutrient distribution is within the tolerance of the guidelines, try it out and see how it feels for you and make adjustments if necessary.

Edit:

A quick look at your food diary reveals too much sugar, sodium, and saturated and trans fats from fast food.

LoyalAngel16

I've been trying to figure out how to change the macros. Been seeing lots of post about it, but can't find how to change it.

epmck11

Really, it's probably better to aim for set numbers rather than percentages, but unfortunately MFP doesn't give us the option for that. But I set my ratio at 35% protein, 35% carbs, 30% fat, and it gives me around the set numbers I want.

amyhoss

I've been trying to figure out how to change the macros. Been seeing lots of post about it, but can't find how to change it.

Go to your homepage and then click on "Goals" then "change goals" then click the button that says "custom" and continue. This is the screen you use to change the percentages.

LoyalAngel16

Thanks. It's been driving me crazy because I am on South Beach Diet and my protein is much higher than it was set to be at and didn't like seeing the red numbers lol.