Nutritional Priorities

mommyshortlegs

With <10 lbs. to my goal weight, I recently slowed my pace to a loss of .5 lb./wk., thus increasing my daily calories by 230 to 1,450 total. With more calories to consume, I am finding even greater difficulty keeping my macro-nutrients fairly in line versus swinging wildly in one direction or another. I realize my numbers will rarely if ever be perfectly balanced (not without a dietician overseeing my every mouthful, heh), but second to calories, which macro-nutrient should I purposefully allow to slip into the red?

Stats: 5'3", 29/F, medium build, endomorph. Some websites (e.g., this one*) suggest with an endomorph metabolism I should limit carbs and fat, aiming for a carb/protein/fat line-up of 30/45/25, but I fail with 35/40/25 and even with 40/30/30; and at getting enough protein (which should probably be my secondary priority) I fail worst, I can't seem to consume enough lean proteins without overdosing on fats.

Constructive feedback is appreciated.

*http://www.brainyweightloss.com/three-body-types.html

mommyshortlegs

Note: Carb- and sugar-filled protein bars are not my norm, but they /are/ what I had on hand today.

songbyrdsweet

That's really up to you. You could base it on your fitness goals or your personal preferences. Do you feel better at a certain macronutrient ratio? Does fat help you feel fuller? Do you love a big lean steak? Do you do any endurance running or heavy lifting?

In a caloric deficit, you won't be storing fat in the long-run, but following each meal you enter a period of synthesis and storage. Your body can make glycogen (stored sugar from carbohydrates), protein (from amino acids), fatty acids (from carbohydrates), glycerol (from carbohydrates), and triglycerides (by sticking the fatty acids to the glycerol). But you won't make fatty acids if they were included in your meal and you won't be making triglycerides unless your glycogen stores are already full. Similarly, you won't be repairing much tissue if you're low on amino acids.

Carbohydrates are beneficial for endurance activities like running. Protein helps us recover from all sorts of activity, especially very long endurance activity and high-intensity resistance exercises. We also need fat to power us through long runs and help us feel full.

I generally prefer protein to slip into the red because it's the least likely to be used for creating triglycerides (it can still be used but requires more processing) and it helps me feel full. But I don't do long runs and I do enjoy plyometric exercise which is high-impact.

So there you have it...the choice is yours. Different strokes.

LoseYouself

You don't have to follow those macros if it's not working for you. Find something that works for you.

I'm also an endomorph and my carb/protein/fat macros are 65/15/20 or 60/20/20 usually.. yet it still works for me, and I feel better than when I used to limit my carbs. I'm also vegan now so staying below on fat is fairly easy unless it's a day when I crave lots of nuts or something like peanut butter.

Don't fear carbs. I always thought I was carb sensitive and used to avoid them and aimed for 40/30/30. which would lead me to overeat because I never felt satisfied. Now that I eat more carbs, I'm much more satisfied all the time.. and I'm able to stay within my nutritional targets easier than I used to. I just make the majority of my carbs come from fruit, veggies, beans, and grains like rice, quinoa, or oats. I find if I'm eating the carbs in the form of flour/wheat/bread/etc.. it has a totally different (and more negative) effect on my weight loss efforts. So my advice is: carbs are NOT bad for weight loss.. our bodies need them. It's the SOURCE of the carbs that matters, but they've gotten misrepresented as a whole. It makes a world of difference.

laserturkey

You might just try a few different profiles for your macros and see where you are most comfortable, or where you feel you peform best. There's a lot of room for variation within the spectrum of eating "healthy" and there isn't really a magic number that is THE number you should aim for. If 43/29/28 (for example) works well for you, go with that.